The daily sentinel., 1902-12-08
DEATH T! SF g! REED.

Washington, Dec. Thomas
Brackett Reed, former speaker of the
house of representatives and for many
years prominent in public life. died
here this morning at ~ 10 o'clock in
his apartments at the Arlington.
The Immediate cause of the death was
uraemia.
Thomas Brackett Reed, thirty first
speaker of the huose of representa-
tives was born 3OctoberilS, 1889. of
poor parents, at Portland, Me. In
1860 he was graduated from Bowdoin,
winning one of the highest honors OF
the college, the prize for excellence
in English composition. The next
four years were spent by Mr.. Reed in
teaching and in the study of law. Be
fore his admission to the bar. how
ever. he was appointed acting assist
ant paymaster of the United States
navy. serving on the tin clad
Sybil. which patroled uneyentfully on
the Tennessee. Cumberland and Miss
isssippi rivers. After his discharge
in 1865. Mr.. Reed returned to Port
land, passed the bar and entered ON
the practice of his profession. Three
years later he was elected as repub.
lican to the legislature of the state of
Maine. where, in his first term he Sc
cured the passage of bill giving IL
superior court to the county of Cum
berland In 1869 he was reelected to
the house, in 1870 made state senator,
from which position ne passed to that
of attorney general of the state the
same year. Retiring from this office
after effective service in 1878 and
thereafter he was for four years solic-
itor of the city of Portland and in
| September 1876. he was elected to the
Forty fifth conrgess of the United
States, which assembled in December.
1871 In the congress, April. 1878.
he was brought into prominence by II
speech, one of the few formal ones
ever delivered by him. in which he
Iargued against the payment of dam
ages by the United States for injuries
received bv William and Mary college
at the hands of the United States
troops during the war. The subse
quent policy of the government in re-
alton to war claims was largely de-
termined bv the defeat of this meas
ure. to which Mr.. Reed signally con-
tributed. He also took conspicuous
part in the proceedings of the COM
mittee appointed to investigate the
election of President Hayes, of which
he was one of the minority members
In the Forty sixth congress his skill
was recognized as debator and at
this period he also made set speech
in defense of the presence of United
States marshals at elections in the
south AS chairman of the judiciary
committee he introduced and secured
the passage by the Forty seventh con-
gress of the bill distributing the bal
ance of the Geneva award. His in
fuence each year becoming more
strongly marked, the leadership of his
party was finally conceded to him,
and in the Forty-ninth and Fiftieth
congress the. complimentary nomina-
tion to the speakership was rendered
him by the republicans.
AS writer he has contributed to
the North American Review articles
upon ''Our Outlying Province of AL
aska.' in January, 1888; ''Democra-
cy at St. LOUIS July 1888; ''The
President s Letter." being that of Mr..
Cleveland accepting the nomination
| for presidency. October 1888. and
1.-The Limitations of the Speaker
ship March, 1890.
| In the Century for March, 1889, he
treated 1.-The Rules of the House of
Representative" foreshadowing his
policy.