| OCR Text |
Show LEVI P. MORTON IS CALLED Former Vice-President Dies Suddenly On Ninety-sixth Birthday. Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Levi P. Morton, Mor-ton, vice president of the United States under President Benjamin Harrison, former governor of the state of New York and one of the most noted financiers finan-ciers of his generation, died suddenly Sunday evening, May 1G. It was his ninety-sixth birthday, and all day long the venerable statesman had been receiving and reading telegrams tele-grams of congratulation. Levi 1'. Morton was born in Shore-ham, Shore-ham, Vt May 16, 1824, the son of an Episcopal clergyman. Young Morton worked in a country store, went to night school and then kept a general store in Hanover, N. II., where he built up a prosperous business. In 1S54 he came to New York and founded the dry goods house of Morton Mor-ton & Grinnell, which suspended after the panic in 1S57, settling for fifty centj on the dollar. Mr. Morton soon after this founded the banking house of Morton, Bliss & Company. One evening in 1SG3 he invited in-vited all the creditors of Morton & Grinnell to dinner. Beside his plate, each guest found a check for the nmount due him morally, though not legally, from the suspended firm. The ivxt thirteen years Mr. Morton devoted de-voted to business. In 1SG8 he was a member of the syndicate that helped the government resume specie payments. pay-ments. In 1S78 he was elected to congress con-gress by a great majority. President Garfield sent him as minister min-ister to France in 1SSI he had previously pre-viously declined the nomination for the vice presidency anil he served four years, becoming very popular in Paris through his lavish entertainments. entertain-ments. In lSS'i and in 1SST he was defeated for the United Slates senate but in 1SSS he was elected vice president on the Harrison ticket. He did not get n reuominatiou in IS'.VJ, but in lS'.U was elected governor of New York by ubout l.'io.OOO plurality. |
