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SENATOR JOHN SHERMAN, SECRE
TARY OF STATE.
Senator John Sherman, McKinley’s
secretary of state, has been prominent in
public affairs since 1844, when ho made
himself heard in advocacy of the presi
dency. Ho was bom in Lancaster, 0.,
in 1823. He lived humbly in those early
days. What education he got was such
as could be had in the country schools
of that time. It was not of an extensive
sort. When he was 14 years old, he se
cured employment in a surveying party
as rodman. Afterward ho got a clerkship
in one of the county offices. At tho ago
of 17 ho went to Mansfield, 0., and be
gan to read law in tho office of his
brother. It took him four years to per
fect himself in Blackstone and Kent and
other worthies of the reading schedule
of that date and pass the examination
that secured him admission to the bar.
This eventful period was reached on
Sherman’s twenty-first birthday, and the
celebration of that occasion made tho
anniversary more than usually pleasant
and memorable.
His career as a lawyer and statesman
is familiar to tho merest schoolboy of
the laud. Beginning with his election
to tho national house of representatives
in 1854, his record has been one of suc
cessive honors and promotions. After
having served as representative ho was
mado senator, and such was tho esteem
in which ho was held by his constitu
ents that hist re-elections to tho office
were as regular us the expirations of his
terms. Indeed, since 1854 there lias been
only one day .vhereon John Sherman
was out of offieo. That was March 3,
1881, tho day after he had tendered his
resignation os secretary of tho treasury
under tho Hayes administration and the
day before he took tho oath of office as a
re-elected senator.
Not only has Mr. Sherman been thus
continuously honored in connection with
tho legislative branch of the govern
ment, hut he has been pushed by his
friends very hard for tho presidency
time and time again. There is no doubt
that Sherman has nourished a warm
and strong ambition for this high placo,
and at one time it seemed almost a cer
tainty that ho would bo tho candidate
of his party for tho coveted post. This
Was in 1880, when James A. Garfield,
Sherman’s advocate in tho convention,
builded so much hotter than ho know
that ho himself secured what ho sought
for his chief.
Four years later, too, there was a
strong Sherman sentiment working in
tho national convention, and again it
seemed possible that the Ohio solou
would bo put in the first place on tho
ticket, but Harrison was selected. It is
generally believed that this was the bit
terest disappointment Sherman ever ex
perienced.
Senator Sherman is now nearly 74
years of age. Ho is white haired, and
his tall, slender form bends somewhat
under tho weight of these many years,
but there is grim tenacity in his make
up, and his vitality is many times
stronger than it appears to be. Mentally
ho is as keen as a seimiter, though his
words are far less acrid now than they
were in his younger days. His accept
ance of a cabinet position is generally
regarded as his political capitulation—a
compromise with his higher aspirations.
LYMAN J. GAGE, SECRETARY OF THE
TREASURY.
Lyman J. Gage, tho man who is to
succeed John G. Carlisle as secretary of
the treasury, is a well known and pio
turesque character iu the middle west.
Ho is a man of energy as well as ideas,
tuid, though he has lived 60 years, ho
can hardly be called old.
Mr. Gago was born at Deruytor, N.
Y., June 28, 1836. His parents were
also New Yorkers, and their ancestors
were among the first settlers of Now
England. The father of Lyman Gago
was a farmer and afterward a merchant
in a small way.
In 1846 the elder Gago moved with
his family to Rome, N. Y., and there
Lyman attended school until he was 15
years old. At that time the Gage family
was so largo that Lyman thought it
would bo best for liim to begin to rnnko
his own way, so ho secured a clerkship
iu a country postoffleo. Within a year
ho was promoted to the position of mail
agent on the Romo and Watertown rail
road. In 1856 ho withdrew from the
railroad and took a position iu the
Oneida Central bank at Rome. Hero he
acted as junior clerk, office boy and gen
eral factotum at a salary of $ 100 a year.
After serving liis employers in this ca
pacity for a year or more young Gage
asked for an advance of salary. This
being refused, ho threw up his position,
and, acting on an idea which he had
long entertained, started west.
Chicago was the objective point which
young Gage had in his mind. Thither
he mado his way, arriving Oct. 3, 1855.
