Evening star., 1923-06-17
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

support of his war policies-a period
OF hfty-eight years-a native son OF
that state, in the person of Charles l.
Richards, has been elected to Nevada's
| lone seat in the House of Representa-
tives.
or pioneer ancestry, his father hav-
| ing been one of those intrepid Ameri-
cans who helped to push the frontier
westward and ever westward. born
in typical mining camp at Austin
Representative Richards is distinctly
| a product of Nevada. The story of his
nance As he himself tells it:
Nevada is land where those who
breathe the pure air of it's deserts
those who sense the music of its lone
| illness, those who find joy jim its linn
itless spaces of sagebrush and sand
struggle on in search of the treasure
in it's hills, not so much for the hope
of discovery as for the pure joy OF
! the search. 1t is Gods country, where
one may truly listen to the heart
song that silence sings"
And Richards is akin to this spirit
of the Sagebrush state. Born amid the
surroundings of typical Nevada
. mining town. the virus of treasure
seeking early entered his blood, and
since young manhood he has been
camps Of Nevada-Goldfield, Manhat-
tan, Tonopah. He has traversed its
sagebrush deserts with the true spirit
of the prospector. He has won and
lost fortunes with a smile. At last he
has wrested another fortune from the
/ Nevada hills, but for him Nevada is
still land of romance.
Richards worked his way through
Stanford University, graduating alb
solutely broke. with his legal edu-
| cation as his only asset
In 1899, the famous Jim Butler
known in Nevada as the Father of
Tonopah," and who died only few
! weeks ago. had discovered the rich
ore deposits of that section. Thither
in 1901 went Richards-and on foot.
the entire 120 miles from Austin of
Nye county. 1t is interesting to note
that he Immediately succeeded Tas-
ker l.. Oddie, present United States
senator from Nevada and former gov
ernor of the state.
But Richards was more than district
attorney. He was specializing in mines
and mining leases, building houses
overnight, and taking his share in
| the hectic speculation of the boom.
After about four years of feverish
making and spending of several for
tunes, the bottom dropped out of the
| Tonopah boom and he left Tonopah
as he had come, on foot.
The Manhattan mines, about fifty
miles north of Tonopah. began TO at
tract. attention. Richards became in
terested and arrived just before the
great boom. Here he opened a law
office. 1t was of the open-air variety.
1t consisted of tent and had as a
part of its equipment a desk, which,
in reality was large plank nailed
at one end to the tent post and sup
ported at the other by a stake driven
in the ground. He bought the land
ion which the tent was erected, two
plots, each 80 feet by 100 feet, and
one a corner lot, for $50. One month
In drawing leases, contracts, incor-
poration papers and similar legal
documents. Richards, in his improvis-
ed office. was taking in 5000 a day.
Shortly, on his remaining corner
lot he constructed a $4,000 building,
in the rear of which he had his office,
and from this structure he i'm
mediately received rent of $1,000 per
month. There seemed no limit to the
possibilities confronting the young
lawyer Then one morning the wires
brought word of the San Francisco
earthquake. The operations at Man
haitian were being financed almost
entirely by Frisco capital. Smash
the boom at Manhattan! The mines
closed. Richards had dropped an
other fortune and had obligations of
100000 facing him.
Nothing daunted he went out into
the hills prospecting He took with
fiivver. now with burros and again
with a team, they traversed the great
open spaces of the desert from one
water hole to another, cooking their
meals over a fire OF sasebrush ana
lying down under the stars TO sleep.
After about two years OF this life.
word came that ore had been found
in deep mining and Tonopah was
taking a new lease on life. In lsl
Richards returned to Tonopah and
Iopened an office. Some OF. his old hold
lings became productive again. with
the aid of his wife, he cleared off
every cent of his Manhattan indebt-
edness and began to accumulate a
modest fund against old age.
One day proSpector walked into
his Office in Tonopah and sought &c
interest him IN a mine. AS usual. his
good nature triumphed and he drew
up articles of incorporation, paid the
fees out of his own pocket. and ad-
yanced several hundred dollars &c
assist in working the mine. 1t turned
out to be the Belcher Divide mine
one of the richest finds in Nevada.
Once again fate had laid in the
lap of Charles l.. Richards an In,
idependent fortune. This time he had
the wise counsel and advice of his
wife and the keen remembrances OF
his previous ventures. There was &c
: be no more speculation. He has beer
investing his fortune in Nevada, bu1
in those sound constructive enter
prises that will contribute to the
richards takes a real joy in feeling
that he is thus able to repay the
state which gave him birth and from
whose hills his fortune came.
Substitute advertising for ambas
sadors was the proposal made b!
Senator Walter E. Edge of New Jer
sey last week, in addressing the ad
lantic City. He said: "Undoubtedl.
we would have a better understand
ing abroad if. in some cases. we sub
stituted advertising for ambassadors.
Senator Edge spoke more author1:
tatively than most people suppose q
because for the biggest part Of hi:
life Senator Edge has been at the
head of an advertising business which
he himself originated, and which ht
expanded until branch offices were
established in New York, London
Paris, Brussels. and elsewhere.
X X x X
One of the attractive features
in the parade of the Mobiles of the
Mystic Shrine was the historic In
dian outfit worn by Noble Haight
of Yelduz Temple. Aberdeen, S. D
Representative Royal Johnson, who
is a longtime personal friend o1
w. II. Wilson, the illustrious poten-
tate of this temple, and who per
sonally escorted the mobiles from
Aberdeen, says that this Indian re-
gala was secured, after much diff
Guilty, on the reservation west of the
Missouri river, near Mcintosh, S. D
According to Representative John
son, this outfit belongs to and is
greatly priced by Big Chief Wanim.
balusa CFour Winds'), who is the
son-in-law of the famous warrior