Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1910-10-19
Sen. D0LL|vER DEAD
Iowa's Distinguished Senior Senator
and Statesman Passes Away.
GREAT ORATOR AND STATESMAN
Death Came Suddenly From Heart
Failure at Home i'm Fort Dodge
Saturday Evening After
Weeks Illness.

Senator Jonathan Prentiss Do
liver, senior United States Senate
of Iowa, and one of the nation
greatest statesmen and most bril-
ant orators, passed away at z:
o'clock Saturday evening at FG.,
Dodge, after a weeks illness, from
dilation of the heart, caused by
stomach trouble, death coming to
him while he was seated in chair
and one of his attending physicians
was testing his heart action. His
death was entirely unexpected, as
he was thought to be improving
rapidly from his illness, and had
been up and about during the day
seemingly in much better health
than during the week previous.
The news of his death came as a
great shock to the state and nation
Last spring he had trouble with an
eye, and submitted to an operation
He worked very hard during the
last session of congress, which i'm
paired his health. At its close he
spent a few weeks in New Mexico
to recuperate his strength, return
ing to Iowa and later going to
Ohio and Indiana to gather data
concerning the international rubber
trust. which added work affected
his het. n. He then made several
speec' IS in Wisconsin, and was
taken i'll at Milwaukee and returned
home About two weeks ago he
contracted a severe cold, and few
days later took to his bed. While
his illness was known to be serious
yet it was not thought dangerous
and he seemed to be improving ra-
pidly when the end came.
Senator Dolliver was born near
Kingwood, Preston county, West
Virginia, Feb. 6, 1853. His father
was the late Rev. James j. Dolliver,
who spent over forty years in the
ministry of the Methodist Episcopal
churcr. He graduated in 1875
from the West Virginia University
and at twenty was admitted to the
bar. He moved to Iowa in 1878 and
became a prominent lawyer at Fort
Dodge. In 1884 he was made tenn
porary chairman Of the republican
state convention and the speech he
then made lifted him from the plane
of a country lawyer into national
fame. During the campaign which
followed he was called east and
bore conspicuous part in the
campaign, speaking with James G.
Blaine, republican nominee for
president In 1886 his friends in
the tenth district brought him out
as a candidate for the republican
nomination for congressman. The
opposition combined against him
and he was defeated. Two years
later, however, he was nominated,
and has had no serious opposition
at any time since. Upon the death
of Senator John III. Gear in 1900,
Governor Shaw rendered the ap-
pointment of United States Senator
to Mr.. Dolliver and he accepted it,
and in 1907 he was elected for the
full term.
In his death the state of Iowa
and the nation loses one of it's most
able an, brilliant statesmen. A
natural born orator and rapid fire
debater, a man of great intellect
and deep research, his popularity
among the people has been such
that he has been regarded for many
years as one of the ablest and most
popular members of congress. Twice
in the national republican conven-
tions he was prominently mention
ed in connection with the nomina-
tion for thesv presidency, in 1900
when Theodore Roosevelt was NOM
mated with Mckinley, and again at
the last national convention, but
Iowa's safe republican majority and
other circumstances prevented his
being named
The funeral services will be held
at his home in Fort Dodge tomor-
row Thursday afternoon. The
sermon will be preached by Rev. w.
H. Spence, pastor of the First
Methodist Episcopal church. of
which he was a member, and Gov
ernor B. f. Carroll will deliver the
funeral grafton. Rev. DR.. Frank
w. Gunsaulus of Chicago, Rev. DIR.
Dwight Newell Hills of Brooklyn
and Bishop Luther B. Wilson have
also been asked to assist in the