His efforts to get employment in a
bank wore fruitless, and so he applied at
Nathan Cole’s lumber yard and obtained
work there. It was hard labor. He load
ed wagons, steered his logs against c.ir
cular saws and now and then took his
turn at driving a team of balky mules.
The pay was small, and the hours were
loug. After awhile lie was promoted to
the position of night watchman aud put
iu tho long hours between sunset tuid
sunrise patrolling the yard to prevent
fires and thefts. A year later ho became
of the concern.
His first step iu tho remarkable ascent
he mado to fame aud prosperity was
taken Aug. 3, 1858. He had been quiet
ly looking out for employment in which
liis special talents could have a chance
to develop. On the day named he walk
ed into the Merchants’ Savings, Loan
and Trust Company bank and asked the
cashier for a position. To liis joy and
astouisbmenV-Ms- application-wtHsToek**
ed upon with favor. They wore needing
the services of a bookkeeper and would
give Gago a trial at #SOO a year,
i It was au humble beginning, but it
was all Gage wanted. His promotions
bogau within six months. At the eud of
that period he was made paying teller.
In this position ho displayed many of
the talents which have made him fa
mous. Not loug afterward he became as-
PR6SIP6HT -
! CABIH6T.
sistant cashier. He remained with the
Merchants’ Savings, Loan and Trust
company until the position of assistant
cashier of tho First National bank was
offered him. He lms been with the latter
institution over since. In time he be
came vice president and afterward presi
dent of this great banking institution.
It was tho public record of Mr. Gage
in his successful efforts to allay the dis
content and rioting of 1887 that gave
him his greatest prestige. He was a
wonderful liarmonizer. In those days of
pauics and disaster he called meetings
of laborers and capitalists, some of
which were held in his own parlors,
and got them to confer together and set
tle upon modes of procedure that would
ease the friction between the classes.
It was to Mr. Gage also that the suc
cess of the World’s fair was largely at
tributable. Ho was its first president
and its strongest backer. He it was also
who began the fight for its location, and
it would certainly have gone somewhere
else hut for his untiring efforts.
Mr. Gage has been twice married—
first in 1864, to Miss Surah Etheridge
of Little Falls, N. Y. She died in 1874,
leaving a son, Eli Gage, now a young
man of 30. The present wife of Mr.
Gage was Miss Cornelia Washburn of
Albany.
In person Mr. Gago is largo and fine
looking. He stands nearly 0 feet in
height and weighs 200 pounds. His
manner is suave, magnetic and alto
gether agreeable. Ho and his wife are
great favorites in a quiet, social way
and entertain their friends handsomely.
The principal recreations of the great
financier are whist and the theater. Ho
is a member of a number of the best
clubs of the city and of various associa
tions devoted to business and finance.
GENERAL RUSSELL A. ALGER, SECRE
TARY OF WAR.
Mr. McKinley’s secretary of war, cx-
Govornor Russell A. Alger of Michigan,
has been a public character for many
years. Although a native of the great
northwest, he is of New England an
cestry. His parents settled in Lafayette
township, Medina county, 0., in 1835,
where, on Feb. 27 in the following yoar,
tho future governor was born. Hard
ships came to him early. At the ago of
13 ho was left alone in the world with
out a dollar and burdened with the care
of a younger sister and brother. Young
Alger was strong and courageous, how
ever, and showed his mettle at ouce. He
found places for his brother and sister
and went to work for his board and
clothes and three months’ schooling per
yoar. Afterward he exchanged his serv
ices as a farmhand for a small monthly
wage. But he stuck hard to his studies,
and by the time ho was 20 years of ago
he was able to take charge of a district
school. While engaged as a teacher ho
applied himself diligently to the study
of law, aud in 1857 entered a law office
at Akron. A year later, having been ad
mitted to the biir, he went to Cleveland
to practice his profession.
The strain of hard work and overstudy
began to tell on his constitution, and
he determined to adopt some other busi
ness iu which he could take better care
of his health. In order to accomplish
what lie desired he removed to Grand
Rapids, Mich., where he and a friend,
whom ho had taken as a partner, em
barked in the lumber business.
