Newspaper Clippings, 1883 - From Diary 56

DAILY MORNING DEMOCRAT.

Saturday..........April 28, 1883

LAID TO REST.

Just as the DEMOCRAT was going to press on Thursday night word was brought to the office that Dr. M. B. Scott had crossed the point which separates Time from Eternity, and was no more in the land of the living. Yesterday at 2 o'clock a large number of the Masonic Fraternity assembled at the residence of the deceased and followed his mortal remains to the cemetery where they were rest until the Judgment Day.

It is an old saying and a good one, "de mortuus nil ni si bonum," and we do not propose to say aught of the deceased save what there was of good in him. The writer of this article was not in Austin, and therefore did not know Dr. Scott when he was in the zenith of his glory; but report saith that the deceased was a man of intelligence, education and highly talented. One of the best orations that Austin ever heard came from his lips, and many of our people will remember him as a man who could have attained the highest honors in our community. The writer only knew him when he was his own greatest enemy, but even then we are prepared to testify that he had a good heart and was a gentleman. Many of those who have turned their noses up at the deceased, could not have held a candle to him in classical education, even in his worst days. We have naught but kindly feelings for his memory, and since he has answered the summons which has called him to that bar where a merciful Creator will blot out the foolishness which caused him to succumb to his own enemy, we say

Requiescat in pace.

TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE

Sunday..........May 13, 1883 THE FAIR DIVORCE SUIT.

A Very Quiet Piece of Business—All Cut and Dried Beforehand.

The divorce suit between Senator James G. Fair and wife came up yesterday in the District Court. It was tried in chambers, and made a private business. There was really nothing in it, had the public had the whole of it from first to last.

R. S. Mesick appeared for the plaintiff, and M. N. Stone, of this city, and Samuel M. Wilson, of San Francisco, for the defendant.

Mr. Stone submitted a general demurrer to the complaint, on the ground that it did not state the facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action.

The demurrer was submitted without argument, and was at once overruled by the Court.

Mr. Stone then said the defense would file no answer to the complaint.

Mr. Mesick asked that the Court appoint a time to hear proofs; also that the examination be conducted privately.

The Court appointed 12 o'clock M. for the purpose specified.

THE DIVORCE GRANTED.

At 12 o'clock the Court met, but reporters were excluded. In a little less than an hour the attorneys came out, and it was soon known that a decree of divorce had been granted as prayed for, and that plaintiff had been allowed $4,250,000 in money and the United States bonds, and the family residence in San Francisco; also, the custody of three minor children—Virginia, Theresa Alice and Charles.

The custody of the eldest boy, James G. Fair, Jr., was awarded to the defendant. How anyone is to separate the family, now that the divorce has been granted, is the question. Little Charley was around with his father yesterday as happy as a little kitten. Really, the family should be going along as pleasantly to-day as at any time within the past twenty years, but interested outsiders have chipped in and the result is now seen.

Dives in the Divorce Court.

The Salt Lake Tribune, which takes a sentimental turn whenever a moral has to be pointed or a tale adorned, finds in the Fair divorce case opportunity to say something upon what it calls the "poverty of riches." Under this heading the following appeared in its issue of the 10th instant:

