The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-06-18
COLONEL WILEY
 ANSWERS CALL
(Ccntinned From Pase 1.)

received nearly twice as many votes al | his opponent.
 Like q great many other men who have become prominent in public life | in Alabama; Colonel Wiley was born | in Barbour County. His father then was one of the prominent citizens of
 Alabama. and a man who had fiiled, the | chair of circuit judge The elder | Wiley, Judge J. McCaleb Wiley, was | at fone time an officer in the Mexican Army. After his return to Alabama, l he resumed the practice of law and, like his son. was successful in 1t to q rare degree. In time he was elected | judge of an East Alabama circuit, en1- | bracing Pike and Barbour Counties and this honor he held number of | years. He was a learned and skiIlfui | lawyer. aggressive in the defense of his clients rights and coura geous in maintaining his convictions. These att | tributes characterized the son in later years.
 Born at Clayton
 Congressman Wiley was born Mo- | venber s, 1s4s at Clayton. A few | years later, Judge Wiley moved to | Troy and there the. younger Wiley | grew to manhood. He was a mere boy | during the war and some time after
 wards he entered Emory and Henry | College in Virginia. Here he was grad | AoeC4s III Aof l. AA AotA nS SdAAAS tO 1AOAAt- l gomery to practice law
 He came, he was accustomed to say. | to begin life in Montgomery with S30 | in his pocket and he never had to write home for more.
 The earliest years of his practice in | Montgomery. gave promise of his fu- | ture success He was indefatigable in | the work of his profession. To his fel- | low lawyers hts strongest characteris- ! tic was his remarkable energy He never tired. He was at it all the time -Tstudying or trying cases. This steam l engine energy he maintained to his | last illness. He early attracted atten- ton. Fiattering offers Of partnership | were made him, and as young man | the most celebrated lawyers Montgom- | erv has known
 | Before he reached middle. age his | practice was one of the most remuner- | ative in Alabama. His capacity, his ag- | gressiveuess and his irresistible energy | won name and fame for him as a
 lawyer. He made several fortunes in
 this work. But his generosity was law | ish. He was one of the most open
 handed men that eyer lived in the state.
 What he had was literally that of his
 friends. If he called man friend. there | was no favor that that man could not
 ask. If some friend proved ungrate- | full, If some man proved unworthy. it was, no reason to Colonel Wiley why
 the next. man should be denied His charity was as wide as his generosity.
 He gave without questioning. He Iov- | ed his fellow men. He loved to be
 of them. among them and in the midst | of their activities.
 1 As Public Man.
 | It was not possible for him to keep
 out of public life. A man with his temperament and his talents would
 gravitate to politics and public life as | naturally as the sparks fly upwards. | Even as a young man he busted him.
 self with public affairs. In 1882 he took l the plunge in his own interest. In that year he was elected to the Alabama | Legislature from the County of Mont l gomery. Either as 8 Senator or as a l Representative from Montgomery
 County he served. in the. Alabama Leg
 islature of Alabama until he was elect- l ed to Congress. set &
 Incidental to this he served as .
 member of the City Council of Mont gomery. He contributed material serv- | foe. too. tosthe city during his alder manic carer. And whether he was in l the House or in the Seante of Alabama,
 he exerted a wide personal influence
 and no man on the floor was given bet | ter and closer attention.
 | He took an early interest in military
 matters an interest he maintained to
 his death. He was on the Military | Committee of the House when he died. Before going to Congress he served on | the gtafKs of several of Alabama's Gov
 ernors. He was captain. too. of the
 troop of cavalry stationed at Mont l gomery.
 On the outbreak of the Spanish Am erican War President Mckinley ap- | pointed him Lieutenant Colonel of an | immune regiment intended for imme- diate service in Cuba. His regiment | was attached to the division command ed by General Henry W. Lawton. That splendid soldier entertained for Colonel | Wiley a lively friendship and admira- tion. Upon the occupation of Santiago. Cuba, Colonel Wiley was commissioned | with important administrative duties ] at Santiago. He drew up the code, of | laws established in that province and he rendered such service in an admin istrative capacity that he gained the friendship and. gratitude of Governor l Leonard Wood. For his work in Cuba, Colonel Wiley received high and num- erous compliments from Washington. Tn little more than a year after his return to Alabama Colonel Wiley was chosen to Congress from the second District.
 1t was not his first attempt at that honor. k10 uAu pASNl0o1Ay rDANAhS%'
 Iancea with the men who had repre- sented the district in Cingress and in ona or two instances had missed an election by the narrowest margin. Chosen in the year 1900 he was elected each alternate year until death ended his career.
 On Military Affairs.
 ConRressnan Wiley accompanied the
 famous party of Secretary of War Wfl- liam H. Taft to the Philippines. On that trip and in his work on the military
 committee of the House he was brought
 Intn close contact with Secretary Taft.
 Out of that contact there grew q close
 nersonal friendship, maintained until
 inc Alabama Congressman breathed his last. In the recent struggle for dele gates to the national convention among inc republicans, the opponents of Sec retary Taft made the charge that if Taft
 was elected a Southern Democrat from
 Alabama would possess more inhuence at the White House than any reppnll- can in the South. Be that as IT may inc two men had the fullest confidence
 ana .the highest esteem for each other.
 On the floor of Congress or in the de-
 partments Colonel Wiley was enabled to work to the great advantage of his
 district. Tn the matter of accomplish :
 ments he was able to make splendid showing to his constituents He widened the rural mail service: he in-
 creased the appropriations for water
 ways; he locke after public buildings;
 he improved the homestead laws and
 freed many. an honest settler on gov ernment land of the menace of dispos- session and ruin.
 Colonel Wiley married MISS Nocle'