For a few months tho business seemed
to prosper, and young Algor, feeling
himself warranted in such a step, took
to himself a wife—Miss Annette H.
Henry. Misfortune came to him soon
after A Chicago house upon whose
welfare tho fate of tho young lumber
merchants depended went to pieces, and
with it went the entire business which
Alger and his partner had built up.
In August, 1861, the breaking out of
the civil war opened another opportunity
for Alger. He enlisted iu the Second
Michigan cavalry and was soon after
made captain of company C. At this
time Philip IT. Sheridan was a captain
in tho same regiment, and on the promo
tion of its colonel, Gordon Granger,
Alger was sent by tlie latter to Pitts
burg Landing to induce Governor Blair
to appoint Sheridan to the vacant colo
nelcy. This Alger succeeded in doing,
aud here began tho rapid advance of
Sheridan in the army.
In October, 1862, Alger became lieu
tenant colonel of the Sixth Michigan
cavalry and colonel of the Fifth in Feb
ruary, 1805. His promotion to the office
of brevet major general “for gallant
aud meritorious service during the war”
came at the close of the war, June 11,
1865.
When he had finished fighting, Gou
eral Alger laid down his sword and re
turned to the lumber business. His great
success is a matter well known. It was
he who made extensive use of the
railroad in getting logs and lumber out
of the forests and into the markets. He
has interested himself in various other
(uterpftsos, all of which have thrived.
One of his highest political aspira
tions was realized when, iu 1884, he
was eloided governor joLMichig;ui_.-The
~vofo winch made him chief executive in
the state was the highest the Republican
party ever cast iu Michigan. His ad
ministration was characterized by strict
integrity, and his business methods
were Vastly useful in the conduct of
state affairs. Although he was pressed
to become a candidate for re-election,
he persistently refused to allow his
name to be put forward.
Though threescore years of age, Gen
THE TIMES: BRUNSWICK. GA., MARCH 5, 1896.
eral Alger is as vigorous of body as he is
of mind, and in every way he is equal
to the duties to which ho will devote
himself in his new office.
HON. JOHN D. LONG, SECRETARY OF
THE NAVY.
Ex-Governor John D. Long of Massa
chusetts, who takes control of Uncle
Sam’s war fleets and attend to the other
duties devolving upon the secretary of
the navy, is one of the most prominent
of the public men of tho Bay State.
John Davis Long was bom at Buck
field, Me., Oct. 27, 1838. He was pre
pared for college at Hebron, Me., and
entered Harvard at the age of 14. He
made a brilliant record at college and
showed particularly as a poet, a gentle
art which he has practiced as a pastime
occasionally in later years. After his
graduation from Harvard, in 1857, ho
Was engaged as principal of the West
ford academy, where ho taught until
1859. He then began to attend the Har
vard Law school. In 1861 he was ad
mitted to tho bar and opened an office
in his native town.
Ho did not remain long there, how
ever, for he concluded that a young man
had a better chance in Massachusetts.
\ \><Vus §
He therefore returned to Boston, later
removing to the town of Hingham. Here
in 1869 bo became interested iu politics
and went before the peoplo as Republic
an candidate for member of tho legisla
ture from the Second Plymouth district.
His election followed. In 1876 he was
re-elected to tho house and was after
ward chosen speaker. Iu this position he
was very popular, aud his re-electious
in 1877 aud 1878 were by such great j
majorities as to surprise everybody.
In 1878 he was elected lieutenant gov
ernor of Alassachnsetts, aud in 1879 he
was chosen governor by a plurality of
more than 13,000 votes, and iu 1880
was re-elected by a plurality of 52,000
votes. This extraordinarily large vote
Was regarded as au ovation.
After he had, by election and re-elec
tion, served as governor until January,
1883, ho was elected to the Forty-eighth
congress. He was returned to his seat in
the lower house for two more terms—
tlie Forty-ninth and Fiftieth congresses.
After liis decision to retire from public
life he returned to the practice of the
law, wherein his success has beeu phe
nomenal.
