Daily Arizona silver belt., 1909-05-16

NEW YORK, May 15.--Still fresh and vigorous in mind and sound in body, Levi F. Morton, the oldest liv- ing ex-vice president of the United States, will celebrate his eighty y-ffth birthday anniversary tomorrow. Be- sides Mir. Morton there are now living only three other men who have held the position of vice president of the United States, Adlai E. Stevenson, The odore Roosevelt and Charles w. Fair banks. Not only is Mir. Morton by far the oldest among his surviving col leagues, but, with one exception, he has already attained greater age than any other former vice president. The only exception was John Adams, the first vice president of the United States, who died in 1926 at the ripe age of 90 years.
 While Mir. Stevenson has reached the age of seventy-four, the other two surviving colleagues of Mir. Morton are still comparatively young men, MT. Roosevelt being ffty-one, MT. Fair banks ffty-seven years old, Of his pre- decessors who have joined the silent army only John Adams lived to be older than Mir. Morton is now. Thomas Jef- ferson died at the age of eighty-three, Hannibal Hamlin at the age of eighty one and Aaron Burr at the age of eigh. ty. The latter holds the record in one respect, however, among the deceased former vice president; he survived the end of his term of office by thirty one years, longer period than shows the record of any other of the deceased former holders of the office. MT. Mor- ton will have to live until he is one hundred years old to surpass Burr $ record.
 Levi P. Morton is New Englander and the descendant of family of elergymen. It may be due to great extent to that fact that he has retained his health and vitality to such a re- markable degree. His family was founded in America by the Reverend George Horton, one of the conspicuous members of the Pilgrim colony of New England. He was the financial agent of the Pilgrims and raised and conserved the funds which fitted out the epedition on the Mayfower, al though he was not passenger on the initial voyage. He arrived in America in 1923.
 Levi r. Morton may have inherited his taste for finances from that treasnr- CT of the Pilgrim band. His father was a congregational clergyman, Reverend Daniel o. Morton, still remembered in Winchendon. Mass, and in Shoreham, Vermont. The father of Levi F. Nor ton lived dn Shoreham when his son was born, May Is, 1924. Before the boy had obtained his mcager education the minister removed to Winchendon. There the future vice president was wont on Sunday mornings to ring the bell to summon his father $ congregation to service, and he also acted as sexton of the edifce. In that church there is now memorial window given by Levi P. Morton to commemorate the services of his father.
 When at the age of sixteen years ne saw no hope of realizing his ambition to 90 to Dartmouth college, Levi F.. Morton entered country store at En- field. Massachusetts, where ho worked until he had enough money to start modest establishment, of his own, at Hanover, N. H. In ls49 at the age of twenty.6ve he came to Boston and be- came n partner in a small dry goods house. Five years later he went to New York, where he joined dry goods firm.
 He failed few years before the out break of the civil war, but immediately started banking business, appreeiat-