The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1935-03-15

for the man who had been liking of New Hell
vetia-" Little by little, his property slipped
away from him. Court decisions in his favor
were followed by others against him. Soon
only one small farm remained and there came
the climax of his misfortunes. One night his
house was set on fire. He and his family bare
" escaped with their lives. All of his deeds
and other papers went up in flames.
In October, 1885, he started for Washington.
confident that the American government would
see that justice was done him. 1t was the be-
ginning of series of such trips year after
year. the beginning of 14-year fight for jus
tice. He moved his family to the little town
Of Lititz, Pa, where he made his home while
pursuing his never-ending quest for justice
He had the aid of powerful friends. one of
them William Tecumseh Sherman. now a IA
nous general But congress repeatedly turned
a deaf ear to his appeals. In June, 1880, he
made another of his interminable trips to Wash
ington.
washington was hot that June; and getting
hotter. Perspiring members of both houses
were eager for adjournment John Suffers
claim found itself, as customary, on the tag
end of the sessions business. Gen.
William Tecumseh Sherman sat In the gallery,
hopping his face with handkerchief waiting
to carry the good news to the Swiss.
TN his hotel room. Suffer lay on his bed and
slept. He was very weary; happy, too. that
this was the last journey he would have to
make TO Washington 1t was all settled. The
pittance was to be finally allowed
Five O'Clock came: knock at the door
awakened the general The door
opened. Sherman came In. There was
bleakness on him and his lips were straight.
"Sutter stood up, expeetant- The claimT he
said the blue eyes certain
"Tts id shame. generalP burst out Sher-
s5~t&
even go TO a vote
"a strangeness came into the blue eyes. They
seemed to grow cold and old; blue ice they
seemed to be. ice from a far-of Swiss glacier
that suddenly ceased to know the sunlight.
Next year. he said clearly. next year they
viii surely
He fell suddenly. like stricken thing, back
upon the bed. Sherman ran forward with
cry shifted him slightly, held up the white head
tenderly.
John Suffer had passed beyond caring for
any earthly claim. or for the task Of sitting the
ashes of empire :. :"
And so the Swiss adventurer died, but the
story of Suffers goId' which ruined him has
kept his memory alive through all these years.
As for the way in which his career changed
the destiny of a nation, historian has
summed up the results of the discovery and
the enormous production of gold in California
during the next half century as follows: 1t
raised the price of goods and labor; 1t opened
new markets and extended commerce; 1t filed
wilderness with settlers stimulated the de-
velopment of the Pacific coast, established new
lines of steamships. and in time made trans
continental railroad a necessity; it extended
the domain Of free labor on the Pacific coast
and effeetually shut out slavery in all that part
CT the West; and it was one of the causes which
induced the majority of the nations of Europe
to stop the coinage of silver and to adopt gold
as their sole standard money" And that is
why there is a connection between the birth
Of Johann Augustus Suter In little German
village away back in 1903 and the worldwide
interest in the gold decision" OF the United
States Supreme court in Washington the other
day.
2 BIZ western Nevspaper Union.