Evening star., 1901-11-15
VIM. DUDLEY FOULKE
New Civil Service Commissioner
Sworn In.
SKETCH OF HIS ACTIVE CAREER
Has Been in the Fields of Politics,
Literature and Reform.
MIR. HARLOW RETIRES

| At few minutes after 10 o'clock today
Mr.. William Dudley Foulke Of. Richmond,
| Ind, was sworn in as a member of the
| civil service commission Of the United
States. The oath of office was administered
| in the board room by John T. Doyle, secre-
| tary of the commission, and there were
present Maj. John B. Harlow, Mr.. Foulke's
predecessor, whose resignation became ef-
| fective at that time; President John r.
Proctor and William A. Rodenberg, the
| other members Of the commission, and A
r. Serven, chief examiner, and George R.
Wales.
| The ceremony was very informal. Mr.
Foulke showed to the little assemblage his
commission, bearing the signatures of
| President Roosevelt and the Secretary of
/ State, and, raising his right hand, Secre-
| tary Doyle read the oath prescribed by the
| law. Major Harlow was the first to grasp
| the hand of his successor and to extend his
congratulations and best wishes. Mr..
| Foulke pressed the hand Of his predecessor
| firmly and assured him that he appreciated
| his words Of friendship. Then followed
| brief season of handshaking and good fell
! loWship. Mr.. Foulke began Immediately
| upon the duties Of his new position. Dur
\ ing the afternoon nearly all Of the attaches
| or the civil service commission called to
pay their respects and to assure the new
| commissioner of their loyalty.
The New COmmissioner.
Mr.. William Dudley Foulke the new civil
service commissioner, is a native of New
] York city. He is a son of Thomas
| Foulke, who was a minister and prom
| inent member of the Society of Friends,
and was Of an old Pennsylvania fam
! lily that came from Wales about two
centuries ago. He was educated in the pub
| lie schools and Friends Seminary, New
York, and was for four years student at
| Columbia College now university, grad
uating in 1863 in the class just ahead of
| of Greater New York
In 1871 Mr.. Foulke graduated from the
Columbia Law School, being a member of
| the same class as the present Mayor Van
Wyck, and at once commenced the practice
OF law. He was married in 1872 in Paris to
Miss Mary T. Reeves, daughter of Mark E.
Reeves of Cincinnati, a retired merchant.
At that time he was engaged in the Young
Mems Mutual Reform Association, which
| took such an active part in the overthrow
OF the Tweed ring In New York. During
part of that period he lived in Bloomfield,
NJ J. In 1876 -he removed to Richmond,
nd, and became one of the solicitors of
the Pittsburg. Cincinnati, Chicago and St.
Louis railroad, which Is part of the Penn
sylvania system. -
Mr.. Foulke was elected to the state SEN
ate of Indiana from Wayne county in 1851
and served in that capacity for four years.
He was in the same legislature as w. u.
representatives and now on the commits
sion recodifying the laws of the United
states. In the state senate Mr. Foulke in
troduced civil service reform measure
which failed on the third reading to get the
necessary vote to make 1t law.
Active in Civil Service Reform.
About 1885 he became president of the
Indiana State Civil Service Reform Asso-
citation, and shortly afterward a member of
the executive committee Of the National
Civil Service Reform League. This was
at the time George William Curtis was
president, and a strong friendship sprung
up between them. During the administra-
tfon Of President Harrison he was chair
man of special commission appointed by
the National Civil Service Reform League
to investigate conditions of the federal
civil service at the time. The other men,
bers of the commission were: Charles j.
Bonaparte, Richard H. Dana. Wayne Mac
Veagh and Sherman s. Rogers. Six reports
were published One on the patent office,
one on the subject Of congressional pat
ronage, one on removals by secret charges
one on changes in presidential postmasters
and one on the census bureau. The report
on the patent office was favorable, but in
the others some serious abuses were dis
closed.
About this time Mr. Foulke became ac-
quafnted with President Roosevelt, who
was one of the civil service commission
ers, and they have ever since been the
warmest of friends. In 1880 he retired from
the practice of the law and has since been
engaged largely in literary work He had
previously written "Slav and Saxon"
which was monograph on the growth
and tendencies of Russian civilization,
which he believed was the strongest COM
petitor of our own, and aspired at final SUI
premacy. The second edition Of this work
was published during the late troubles in
China
Mr. Foulke also wrote biography of
the late senator and war governor of In
diana. Oliver p. Morton, in two volumes,
containing a history Of Indiana during
the civil war. He also recently published
romance, the scene of which is laid in
Yucatan at the time of the Spanish inva-
sion, entitled Maya 1t treats of an
country. He has travelled in Yucatan and
is thoroughly familiar with the conditions
and scenes described.
As a Political Speaker.
Although comparatively young man, Mr.
FCulke has taken part in nearly every pres
idential campaign in the last twenty-five
years and has spoken in all parts of the
country. He has been a great traveller and
mountain climber. He was recently
chairman Of another investigating commit
tee appointed by the National Civil Service
Reform League and has published series
of reports in the cases of Collector Sapp of
Louisville, Col. Dillon Of Ell Paso, Postmas-
ter Hicks ofPhiladelphia, the MARYLAND
census frauds. the Jersey City post office
appointments under the war emergency
acts, appointments by special legislation.
the Indian service and the employment of
labor in the classified service.
For several years Mr. Foulke was presi-
dent of the American Proportional Repre-
sentation League, and he was also for a
number of years president Of the American
Woman's Suffrage Association. He has
been contributor to magazines on various
subjects. Four daughters, with Mrs Foulke
constitute the new commissioners family
Miss Caroline Foulke and Miss Gwendolen |
Foulke will spend the winter with their
parents in Washington. The other daugh- |
ters are Mrs. Lydia F. Hughes wife of the
Rev. Stanley C. Hughes of Richmond, Ind
and Mrs. Mary F. Morrison. wife of James |
w. Morrison of Chicago.
The Retiring CommissiOner.
Major John B. Harlow. who retired today,
was born at Sackett's Harbor. N. Y. in |
1874, and later moved with his fathers |
family to Pelkin. III. He enlisted In April. |
1861. In Company F. Sth Illinois Volunteers;
relnlisted in August. 1851 in the 47th nli-
UnfQ VaIrufapra md aoo In ol,ra,o