The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-07-23

BODY. the SeflJIt Oi lllt ~ oNoNO
has a new member who will ado much
to its pictureSqucnesS lie is George
Wingfield, gambler and gun man,
who has been appointed from Nevada
py Governor eddie to fill out the I'M
Expired term of the late Senator Nix
on. The other senator from Nevada
$ r.. G. Newlands, Of Reno, who IS a
graduate of Yale, says the New 1ork
Press.
Wingtield is the leading gambler or
the West. He is the owner of the
Tonopah club. whcre the biggest OF
all the Nevada tigers has its lair. The
tiger attains its largest growth IN
Nevada just at present. WlnSfleld IS
the pale iron-nerVed type OF man
that once used to be common on inc
Mississippi river steamboats, and IN
the dealers chair of western faro
banks, but which now is fast diSap-
pearinE. Though his reputation as a
gun man" extends to the furthest
frontiers, he is said never to seek q
quarrel. When one is thrust upon
hiiu, however, nom has ever Deen
quicker on the trigger than he. with
the legal weapons used in the games
of high finance he Is reputed TO De
equally swift and sure. He is SO years
old. and his fortune is estimated at
all the way from S12,OOO,OOO 10 tnfee
times that amount.
1t is no especial wonder that Wing
field was appointed to succeed Nixon.
He and Nixon were partners tor years
in various enterprises, and each
amaSsed much wealth. Together they
practically controlled the politics or
Nevada. Up to not long ago gambling
was a recognized and perfectly legal
business or industry in Nevada 1t
was protected by law. 1t no longer IS
lnp.IiunI thlt il OnpS on ltISt as OF
old. Out in Nevada it is not consld-
cred anything against a man to GAM
BILE or even To own Il gambling house
or to conduct one.
Senator Wingfield is Interested in
mining also and in ii number OF other
things that bring him in considerable
wealth. The TonOpah club is said to
yield him an annual income of some
$500, 900. How much he derives from
his other enterprises is not known. No
one even hazards a guess at the
amount, and Wingtield, one of the
most Secretive of men, never has Civ
en- a hint.
The rise of George Wingfield from
an impecunious cowboy gambler to
the Senate Of the United States is re-
markable in it's swiftneSs. There are
various versions as to how he got his
start. The most widely accepted
story and one which Wingfield never
has denied. is that he blew into TOno-
pah in 1901 with $3.50 which he had
borrowed from Nixon. the man he
succeeds in the Senate In fact. from
that day until the time of NiXon's
death recently, the careers of the two
men ran along the same channel.
Wingtield was born, some say, in Ar
kansas, others Oregon and still 9TH
ers New Mexico. Until Senator Wing
fields official biography is printed in
the blue book Of Congress no one will
be able to say what State is entitled
to the honor. AS a yOungster he be-
came q COW puncher and later landed
at GolcOnda, a mining camp near
Winnemucca. New. There he became
acquainted with Nixon. who. until his
election as senator in 1904, was presi
dent Of a bank at Winnemucca. a way
station on the Southern Pacific. Nixon
was also the State agent" for that
railway. At Golconda and at Winnie
mucca Wingfeld bet on the cards in
the faro banks consistently and care
fully. but with varying fortunes. for
then. as now and as always, a square
game is merely tradition. He did a
little COW punching and a little min
ing. but mostly he was a gambling
house hanger-on. Poker. faro an6
keno had equal charms for Wingfeld
Finally he went flat broke and go
the historic $3.50 stake from Nixon
Wingfeld had heard that the game a.
Tonopah was easy" and decided tt
go thither and test it.
Wingtield found Tonopah easier
than he expected. He had a great rur
of luck and pyramided and parlayet
his winnings until they reached sew
eral thousands Of dollars. Then, af
ter he had repaid his $50 Nixon loan
he determined to quit bucking far
from the players side of the table
so he started the Tonopah club. H
had a partner in this. but it was no
long until Wingfield's share as prin
cipal owner in the enterprise was val
lied at more than $1,000, 900.
Up to 1906 Wingfield was not re
garded as being anything more tha-
a boss gambler. He attended strictl
to his business at the TOnOpah clu
and made money hand over fist. Their
uyno DlnnfU of nonnoy II, circ1I1atjOV