During all tlie time of his arduous
pu'biie~l<n)hTs"'Mr~Loiig ‘ continued to
indulge his taste for literature and to
keep pace with the march of science and
art. He is a many sided man. He has
not only published a scholarly transla
tion of Virgil’s “iEueid, ” but has con
tributed to current literature many
choice bits of original verse of truly
classic quality. Ho is also said to be a
connoisseur of art in all its forms of ex
pression.
His personality is impressive. His
features are finely drawn and full of ex
pression, and his sociable nature mani
fests itself in a maimer at once cultured,
simple and-dignified.
While in congress he and Major Mc-
Kinley were warm friends, and the
honor conferred upon the Massachusetts
man by the president elect was a matter
of personal gratification as well as a
recognition of special fitness and general
worth.
JAMES A. GARY, POSTMASTER GEN
ERAL.
James Albert Gary, now widely
known because of bis selection as post
master general under tho new adminis
tration, is a man who has long been
prominent iu Maryland, where he has
resided since his early boyhood. Mr.
Gary was bom in Uncasville, Conn., in
1833, from which place his father re
moved to Maryland a few years later,
taking with him his family. Young
Gary was sent to school at Ellicott City,
Md., and afterward became a student of
Alleghany college, Meadville, Pm Pres
ident Elect McKinley was also attend
ing this college, and it was here that he
and Gary formed the friendship that
has lasted all the years that have inter
vened between that time and the pres
ent. j
During the war Air. Garywas loyal
to tho Union. He has always been a
stanch Republican and prominently
identified with the interests of his party.
The elder Gary was an extensive manu
facturer of cotton duck, the business of
fices and warehouse being located in
Baltimore. In 1861 James A. Gary was
admitted to the firm, and the business
was conducted under the name James
S. Gary & Son. The active influence of
the new member was soon felt, and the
growth and prosperity of the business
were most marked. Iu 1862 a branch
house was opened iu St. Louis, which
gave tho concern a footing in the west
that proved most profitable. In 1870
James A. Gary succeeded his father in
business, and during tlie 26 years that
have elapsed since he assumed control
the business lias continued to prosper.
Among the business men of Baltimore
he has a “gilt edged” standing that is
only to be attained by years of business
probity and proved stability.
For several years Mr. Gary was presi
dent of the Alorchants aud Mauufactur
efs "assoe'iatTiTuT TTe ls iiow vice ]presi
dent of the Consolidated Gas company
aud vice president of the Citizens’ Na
tional bank. He also holds directorships
in the Savings Bank of Baltimore, the
Warehouse company, the American In
surance company, the Merchants and
Manufacturers’ Insurance company and
the Baltimore Trust and Guarant. com
pany.
His greatest prominence has been
achieved in the political field. In 1870
the Republicans nominated him for con
gress iu the Fifth district. As the entire
state of Maryland was at that time
largely Democratic it was a foregone
conclusion that he would be defeated.
Wheu nominated for governor, in 1879,
his very handsome vote was overcome by
the same expected Democratic majority.
Mr. Gary has been a delegate to every
national convention of his party since
1872, and from 1880 to 1896 has repre
sented Maryland on the Republican na
tional committee.
Tho home life of Mr. Gary has been
quiet and happy. In 1856 he was mar
ried to Miss Lavinia W. Corrie, daugh
ter of James Corrie, a highly respected
citizen. Seven daughters and one son
were the fruits of this union. The son,
E. Stanley Gary, is now junior partner
in the old firm.
JUDGE JOSEPH M’KENNA,SECRETARY
OF THE INTERIOR.
Judge Joseph McKenuaof California,
in President McKinley’s cabinet as sec
retary of the interior, is a native of
Philadelphia. He was born Aug. 10,
1843, and removed with his parents to
Benicia* Cal., in 1855. His education,
commenced in the public schools of
Philadelphia, was completed at the
Benicia Collegiate institute, now St.
Augustine college, where he studied law.
He was admitted to the bar in 1865,
and in the same year, at the age of 22,
was elected district attorney of Solano
county, the duties of which office he dis
charged faithfully for four years.
Iu 1875 he was elected to the Cali
fornia legislature. While serving his
constituents in this capacity he made a
reputation for himself as champion of
the public school system, then suffering
seriously from sectarian attacks. Iu the
following year he was nominated for
congress, but was defeated by a small
majority. His friends were determined,
however, that their champion should
have a seat in congress, so they contin
ued to push young McKenna for the
office, and finally, in 1884, he was elect
ed by a handsome majority. In 1888 he
was again nominated and elected, and
in 1890 the same honor was conferred
upon him.
