The Washington herald., 1909-08-15
BY JAMES b. MORROW.

Lodge, OF Nahant-instlnctively. the
world of craftsmanship. politics and
journalism calls him Cabot. instead OF
Henry.
He is the only professional nteratus in
Congress. Lineally, as a Senator. he is
the direct descendant Of Charles Sum
ner. For seven years he was one of the
major, If not clarion. voices Of Theodore
Roosevelt. Exclusive. elegant. and inn
perial he IS either geometrically we'll
hammered OF benignly disdainful His
fame is wide and his power Is deep
rooted in history tradition. and individ-
ual ability.
A challenge 10 such man tran
scends the narrow limits OF HIS own
.geography-it 10 national, north by Cana
da. south by the Gulf OF Mexico and
east and west by the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans. Moreover. the rash person who
makes It is in himself. aside from the
spectacular fact that he is Benjamin F.
Buffers grandson. a very attractive. UNI
conventional. and extraordinary young
gentleman.
A millionaire Mechanic.
II IS the rule Of social economy that
money in the second generation usually
means luxury and inaction. Col Butler
Ames. OF Lowell. thirty-elght years OF
age. and a bachelor. is serving his
fourth term in the House Of Representa-
tives. and I'm several other uncommon
ways is demonstrating that inherited
wealth need be neither destructive nor
undesirable. Col. Ames might be called
a millionaire mechanic.
In Washington he rides in n green au-
tomobile Of his own designing-a forty
horsepower machine that can eat into
distance at the rate Of more than a mile
a minute. A motor boat. thirty feet long.
drawing but three inches OF water. also
his own invention and construction. has
developed a speed Of twenty-five miles
an hour on the Concord River. when
I can afford IT," he seriously said 10
me. making the usual complaint Of the
opulent. I shall build a larger engine
and 30 a good deal faster"
At home every minute OF his leisure
time and all Of his vacations are spent
I'm his private machine shop. A few
years ago he discovered a genius In over
alls working at a lathe or bench In Bos-
ton. The accidental meeting developed
into a factory. Col Ames and his me-
chauical partner once made nearly all
the X-ray apparatus used IN this country.
Now they are manufacturing a large
share OF the coils employed I'm the fabri-
cation OF automobiles The inventions OF
Col. Ames number about an even hun
dred Only one OF them IS legally pro-
tccted IF a thing is patented. the world
soon gets IT," he remarked. when
showed some surprise at what / thought
was an utter lack Of business judgment
But are ones employees I asked, al
ways Trustworthy"
Yes. II they are fairly treated"
Makes Flying Machine.
But I was more interested in Col.
Ames' flying machine than In his engines.
boats. or X-ray apparatus. II has taken
him or the ground and into the air on
several occasions. He obligingly entered
upon a scientific explanation. but it-was
toe technical for me 20 follow
"Lilienthal." he said. beginning a brief
narrative that I could understand. made
a gliding machine, but II tipped over
backward and broke his neck The
Wright machine tipped forward and
killed Lieut. Selfridge All Of the flying
machines so far must be balanced at
both ends and at both sides. No one
would attempt to ride a bicycle, I venture
to say, under similar dangers and neces-
stiles in the matter Of equilibrium.
"One rainy day I spent several hours
experimenting with a square visiting
card. holding II in tho air and letting II
fall 70 the floor. From those tests OF
gliding. turning. and dropping I obtained
new principles OF hying-of a machine, IN
short the balance Of which Is maintained
automatically. I am working with il
now"
Besides his purpose forcibly to remove
Cabot Lodge from the Senate two years
hence, and besides. also, his familiar re-
latiOns and associations with his famous
and unique grandfather. Butler Ames is
a rare type. even in democratic America.
the land of tcmperamental contrasts and
sociological surprises. He is a six-footer,
slender and handsome, and in manner
and movement q haTmOnized cOmbina-
ton Of materialism and Imagination His
clothing Is austerely plain; he wears
neither scarfpin nor watch chain. but
Gen. Buffers inconspicuous diamond ring
is on hls little finger. His voice is low
and his gray eyes. large and expressive,
are almost dark enough 10 be brown.
The angle OF his chin and the perpen-
dicularity Of his shoulders evidence his
early training as a soldier.
Went to Minnesota While III.
You lived In Minnesota for time
during your boyhood?" I asked the DOS
sible successor Of Charles Sumner.
I contracted diphtheria at the Palmer
House in Chicago and was I'll for year.
My eyes became crossed. my neck went
awry. and even after I could walk was
unable to get up when I fell down. My
parents took me to Minnesota, and there
I slowly recovered. When I was well
we returned to our home in Lowell"
What kind Of time did you have at
West Point?"
Il was substitute pitcher on the base
ball team; I won a contest in swords
manship. and I broke my collar bone in
game of football While In the army
and a member Of Congress. my grand
father. Cen Butler, had a good deal to
say against the military establishment.
as he termed It. declaring that officers
from civil life were pushed aside and
otherwise unjustly treated. Yet. at bot
tom, ne had great respect for the regular
army and the training one gets at West
Point. Anyway. while l was preparing
at Phillips Exeter Academy for Har-
ward. he had me appointed to a cadetship
as a Christmas present
4 had no desire to be q soldier. but
wanted to build boats, an inclination that
was inherited I suppose. from my grand
father Ames. who was the owner and
captain OF vessels engaged in trade with
the West Indies. He took a free cargo
Of corn to Ireland during the famine,
sailing the ship himself. and my father.
Adelbert Ames. afterwards a major gen