Evening star., 1901-04-22
STUDIES LAW WHILE ANGLING.
attorney General Knox Reads In
While Catching Game Fish,

"hhe eatchtng Game Fish.
Prom the New Nofk Herald
fhiIander c. Knox of Pittsburg Pa who
has just taken the office OF Attorney GEN
erai OF the United States, has a national
reputation as lawyer. The largest cor
porae'ons are his clients. His firm has look
ed after all the legal business of the Car
negie Steel Company and it's allied concerns
Tor years. With half a dozen able young
lawyers who attend to the minor business
the iirm of Knox & Reed occupies several
suites OF offices in the Carnegie huid,r,, IL,
P1ttsourg. The only public Office Mr.. Knox
mas heretofore held is that Of assistant dis
trlct attorney in western PENNSYLVANIA
Mr. Knox is a member OF the CastaIla
flshlnS sluo, which owns a reservation
near Sandusky, Ohio. IL during the fishing
season he has a big case on hand ne takes
his law books there and studies his cas-.
Nhlie angling for trout Ills friends say
that when he returns he generally has as
much fish law. one of the niCi,lr,,s g.,
his Office shows him in golf trousers ana
negiige shirt landing a big trout ON his
lace there Is an expression Of the most In
tense interest.
There has not been an important lawsuit
in Pittsburg during the last decade In which
Mr. Knox has not been one side or the
other. W hen there is associate counsel Mr.
Knox is always given the honor of dayisIns
the lines on which the case is to be handled
He first attained prominence sixteen Years
ago as one OF the counsel for the StnCklpld-
ers of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chi
cago railroad, who sued the PENNSYLVANIA
company. to which the road was leased
He lost this case, which was over an issue
OF stock, but he made the company change
its policy.
The famous Penn Bank crash in the latter
eighties is well known to Pittsburgers De-
positors tried to hold the directors liable for
S.'@0.o1 or $3.ooO.ooO. Almost every depos-
itor had lawyer. but Mr.. Knox and one
other fought them to the state supreme
court and won. He was one Of the counsel
in the suit OF the Eanderbilts against what
was known as the voting trust of the Pitts
burg and Lake Erie railroad, which the
NanderbiltS now control.
Mr.. Knox was associated with the late
General B. II. BriStow Of New York several
years ago in litigation between the Carnegie
Steel Company and the Southern Railroad
Company. This suit a lien Mr..
Carnegie obtained for rails sold to the rail-
road company. II went to the United States
Supreme Court where Mr.. Knox secured a
victory.
1t was Mr.. Knox who attempted To- bring
a charge of treason TO the federal govern
ment against the Homestead rioters He
was very active in the prosecution of Hugh
O'Donnell. John McLuckie, Jack Clifford
and others. Finding that he could not ob-
tain conviction of the rioters on the charge
Of numbering guards who were shot. he had
the charges quashed after o'Donnell and
two others had been tried.
Mr.. Knox has one hobby. He keeps a
string of fast trotterS and can be seen any
fine day driving In the parks or In the Pitts
burg bouievards. He has one team for
which he paid $3.50 and with this pair OF
high Steppers he holds the worlds pole
team record for amateurs. None OF his
horses is allowed In a professional race for
money, and not even cigar is bet on. their
performances on Brunot's Island track.
Philander Chase Knox. who is the eighth
United States Attorney General Pennsyl-
vana has had. is little. stockily built man
of forty-eight years, whom few persons
would pick out to be great lawyer. Yet
great he is in the estimation of Pittsbura-
ers, who viii be surprised If he does not
stir up Uncle Sans legal department. lie
has a smooth. boyish face. and. being
rather below the medium height. big men
who do not know him are somewhat dis
posed to treat him fiedgling.
One of those who made this mistake was
the late President enjamin Harrison. who
was leading counsel for the Indianapolis
street railway syndicate. composed or H.
Sellers Mckee of Pittsburg and other trac-
tion magnates The city OF Indianapolis.
through its council, wanted to annul the
charter of the street car company about a
wear ago The case went to the state su-
preme court when Mr. Knox was called IN.
He was preparing to go to Europe. but gave
mn the trim to accommodate his client, MIR.
Mckee.
When Mr. Knox arrived In Indianapolis
Mr. Harrison was inclined to look upon him
in the light of an assistant He outlined
his plan of fighting the case, which Mr.
Knox said would not do and explained why.
Nr Knox then gave his idea Of how the
case should be conducted, and Mr.. Harrison
was glad to accept the Pittsburg lawyers
plan They won the case, and each received
large fee.