JOHN MELLEN THURSTON

John Mellen Thurston, of Omaha, was born at Montpelier, Vermont, August 21, 1847. His ancestors were Puritans; their settlement in this country dates back to 1636. His grandfather Mellen and great-grandfather Thurston were both soldiers in the Revolutionary war. Mr. Thurston's father was a tanner and a farmer. His parents removed to Wisconsin when he was a boy, and after his father had died in the war, young Thurston sawed wood, built fences and worked in the harvest field, contributing his earnings to the support of his mother. In 1868 he went to Chicago, bought an express wagon and horse, and for about a year drove over Chicago delivering goods for various wholesale houses. After one year of that work he returned home to Beaver Dam and began to trap and catch fish under the ice. During this time he attended the public school at Beaver Dam and the next year entered Wayland University at the same place.

In May, 1869, he was admitted to the bar and in the fall he went to Omaha and opened up an office. He was elected justice of the peace in 1871, city attorney of Omaha in 1874 and a member of the Nebraska Legislature in 1875. In 1877 he was made assistant general attorney for the Union Pacific Railway company and in 1888 became general solicitor at a salary of $12,000 a year.

In politics Mr. Thurston has always been an ardent Republican. In 1884 he was a delegate to the National Republican Convention at Chicago, and seconded the nomination of John A. Logan for Vice-President. In 1888 he became temporary chairman of the Republican National Convention at Chicago and his speech on that occasion was regarded as so eloquent that it gave him a national reputation. He was president of the Republican League of the United States from 1889 to 1891. He was selected as permanent chairman of the Republican National Convention held in St. Louis in June, 1896, which nominated Major William MeKinley for President.

January 15, 1895, he was elected to the United States Senate. His eloquent speech in the Senate on the Cuban question, after a journey of investigation in that unhappy island, was one of the most potent factors in influencing American intervention to obtain freedom for the Cubans. His term of service will expire March 3, 1901.

Charles E. Littlefield was born in Lebanon, York county, Maine, in 1851. His father was the Rev. W. H. Littlefield, a minister of the Baptist Church, a gentleman of broad culture as well as a marked bent for mechanics. The son, after a high school education, was put to work at the carpenter's bench. From carpentry he graduated into the pattern shop of a granite company, and among other things helped to prepare and box the stone for the State, War and Navy Department building in Washington. From his wages he saved enough to enter a law office in Rockland and study for the bar, and his work was so thorough that he passed the best examination of any applicant for admission in the history of Knox county.

Settling in Rockland, his present home, Mr. Littlefield opened a law office, and it was not long before his worth became generally known and practice came to him rapidly. His eloquence and the force of his logic made him a striking figure in the courtroom. His professional ability naturally drew him into the political field. He became a member of the city council, then a member of the Republican county committee, and next of the Republican State committee. He was elected county attorney in spite of a normal Democratic majority, and in 1885 was elected to the Legislature, then re-elected and chosen speaker during his second term. Two years later he was chosen Attorney General by the people and, with the exception of Thomas B. Reed, he was the youngest man who ever held that office in Maine.

Mr. Littlefield's first public service was in the Maine Legislature, where he interested himself successfully in several measures for improv ing the condition of the working people, regulating the hours of labor, and extending the protection of the law over children employed in factories.

Mr. Littlefield is regarded by all not only as a worthy successor to the late Nelson Dingley, but as a man who will uphold the reputation of the State of Blaine and Reed in the House of Representatives. His speech in the case of Roberts of Utah and his outspoken opposition to the Porto Rico tariff bill have placed him conspicuously in the public eye and have called forth the opinions of the critics in the House as to his capacity and his promise. That he has become an influence which must be reckoned with nobody seems inclined to gainsay.