The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-10-17

or three hours with one of his most
intimate friends. He had no thought
then of the fatal termination of his
disease. He 5oked and laughed and
talked of plans for the future, but did
not disclose the fact that his physi-
clans at a consultation of a week be-
fore had decided that his safest course
would be to relinQuish work and in the
term work were included speaking in
| the senate and on the stump.
DR.. E. NJ. Van Patten. who was call
| ed in to make an examination with his
stethoscope, stood at the side of the
his heart-beats. Mr.. Dolliver was con-
versing in a cheerful manner He
: ceased speaking and the doctor went
| on counting, 10, IL, II, Is. IA regular
| strokes.
THAT is good" said the senator.
Fourteen is two more years; that is
good.''
Heart Beats Cease.
Two more beats of the heart and the
| physician heard no more He thought
| his apparatus was defective and had re-
moved it to shake it when he looked
| into the senator's face and saw his eyes
| staring off into space. Mrs Dolliver
| had stepped to the door of the apart
ment with her son George at the mo-
| ment and the physician informed her
| that her husband was dead.
Overwork in the last session of con-
gress is given by the physicians as the
direct cause of the senator's death.
Jonathan Prentiss Dolliver was born
| near Kingwood. w. Va, February s,
1858. His ancestors were of good old
New England stock, sailors and fish
ermen so well known that as early
as the colonial days headland on the
Essex coast of Massachusetts was nam
ed Delivers Neck. This fact was
seized upon by his enemies in 1894
and resulted in a lot of raillery of
which Senator Dolliver was the butt.
During a heavy storm that year some
vessels went aground on the neck and
some of the Populist newspapers back
in Iowa, bearing in mind the strong
prohibition sentiment which prevailed
in his district, referred to the incident
| under such headlines as: Four schoon-
ers went ashore last night on Dolli-
ver's Neck
Son of Circuit Rider.
Mr.. Delivers father was a circuit
riding preacher in the Old Dominion,
a strong Methodist and vigorous speak
er. In his early days the late states
| man manifested some of the amphib-
/ ious traits of his ancestors He was
a great swimmer and his feats of this
kind are still remembered in the
district where he W sareared. Indeed,
some of his neighbors lamented wnen
| he was sent to college that so good
| a riverman was being spoiled.
| He was graduated from the Univer-
sity of West Virginia in 1875 and was
admitted to the bar in 1878. Previous
to this time he had already begun to
| interest himself in politics. and as
/ early as 1876. when he was but Is
years of age. ne made political
! speech at Clinton Furnace, w. Va.
which was thought notable. During
the Hayes-Tilden campaign ne spoke
| at Morgantown and various other
places and already began to be looked
| upon as promising nan.
| Shortly afterwards ne removed to
| Iowa. was elected to the Fifty-frst
| congress from the Tenth Iowa district
and reelected to the Fifty-second,
| Fifty-third, Fifty-fourth, Fifty-ffth
| and Fifty-sixth congresses. He was
| appointed United States senator to I'LL
| vacancy in 1900 and elected to the
| same Office in 1892. He was reelected
in 1907 and at the time of his death
| was chairman of the committee on ag-
| riculture and forestry and a member
/ of some of the most important of the
| other committees. including those on
conservation of national resources, ed
ucation and labor. interoceanic canals,
postofices and post roads, privileges
| and elections and public expenditures.