The pending divorce case between Mrs. Senator Fair and husband ought to make poor people more content with their lot. Senator Fair's fortune is estimated all the way from $15,000,000 up; probably $20,000,000 would be a fair approximation. When the couple were married twenty one years ago, both were poor; both expected to pass lives of toil and we believe that the dream of both was that after a while by hard work they might be able to purchase a modest farm somewhere in the Golden State, which would be a home to them so long as they lived. But Mr. Fair was both a miner and a thorough mechanic; he was, moreover, shrewd beyond the majority of his fellow-men, and when the Comstock was discovered he went there prepared to reap the advantages which it was to present. He had no money, but he had a brain and physical frame which together were probably better equipped for the task of wresting a fortune from the stubborn rocks than any other man had who went there. He worked for thirteen years, and in that time probably accumulated $600,000. Possibly he had more, but even this amount shows that the man possessed the faculty of acquiring wealth in an extraordinary degree. Moreover, he had acquired a local reputation of being one of the shrewdest of all the Comstock manipulators. By nature he possessed a physical stamina which knew no such thing as fatigue. He could work all day and all night; he was not content to exercise a general management, but every detail of the work was in his mind. At last, when the firm of Flood, O'Brien, Mackay and Fair was established, and a drift was started north from the 1300 level of the Gould and Curry to explore the north country, could it have opened up a $3,000,000 bonanza, the firm would have been amply content. The drift was driven through the north end of the Gould and Curry, entirely through the Best and Belcher and into Consolidated Virginia ground. There it penetrated the great bonanza some few feet below its crest. The more it was explored the more tremendous it grew. From it $116,000,000 were taken, and the man who, in youth, has dreamed of making money enough to buy a farm, found that he had enough to buy a German Republic. Then, like Solomon, he built houses; he had men singers and women singers; he sought office and obtained it; and, most pitiful, the peace of his home passed away; wealth and pleasure became stale; an old wound which he had received on the head years before commenced to plague him; travel, the world around, had brought him no pleasure; never putting much faith in his fellow men, he became with failing health more and more suspicious; and now the wife who never faltered amid the hard struggles of the long ago, draws away from him in despair. It would have been better for both had their fortune been limited to the little farm which they dreamed of possessing when the prattle of their first baby kindled the love-light in their eyes. It was a wise man who prayed that he might be spared from both poverty and great riches. When a man gets sufficient money to relieve him from the petty cares of life, and sufficient to secure his independence from want and unusual hardships, he is just as rich as he ever can be, though his gold may be piled mountain high; and after independence is secured, every added dollar is but an added care.

If we catch the drift of the foregoing homily, it is that Senator Fair's fortune is accountable for his domestic misfortune. Very likely our esteem contemporary is correct, but the difficulty would be to prove that its conclusions are well founded. There are a great many couples not endowed with earthly riches who have invoked the power of the law to uncouple them. And the records of the California divorce courts will probably show that many husbands and wives who have been put asunder had already realized their dream of "a modest farm somewhere in the Golden State." Who can tell how many of these would never have seen a divorce court had they succeeded in amassing great material wealth? While riches have a tendency to corrupt and debase the natures of men and women, they are not in themselves the source of domestic estrangement. A want of worldly riches is at the bottom of much of the misery that produces incompatibility of temperament between husband and wife. There are more divorces obtained by those who are poor, as the world goes, than by those who are rich—by those who ought to be, but are not contented with their lot. The extremely rich class and the extremely poor class are seldom found seeking to have their marital bonds set aside by the process of law.

But, as we have already intimated, the Tribune is very likely correct in its assumption. Enormous wealth acquired after a struggle with poverty certainly brings with it cares which must sit like monsters at the threshold of him who has scaled the topmost hights of Mammon. Perhaps none so intensely realize this bitter truth than those who have succeeded in amassing a magnificent fortune only to discover that it conjures up a vast brood of cares, and drives out from their hearts the good angels of their poorer yet better days.

TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE

Tuesday..........November 20, 1883

CAPTURED AT LAST.—United States Marshal Corbett has at last captured George E. Spencer, in search of whom he has had two or three still hunts out about Cherry Creek and other points in the eastern part of the State. Spencer is a defaulting witness in the Star-route case, and is wanted at Washington for contempt of Court. He has been a hard one to get hold of, being about as lively a flea as "Black Bart." Deputy Marshal Ricketts yesterday morning received the following dispatch from the Marshal, which tells the story: CARSON, November 19—A. H. Ricketts, Deputy United States Marshal, Virginia City—.I have Hon. George E. Spencer in custody. He was arrested at Austin this morning by Deputies Wardle and Nuckols to start at once for Washington with Spencer.

THE DAILY REVEILLE

AUSTIN, NEVADA

WEDNESDAY..........NOV. 21, 1883

SPENCER ARRESTED.

