The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-08-17

clothing being rare sights for staid old
Dover. OF course, everybody began
asking WHO is Addicks?" Nobody
knew. save a few VINO had heard of
his gas deals, but naturally enough
nobody was willing to admit that they
did not know. So IT soon became
known that he was a very prominent
Delawarean, known all over the State
and the friend of every one. also that
he had plenty Of money and was will
ing to spend It.
OF course Addicks was a negligible
quantity in the senatorial elections OF
1891 and for many years thereafter,
but the desire to go to the Senate
became an obsession with him, and
he kept dosgedly at his campaign to
make himself known in Delaware and
to purchase for cold cash enough
votes to insure his election. He went
all over the State, and left a trail of
new. crisp bank notes. and by the
time the Legislature convened in
1894 he had built up quite a machine.
at least one that could be depended
upon to work for Addicks to the last
ditch and to the last penny. Mean
while Addicks had not been neglecting
his business. and in return for certain
influence which he scattered In the
right direction in 1891 and 1892 he
was voted the charter for the PENN
sula Investment Company. the char
tered name OF the Bay State Gas
Company, which at that time had
capital stock Of s25.000. 900,
Addicks soon realized that he had
little hope of making much Of an i'm
preston in the political life Of the
northern counties of Delaware, 30 he
turned his attention. with the astute
assistance of his Boston and Phila-
ties Of Sussex and Kent There he did
his practical work." and in a few
months Kent and Sussex counties be-
gan to blossom with a wonderful pros
perity. Large blocks of stock in the
mulutudinous companies controlled by
Addicks began to appear at the banks
as collateral for loans of considerable
size. and men who had hitherto bor-
rowed money on Endorsed paper were
now able because of their interest In
Addicks's politics to present blocks of
Addicks stocks and enlarge their loans
At that time an income OF $500 in
Sussex county was considerably above
the average. and more than that was
apt to excite envy and admiration.
But It was not very long before the
men who had had no income at all |
Joined the $500 class and those who |
had been $500 year men went higher i
and Joined the ranks OF the plutoerats |
who revelled IN incomes of $500 and |
more.
Paid for state but Lost II.
The amount OF cash spent by Ad- |
dicks in his campaign of 1899. which |
brought him really little or nothing |
in the way OF political advantage, al |
though II did demonstrate to his own
satisfaction that the State of Della |
ware was for sale to the highest bid |
der has been estimated at from $780, |
900 TO 100000. 1t may not have been |
that large, but certainly there were
many new houses erected by local |
political leaders, many new bank ac-
counts were started. the stocks Of the |
Addicks gas companies became present |
in large quantities-and Addicks |
gained almost complete control of the |
two counties. And ten years later
during the campaign OF 1902 Addicks
Is said TO have spent $130, 900 In Kent |
and Sussex counties alone, but stiI
without gaining enough political
power to realize his Senatorial am
billions.
Addicks really became embarrass-