On Feb. 11, 1892, President Harrison
appointed Mr. McKenna to the position
of judge of the United States circuit
court to fill the vacancy caused by the
death of Judge Lorenzo Sawyer.
It was while both were serving on
the ways and means committee that Ma
jor McKinley and Judge McKenna form
ed the friendship which binds them
now, and it was here that each recog
nized the special capabilities of the oth
er. President Elect McKinley has always
held a high opinion of Judge McKenna’s
ability as a jurist, and his appreciation
of Judge McKenna’s knowledge of west
ern affairs and the general interests of
the interior have no doubt Lo—ely influ
enced him in making this s; • ion.
Judge McKenna is describ a as being
a studious man devoted to liis judicial
duties, but affable aud easy in his man
ner. His popularity iu California has
been continuous and ever increasing,
and he is regarded as iu every way
worthy of the honor conferred upon him.
COLONEL JOHN J. M’COOK, ATTORNEY
GENERAL.
Colonel John J. McCook, the man
designated by Mr. McKinley for tho of
fice of attorney general, is one of the
fighting McCooks of Ohio who fought
for the Union throughout the civil war.
There were niue of these McCooks.
Eight of them w r ere brothers, the other
was Major Daniel McCook, father ol
the eight.
Colonel John J. McCook was horn at
Carrollton, 0., May 25, 1845. When
the war broke out, he was a student at
Kenyon college, and at tho beginning oi
his freshman year he enlisted in the
Sixth Ohio cavalry. Soon after passing
his seventeenth birthday he was pro
moted to a first lieutenantcy and was
assigned to duty on the staff of General
Thomas L. Crittenden, commanding a
corps of the Army of tho Ohio which
subsequently became the Twenty-first
corps of the Army of the Cumberland.
He served in the campaigns of Perry
ville, Storm River, Tullahoma, Chatta
nooga and Chickamauga and was with
General Grant in his campaign with the
Army of the Potomac from the battle oi
the Wilderness to the crossing of the
James river. He was commissioned a
captain and aid-de-camp of United
States volunteers in September, 1863,
and was brevetted major of volunteers
for gallant and meritorious service in
action at Shady Grove, Va., where he
was dangerously wounded. In tlie same
campaign he was afterward made lieu
tenant colonel and colonel for the same
reasons. It was once said of him by a
friend who knows him well, “This boy
soldier—not over 20 years of age when
the war closed—showed at every step ol
his military career the splendid dash of
an enthusiast and the iron courage of a
veteran.”
.... the close of the war Colonel Mc-
Cook returned to K t > nybii collegewlrerr'
he received the degrees of bachelor of
arts in 1866 and master of arts three
years later. Not content with a mere
academic education, he turned his at
tention to the law aud entered the Har
vard Law school, from which institution
he graduated with honor iu 1869. Four
years later he received the honorary de
gree of master of arts from Princeton.
Iu 1890 the University of Kansas, which
has honored very few in a like manner,
conferred upon Colonel McCook the de
gree of doctor of laws.
Colonel McCook settled down to the
practice of law hi New York city, and
at once began to take high rank in the
profession. His practice grew large and
lucrative, and upon his opinions many
weighty matters are decided. He mar
ried a daughter of Henry M. Alexander,
the head of the firm of which he has
long been a member. Colonel McCook is
an elder in the Fifth Avenue Presby
terian church aud is active in tbe prac
tical and benevolent work of the church.
He is also a member of the Metropolitan,
City, Union, New York Athletic, Har
vard, Kenyon, Ohio and Tuxedo clubs,
the Bar association and the Military Or
der of the Loyal Legion.
T
EX-CONGRESSMAN JAMES WILSON,
SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE.
Ex-Congressman James Wilson of
lowa, to whom President McKinley ten
dered the agricultural portfolio, is a
man well fitted for the position which
he is to fill. He is not a native of Amer
ica, but from the time ho was 16 years
old his life and work have been devoted
to the interests of his adopted country,
and particularly in the liue of her agri
cultural development.
