The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-11-16
Chicago chronlcle.A

Richard Yates viii celebrate his for
tieth birthday on the 18th of December
And still the older residents of jackson
Vile think of him as Dick Yates the
boy. He was born in Jacksonville and
he has always lived there, and there
amt a creature in the whole of Morgan
county whom ne does not know He
was the son of Richard L. Yates, the
old war governor of Illinois, and was
the companion of his father throughout
the latter part of his active career. The
ola 1at-S mansion in East State street
was in former years one of the sights of
Jacksonville, and a visitor never left
the town without having gone round
10 see the place where old Governor
Yates lived This house was the center
of the social as well as political inter-
ests Of Morgan county and played no
small part in the political history of
the southern part of the state. 1t stood
in the center of an immense yard sur
rounded by elms, and although it stands
there still. il has been altered to con-
form to the needs of the Catholic sis
ters' hospital, TO which it has been an
nexed. But to go back 70 the Dick
Yates of today, he was educated in the
grammar schools of Jacksonville to en-
ter Whipple academy in 1873 and to
pass from there into the Illinois col
lege, also at Jacksonville, in 1876. Dur
ing the later years of his school life he
showed a marked tendency to become
interested in public affairs with the
OratOricaI ability to add weight to his
carefully studied opinions. When he
graduated from the classical course of
the college he was chosen class orator
and made one of the most brilliant
speeches ever given by a student He
had been a contestant in innumerable
debates and on more occasions than
one had met William J. Bryan, an UNI
derCIassman. 1t is a singular coinci-
dence that these two men, who have
figured in the just completed campaign,
were schOOlmates together and as such
We're popular leaders of opposing fac
tions in the student body.
9, q q
Through school for the time. Dick
Yates became. not a politician, but
newspaper reporter, getting his first
working training from the varied de-
mands of a newspaper office. And he
was a good worker and interested in
everything which was going on, and he
made a first-cIass reporter and later a
capable city editor. AS reporter on the
Jacksonville Courier he earned SO a
week. and by saving as many of his
80 bills as he possibly could ne was
able to enter the law department OF
Ann ArbOr university during the year
following his graduation from the
Jacksonville college However, he had
not enough money to carry him through
the school year and the next year
found him back in Jacksonville and
again in the newspaper business he
had a good reputation as news gath
erer in Jacksonville, and the position of
city editor was offered him. He went
to work at noon. gave out his assign
ments. leaving the most difficult one
for himself He was out covering this
assignment all afternoon, but was
ready again a 8 O'Clock for the evening
work and often would not get into the
office until midnight to write his copy,
read and edit what the reporters had
gotten together and then read proof
until the paper was ready to go to
press.
He had found time meanwhile to help
with the makeup and keep the me-
chanicaI department in working order.
After this fashion he managed to put IN
a good sixteen-hour day at work and
to get considerable fun out of life at
the same time. Buck" Hinrichsen,
Democrat secretary of state, represen-
tative in congress, was then city editor
of a rival paper and the two men
would go to any end to scoop each
other. Two years later, when Yates
went back to finish his course at Ann
ArbOr Hinrichsen wrote the following
personal. Dick Yates was a news
getter as we'll as a brilliant writer, and
he always had the instincts of a gen
tleman'' Yates was proud of his com
Dliment then and he is proud of II still,
and he often reads the scrap of paper,
which he has carefully saved.
During his newspaper career Yates
made his first political speech, taking
the stump at the request OF the man
ager and owner of the journal. When !
he graduated from the Ann Arbor law
school he was better read in matters
concerning politics than any member
of the school, and was consequently
chosen chairman Of mock national
convention which the students of the
university held,
As a lawyer, admitted to practice IN
both Michigan and Illinois, he went /
hack to Jacksonville and opened a law
office and a political career. 1t was in
1890 that he was admitted to practice
in the United States circuit court and
six years later asked permission to
practice in the United States supreme
court Chief Justice Melville w. Fuller
granted him special courtesies as one
of the promising young members of the
southern Illinois bar Justice Fuller
was q member twenty-three years be
fore of the legislature which Governor
Yates prOrOgUed.
A year after he left college Richard
Yates was known as a local politician
of considerable popularity and, al
LnOu2u lAlAOliS5 MS telA Gel cAo a ItAS
lie Office seeker and holder. people have
said of him. He stands on the popu-
larity of his father" it is a notable fact
that ne has seldom alluded in any way
to his father while addressing the pub
lie. Rather than presume to call his
fathers old friends to his aid, Mr. Yates
has been modestly backward in. using
the help they have offered him. He
began his political career auspiciously
as candidate for city attorney in 1885.
His election was a surprise to the city.
as the east side ward, which was over
whelmingly Democratic, not only gave