The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-03-01
His wife, Four Sons and Four Daugh-
ters at the Bedside When
the End Came.
ONCE SECRETARY OF STATE
ALSO ATTORNEY GENERAL AND
UNITED STATES SENATOR.
Counsel In Many Important Cases and
Hayes's Advocate Before the
Electoral Commission.

NEW YORK. Feb. 2S-William M. Evarts
died at his home in this city to-day. His
death was caused by pneumonia. For sew
eral years he had been without the use of
his eyes, and was otherwise so feeble that
he was unable to leave his home. Soon
after o'clock this morning Mr.. Evarts
suffered a relapse, which caused him TO
sink rapidly. At o'clock he relapsed into
Inconsistencies and grew weaker and
weaker. until at 910 without regaininS
consciousness. he expired. From the time
he became unconscious the dying mans
wife and children were with him in the
room There were four daughters and
like number of sons. The latter are Allen,
Samuel, Rev. d. Prescott and Maxwell
Evarts, and the daughters are Miss Mary
Evarts, Mrs. Beaman. Mrs. Tweed and
Mrs. scudder Up to the time of his death
Mr.. Evarts was the nominal head OF the
law firm Of Evarts. Choate & Beaman, al
though for many years he had not been in
active practice.
The funeral will take place at 10 o'clock
Saturday morning from Calvary Protestant
Episcopal Church. After the services here
the family will go with the remains to
Windsor. VT, where services will be held
again. Interment will be in the family lot
In the cemetery there. The pallbearers will
not be chosen until tomorrow afternoon.
William Maxwell Evarts was born I'M Bos-
ton on Feb. 6. 1918. His hther was Jere-
miah Evarts. whose most marked quality
gives him the title of '.philanthropist" in
the biographical dictionaries. jeremiah
Evarts was a great man in his way. and
good one. He had been reared In Vermont.
graduated from Yale in 1902. became law
yer in 1906 and practiced IN New Haven
four years. Then. for ten years. under the
nom de plume of 'William Penn" he edited
Panopist, a religious monthly, at Boston.
In 1912 he was chosen treasurer of the
American Board of Commissioners for For
eign Missions and edited the Missionary
Herald for fifteen years, dying in Charles
ton. S. c., In May, 1881. His son inherited
from him a weak physique. an active brain,
in which order was heavens first law, a
strong religious tendency and a love for
right and justice. He began his education
at the Boston Latin School and graduated
from Yale when only nineteen years old.
While In college Evarts and four OF his
classmates founded the Yale Literary Mag
azne. He studied law at Harvard and
later in the office OF Daniel Lord. OF New
York. and was admitted TO the bar I'm 1s4l.
Three times he was honored with the de-
gree of LII. B.-by Union College. In 1857:
by Yale. In 1865. and by Harvard in 1865.
Honors were heaped upon Mr. Evarts by
the people. and he won high honors at the
bar figuring in many notable cases. He
was one OF the counsel who defended Henry
a., Asss. f1.r,. r,l
legal works of great ability were produced
by him. In November, 1875. he was invited
by the Centennial Commission to deliver
the opening Grafton at the exposition in
1876 the kindred honor. for reciting a poem
on that occasion. having been conferred on
Henry w. Longfellow lie was chairman
OF the New York delegation To the national
Republican convention of 1860: was attorney
general of the United States from July 10.
1865 to March 3. 1869; was counsel for Pres
ident Johnson his trial upon his i'm
parchment in 1868; was counsel for the
United States before the tribunal OF arbi-
tration on the Alabama claims at Geneva,
Switzerland in 1872; was counsel for Pres
ident Hayes. in behalf OF the Republican
party, before the Electoral Commission:
was secretary OF state Of the United States
from March IL, 1877, TO March 3, 1881; was
elected TO the United States Senate as Re-
publican in the place of Elbridge G.. Lap
ham, Republican. and took his seat March
T. 1886. He served but one term, retiring on
March 4. 1891. In 1884, at the time of his
election TO the Senate, William Washburn
said of him: ''As an orator Evarts does not
stand the severe test of being able to be
read. AS statesman his career eliminated
In Hayes's administration. when he held
the Office OF secretary of state. Since then
his influence seems TO have rapidly de-
clined The ca1se of public mans powers
waxing or waning Is as hard TO discover as
the secret OF the weather. Yet sometimes
one can make a lucky guess. There is, Of
course. the general reason which we have
given, that a great American lawyer cannot
well to-day be anything else. There is per-
haps another reason.
:" Men trip not on mountains;
They trip on ant hills
when Mr.. Charles a. Dana attacked
Grant. Mr. Evarts. who had been one OF the
hackers Of the Sun, at once sold out his
stock 1t has been often remarked that
men feel great injuries far less than Sights.
AS 1t was a custom at that time among
some Republicans to speak of Mr.. Dana as
a broken man, Mr.. Evarts probably did
not give the matter of selling out few
shares OF the Suns stock more than a
passing thought Broken men of brains
Rave, however. wonderful knack of get
ting mended. and when mended they are
much stronger than before. Now. though
Ar. Dana is the most forgiving man I'm the
world. his forgiveness springs from a sense
of Christian duty and not from any ac-
feet in his memory. which is remarkably
good. Some persons have thought that Ia