Evening star., 1923-11-25
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL r. KENNEDY


whom have been controller of the
currency and all of whom have been
big business men. come by their tall
ents for putting big things across.
and by their patriotism and zeal for
public service, as a natural inheri-
tance
Their t-great-grandfather, Me-
nasseh Cutler. was leader of a group
OF revolutionary war heroes who put
over one of the largest land deals
ever consummated with the govern
ment, and has been characterized as
probably the greatest lobbyist in the
history of the United States. In that
eonrIact evnntnsi,n ne ,nc,uded provision that
tion of slavery into the north.
Menasseh Cutler got 5000. 900 acres
Of land from Congress at 81 an acre
nbia IN haet inSg 9nSugh land for the states Of
and Illinois. which were in fact
carved out of his project in what
was then called the Northwest Ter
ritory. He was "a chaplain in the
Continental Army.
The young government. just re-
covering from long war against
the mother country. was oor. Had
not the soldiers gone around in rags
WAS honest and paid the soldiers in
scrip-those 10. Us which have been
much in evidence after wars in this
country, except the world war There
wasn't much the soldiers could do
with that scrip. But the soldiers did
need homes and most of them were
of that sturdy stock who would
brave the dangers of the frontier in
order to establish a home. And the
government had great deal of land.
So Menasseh Cutler. with Gen. Ru-
fus Putnam and others of their ro-
bust breed. formed company and
went TO Congress with the PROPOSE
ton to buy 100000 acres of land to
scrip as payment. This was the Ohio
Company of Associates, and it was
Menasseh Cutler who conceived the
idea of excluding slavery and by
clever ruse involving southern men
who might be opposed he got 1t
through Congress.
Rev. Menasseh Cutler and Gen.
Rufus Putnam established the first
settlement at Marietta. Ohio-Where
all four of the Dawes brothers were
born-and this was the beginning of
the real settlement of the five states
named above.
Brig Gen. Charles G. Dawes, who was
q lieutenant Of Mark Hanna when Hanna
was boss of the republican party. who
was controller under Mckinley when
only thirty-two years old G894-190D,
and who used to go to the White
House and play the piano for Mrs
VI
OF the bureau of the budget and to-
day runs great Chicago bank. is
more Familiarity known as Hell and
Maria" because of an outburst before
a congressional investigating COM
mittee.
In his library Gen. Dawes has all
the original papers regarding the
great Cutler purchase On the steps
Of the Subtreasury building. Wall
street, New York, there is an impos-
- - - H.. rAcs ~
Ohio. which was placed there in COM
memoration Of the great land deal.
Rev. Menasseh Cutler. besides being
"A minister Of the gospel and a SOL
dier, was a botanist and musician of
note. 1t was from him that Hell and
Maria Dawes got his talent for play
ing music and for composing music
for others to play.
Henry NJ. Dawes, the present con-
troller. started out by running lum-
years which he had inherited from his
father. Just before coming to Wash
ington he was associated with his
brothers, Rufus and Charles. in the
public utilities business in Chicago.
operating. under the name of Dawes
Rrothers, Inc. gas and electric light
plants through the middle west and
clean out to the Pacific coast. He was
president and vice president and di-
rector in a number of banks.
Ru1uS 4. dawes mas spent MS Dusl-
ness life in organizing and managing
gas and electric light companies.
Benjamin q. Dawes spent several
terms in Congress and has been presi-
dent of number of public utilities.
But these four brothers do not look
TO Rev. Menasseh Cutler as their only
distinguished forebear. for on the
other side of their family Great
Great-Grandfather William Dawes
accompanied Paul Revere on his fa-
I,tr iii o.
Middlesex village and farm.
Representative J. Will Taylor of
Tennessee. republican national COM
mitteeman, and sometimes mentioned
in connection with the republican NOM
ination for Vice President recently Wis
tied the metropolis and county seat of
Union county, Tenn. his birthplace
Maynardsville. Like Rome. It Is perched
on seven hills. Representative TAYLOR
says, but with only about one house
to hill" He found it about the
same as it was more than thirty
wears ago, when Taylor. as small
boy. trudged over the roadless noun
tains from his log cabin on the banks
of Powells river. to start his "book
larnin'.' Afterward he went to an
academy just started in the boom
town of Hartman. where he slept in
a laundry and brought his college
expenses within his educational
budget of SIS month.
Representative Taylor recently made
an inspection of Muscle Shoals. where
he was entertained by the chamber OF
commerce. In response to an address
of welcome he said he was reminded
of the man who boasted that he had
nd pVprv-
thing" that he had been all around
the world" When some bystander
incurred Have you ever had de-
lirium tremens?' the boaster replied
mo. Why" The bystander solemn1y
observed. We'll. if you hain't had
where and you amt seen nothin.
That. according to Representative
Taylor, is the way he felt about any
one who has not seen the Muscle
Shoals dam.
M. NJ. Neely. the new senator from
West Virginia. who was formerly
member of the House, was born in
a log house, which he describes as
being Just one room more preten-
ftous than a cabin. His father,
cripple from birth, was country
doctor, who devoted his entire hfe,
without thought of fnanclal reward
to the services of the afflicted people
of Doddridge and adjoining counties
ITO my mind" says Senator Nicely
my father could, without any eXag-
eeration, have served as the hero of
Barrie's The Doctor of the OLD
School" Senator Neely's maternal
grandfather served in the civil war,
was captured at the second battle
of Rull run and died in Anderson
Vile prison. Senator Neely himself
left West Virginia University at the
first call for volunteers in the Span
ish-American war. He enlisted as a
private in Company D, 1st West Fir-