Mr. Wilson was born in Ayrshire,
Scotland, Aug. 16, 1835, and came, with
his parents, to America in 1851. The
Wilsons lived first in Connecticut, re
moving to lowa when James Wilson
was still in his “teens.” The education
of the lad was of the common school va
riety, but years of reading and other
self education developed his mind liber
ally, and by the time he was 21 years of
age he was able to teach school himself.
This he did for a number of years in the
neighborhood of Buckingham and West
Union, la. At this time young Wilson
was very poor, and it was said that he
often went about barefooted because he
could not afford to wear shoes. How
ever, his frugal habits of life soon en
abled him to lay by a snug fortune, and
he retired from pedagogy aud bought a
farm. His interest in agricultural pur
suits led him to devote nearly all his
time to the management of his fine es
tate. He became prominent in all move
ments for bettering the condition of
farms and farmers, and also in the im
provement in the breed of cattle.
Recognizing his peculiar abilities, his
neighbors elected him to the state legis
lature, where he served three terms. A
few years later—in 1874, in fact—a
larger constituency elected him to the
Forty-fourth congress. He was re-elect
ed for a succeeding term, and after a
lapse of six years was again sent to
Washington, this time as a member of
the Forty-eighth congress.
At the close of his congressional ca
reer he returned to his home in lowa
and again centered his attention upon
his beloved hobby, agriculture. Besides
the management of his magnificent farm
he found leisure to devote much time to
assisting the researches of agricultural
societies and writing largely for agri
cultural publications.
Iu further recognition of his worth
and usefulness in his chosen field of ef
fort. Mr. Wilson was made professor of
agriculture in the University of lowa,
at Ames.
Personally Mr. Wilson is quite popu
lar. He is an easy and fluent talker in
public or private, and is said to make
friends merely by his pleasing aud un
affected manner.
GONE AND FORGOTTEN.
Few Members of the Cabinet Make Names
That Live Long:.
“Can you name the members of Pres
ident Garfield’s cabinet?” asks the
Washington Post. “Do you recall the
distinguished gentlemen that made up
President Hayes’ official family?” And
then it goes on to answer its own ques
tion.
The career of Timothy O. Howe of
Wisconsin is an instance. He was a vet
eran senator for many years from the
Badger State and a most efficient post
master general under President Arthur.
Several of the Wisconsin delegation in
congress were asked the other day about
General Howe’s career and acknowl
edged that it was quite unknown to
them, except in a general way.
William Windom of Minnesota, who
died so tragically at a dinner in New
York, was secretary of the treasury un
der Garfield. Robert T. Lincoln of Chi
cago was secretary of war and the only
member of Garfield’s cabinet that Ar
thur retained. Thomas L. James of
New York, Garfield’s postmaster gen
eral, became president of the Lincoln
National bank and the Lincoln Safe De
posit company of New York.
Wayne MacVeagh was Garfield’s at
torney general. He went upon the
stump for Cleveland and was subse
quently appointed minister to Italy.
Air. Arthur’s secretary of the navy
and secretaiy of the interior, Senators
Chandler and Teller, have by no means
waned since holding cabinet office.
Of the members of Cleveland’s first
cabinet, Bayard is embassador to Eng
land. Manning’s sad death from over
work in the treasury department is often
recalled. Charles S. Fairchild of New
York, who succeeded him, is president
of a trust company. William C. Endi
cctt, who was secretary of war, still
lives at Salem, Alass. William C. Whit
ney, secretary of the navy under Cleve
land, is engaged in caring for his great
fortune.
Vilas, Cleveland’s first postmaster
general, is senator from Wisconsin, and
his successor, when Vilas became secre
tary of the interior, was Don M. Dick
inson of Michigan. A. H. Garland, who
.sm_attprney general, is a prominent
attorney in Washington.
Norman J. Colman of St. Louis, the
first secretary of agriculture, is a promi
nent factor in Missouri affairs.
John W. Foster, who succeeded Blaine
as secretary of state, lives in Washing
ton.
When William Windom died, Charles
Foster of Fostoria, 0., was named as
secretary of the treasury. He is still
active in politics.