Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1904-04-07
JUDGE ALTON B. PARKER.
ONE OF THE LEADING DEMOCRATIC
CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT.


The personnel of public men is always
interesting and on the eve of presidential
campaign, the personality of the possible
or probable candidates. are rightly subjects
of public interest and information. One
scarcely expects particularly rosy ac-
count of possible Democratic Presidential
candidate from so biased political source
as the Philadelphia Press, hence we can
print what it says of the candidate the
State Of New York will present to the st.
Louis Convention, with the assurance that
the best side OF this great Democrats char
acter is yet to be made known.
The story of Judge Parker's career, says
the Press correspondent, is simple one,
but not without interest He was born SO
years ago, come the 14th day of next month
His father was farmer near the village Of
Cortland, Courtland county between SYRIA
cuse and Binghamton Like thousands
upon thousands Of other successful Ameri-
cans, he passed his boyhood on the farm,
working in the fields in Summer as soon as
he was old enough, and going to the dis
trict school in Winter For three years he
was student in Cortland Academy, where
he maintained himself with the proceeds Of
labor performed outside school hours. For
four years he taught country school and
was himself student all this time. Hav-
ing saved a little money, he went to the
ALBANY Law School, where he graduated
in 1872.
TYPICAL OF AMERICAN SUCCESS.
In all this we see young man who was
determined to have an education, deter
mined to be a lawyer, determined to lift
himself above the social station in which he
was born, and who succeed by hard work
and self denial. 1t is story which we
often read in the annals of the great men Of
our country.
The Parkers are of good Massachusetts
stock Young Alton was reared in an
atmosphere almost puritanic. The day of
his graduation from Cortland Academy he
hired horse and drove out into the coun-
try to bind a job at school tending, and
found it at Virgil. On his return home
he learned his father and uncle had secured
another school for him with fifty cents a
day better salary than the young man was
to get at Virgil. Much chagrined, Alton
proposed to cancel his engagement, but
Parker senior quickly remarked 81
HYou viii do nothing Of the sort. /
have noticed that young man who starts
out in life by failing to keep an obligation
fails at everything else 7
They say there was never anything
brilliant about Alton Brooks Parker, but
that he had the fine quality Of patience,
plodding perseverance. It is character
istic of his to make haste slowly There
has been nothing meteric about his career.
After leaving the law school he entered a
law firm at Kingston and served five years
as clerk and finally as junior partner, doing
the drudgery of the shop, but always study
ing. In small way he got early into
] politics. He always took an interest in
politics. He was an orthodox, an I'M
swerving Democrat. He attended all the
primaries and made himself a part of the
machine. He had political ambitions in
those days, and was popular with s'the
boys" While still under 80 he was elect
ed surrogate of Ulster county, and was re-
elected on the Democratic ticket, though
the county is usually Republican.
TURNING POINT IN HIS CAREER.
The turning point in Mr.. Parker's career
came in 1885, when he formed the aoquaint-
ance of David B. HILL But for that chance
meeting he might have remained a country
lawyer to this day. Hill was nominated
for Governor, and had difficulty in finding
man to manage his campaign Leader
after leader declined the task, and finally
Hill went to Parker and said -
See here, l want You TO run this cam.
Fpaign for me- .
But l don't know anything about
politics. .
sI'll take my chances on that Do the
best you can 2
Parker accepted Hill was elected. 4
vacancy soon occurring on the Supreme
Court bench, Governor Hill rewarded his
young campaign manager by appointing
him Judge. He was afterward elected
in that district without opposition. And
in 1897, just after Bryan had lost the State
by 268,OO0, Parker was nominated fol
Chief Justice of the Court Of Appeals and
was elected by $4,000 majority.
4 Justice Parker has, therefore, spent most
Of his active career upon the bench. He
was only "a when elected Justice of the