Hon. George E. Spencer, ex-Senator from Alabama, was in Nevada when the second Star Route trial was called in Washington last year, and the Government wanted him as a witness, but he managed to get over into Canada, and did not return to the United States until after the conclusion of the celebrated case. He returned to Nevada and United States Marshal Corbett immediately notified the Department of Justice. About ten days ago Attorney General Brewster telegraphed Corbett to arrest Spencer and bring him to Washington. The Marshal notified Al. Knuckles, his deputy at Cherry Creek, to "spot" Spencer and report. Upon ascertaining where Spencer was, Mr. Corbett sent out Louis Wardle to meet Knuckle, and the two repaired to Austin and arrested Spencer yesterday morning. Mr. Corbett will escort the gentleman to Washington, where Spencer is wanted for "contempt of court," and where Brewster will endeavor to give him the full limit of the law.—Reno Journal.

At the request of Senator Spencer made yesterday morning before he started for Washington, we said nothing about the business which called him to Washington. The above item, however, we think, will justify as in telling his side of the story, and we believe that if he were here he would ask us to do so. Mr. Spencer was largely instrumental in bringing about the Star Route trials. His twelve years in the Senate enabled him to learn a good many facts which were placed at the disposal of Postmaster General James. Of course Mr. Spencer was subpoenaed as a witness and appeared in Washington at the time. But with the usual custom Attorney General Brewster kept dilly-dallying along, and three or four weeks passed and no Star Route case was called. Getting tired of this slow work, Mr. Spencer left Washington to attend to private business which demanded immediate attention. He has been in this State for a long time. He has mining interests in White Pine and Nye counties and has been attending to them without any effort at concealment. The REVEILLE has often mentioned his presence here and at no time has it been necessary to "spot" him. He cheerfully left for Washington yesterday morning and fully expects to return in a month. Senator Spencer is not a criminal like Dorsey, Brady, et als., and has nothing to fear from a bluff of Attorney General Brewster.

THE DAILY REVEILLE

AUSTIN, NEVADA:

SATURDAY..........DEC. 29, 1883

DEATH OF D. B. STARRATT.

About half-past 4 o'clock this morning D. B. Starratt breathed his last, of cerebral apoplexy, after a sickness of two days, aged 47 years and 9 months, a native of New Brunswick. Prior to being stricken down on Wednesday night last, his health had been reasonably good, which makes the shock so much more severe to his family and friends.

He came to this coast while quite young. He was a pioneer of Austin, having come here in1863, and remained here continuously ever since. He has been engaged in the hardware business most of the time. Some years ago he was elected and served a term as Mayor of the city. At the time of his death, he was a member of Austin Chapter No. 3, R. A. M., Lander Lodge No. 8, F. & A. M., Toiyabe Lodge No. 9, K. of P., Electa Chapter No. 2, O. of E. S., and Eagle Hose Co. No. 3.

In his business dealings, Mr. Starratt was prompt, reliable and conscientious. In his relations with the public, in whatever position he was placed, he was unswerving in his adherence to duty, and bore the enviable distinction of an upright, honorable man. The universal remark of his fellow citizens at the announcement of his death was: "A good man has gone," an epitaph than which none could wish for a better.

In his social relations, Mr. Starratt was retiring, genial and kind-hearted; liberal without being ostentatious, and generous to a fault. By cheerful words and acts of kindness he won many intimate friends who feel the separation most keenly. In his domestic relations he was ever recognized as a kind husband and an affectionate and indulgent father. He leaves a widow and two sons, aged respectively, 10 and 14 years, who have in their bereavement the heartfelt sympathies of a large circle of friends. Attentive to his duties through a useful life, faithful in every position of trust, courteous and just to all, genial and true to his friends, kind and affectionate to his family, D. B. Starratt has well paid the debt of nature and is at rest.

The funeral will take place from his late residence at 2 o'clock to-morrow (Sunday) afternoon.