The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-04-20
PARKER THE MAN.
HUMAN SIDE OF TALKED-ABoUr MAN IN THE PUBLIC EYE ToDAY-sTRoNG, SIMPLE PRACTICAL AND IN EVERY SENSE AMERICAN. F st

CAN. est'
 is well known. When he makes a rul- ing he does not waste words. It is useless to argue-the thing IS done. All his associates say that he does every thing In his power to save them from unnecessary work and 1t is indicative of his nature that he is the only mem Der of the Court of Appeals who is always present when the court is open. The other judges take their weeks of regularly, but Judge Parker serves every day of the session so that there shall always be some one on the bench familiar with every ruling or agreement made in court. l As the judge sits high up in the great oaken hall of justice with its bronze statue of Livingston and it's panelled portraits of dead jurists-- John Jay. in his crimson university robes high above them all-he can see through the windows the Hudson riv I CT, which sweeps the shore of his be- loved farm at Esopus, sixty miles | away, where his family, his crops and his herds await him at each weeks end. However deeply his mind is inn mersed in the complex problems of his great office, his heart Is always in his farm: for he was born a farmer and will be one till he dies. This familiar and practical Knowledge of farming and farmers is of great value to the court in dealing with agricultural cases.
 Judge Parker's Working Traits. , Considering the fact that within few | months Judge Parker is likely to be the Democratic candidate for President, 1t is worth while noticing his working traits as a public officer. He goes at his task without nervousness. It Is hard to i'm | agine a less nervous man. He works | with method and deliberately. Unlike President Roosevelt, he does not urch at things in a fury of energy. but makes | progress in an orderly and calm mood. | After dIctating, an. opinion he goes over | the sheets and strikes out everything un- I necessary or rhetorical: But his correc- | tions ordinarily relate merely to details; | he does not have to pull his work to l pieces. Nor is there, anyone who ever | heard him speak discourte6usly or in | anger to a subordinate. His tact and | natural kindliness make things move l smoothly. Yet there Is an iron firmness | His Farm at Esopus.
 | At the end of every week and during the summer vacation Judge Parker is to | be found on his picturesque farm at Esopus, which overlooks the Hudson River He has three farms In New York State-one of 15o acres at Cortland an- | other of 150 acres at Accord and still an- other of 90 acres at Esopus. He man. ages these three farms and makes them. on the whole. pay. He is no dilettante stranger to the country, playing with ag- CT who directs the work, superintends the blowing and. in harvest time, goes out in his shirtsleeves to work with his men in the hay and sorghum.
 | A careful estimate of Judge Parker's S wealth places the value of all his pos sessions at about $3o,00O. This property he acquired mostly by saving and good business judgment His farm at Cort- land came to him from his farmer father. He was born on 1t and worked along it's furrows as a boy.
 On his fathers side the judge comes of old English stock. His great-grand- father, John Parker, was born in 1751 a
 Worcester, Mass. He was a hard-work- ing farmer. When the war for inde- pendence broke out he left his blow and
 served as a private under Washington until the American Republic was estab-
 Iished Little is known of him except that he was a man of pluck and inde- pendence and was greatly respected by
 his neighbors. His son, John Parker
 was an intelligent man, highly educated and public spirited. In 1893 he came tc
 New York State Aand bought a farm al
 Cortland. the same farm which his dis
 tinguished grandson owns-and cultivates
 today. He had large family, and whcr
 his health broke down the burden fel
 heavily upon his son John, the father oi
 Judge Parker. Those who remember the
 judges father say that he was e man oi
 studious habits. In spite of his bitter
 struggle for life on the farm he reaG
 widely and deeply. He was especially
 fond of committing rare passages tC memory, and every spare moment found him boring over a good book.
 On his mothers side Judge Parker de
 rives good New England blood. Hi:
 white-haired mother, who lives at Derby
 Conn.,, Is a woman of refinement, ed
 ucation and strong character. In the
 summer time she spends the judges va. cations with him at Esopus. She is 8
 member of the Woman's Christian Tenn
 perance Union. The giant sits before his
 mother while she solemnly lectures him
 on temperance. and, being an abstem- ious man. he smiles and promises to be
 good. Her constant aim Is to warn him against ambition. When the newspapers
 grow too loud in his praise he is sure to get a letter from his mother exhort- ing him to be humble.
 Farmer Boy and School Teacher.
 The judge was born on the farm neal
 Courtland almost flfty-two years ago. He attended the village schools and worked about the farm. When Is years old he taught school in country schoolhouse and established his authority by thrash, ing the school bully. Then he taught school at Binghampton. Presently he was q teacher at Accord, in Ulster County. al s a day. He intended to go to Cornell i University and was saving money for that purpose. but his fathers necessities l drew from his slender income and his hopes of university course failed. He moved to Kingston and entered the law office of Schoonmaker and Hardenbergh as a clerk. Then he entered the Albany Law School and upon graduating he re- turned to Schoonmaker and Hardenbergh.
 Within a few months he took a partner named Kenyon and opened a law office
 at Kingston.
 For twelve years the young lawyer
 practised his profession at Kingston. He
 had a good income and won several inn
 portant cases. During that time he was
 quite free from the control or influence of large corporations.
 In 1877 he was elected surrogate of Ulster County and was afterward elected . for a second term. That was his frs, experience of public office.
 His entrance into politics was due , simply to his love for his old employer Judge Schoonmaker, who had ben driver out of politics. He hslieyad +l,,. A.