Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1907-04-19

When last heard from they were III Par
is, where Miss EckelS is attending
seminary As they had been travelling
about France and the continent, how
ever, it was not certain that they could
be found in the French capital.
Mr. EckolS was making preparations
to leave for Europe to join his family
on May -, two weeks earlier than had
been his original intention, hoping his
health would be restored by long rest.
lie expected to spend most of his time
in England The night before he died
he talked with boyish pleasur. of the
tour he intended to take.
MIR. EckclS had made arrangements
for Il breakfast party Sunday morning,
at which he expected to entertain few
relatives and friends. 1t was an effort
to reach her brother-in-Iaw by telephone
in the morning. by Mrs. George NJ.
Eckcls, that led to the discovery of Mr..
Eckefs death by the servants. Mrs.
George EcIels and her husband had been
invited to the breakfast.
In addition to Mr.. and Mrs George
EckeIs, John T. McCutcheon. Judge
Lands and Mrs. Eckels are sisters-and
Il. II Gary. chairman of the board of
directors of the United States Steel cor
poration, were to have been the guests.
An nlinoisan BY Birth.
NJ. Eckels was an Illinosan by birth,
having been born at Princeton. ILL.,. No
vember % 1858. He was the son of
James Starr and Margaret Davidson
Eckels, well-to-do residents of that place.
He went east and entered the Albany,
y. Y. law school. from which he gradu-
ated in 1880. Returning to Illinois, he
was admitted to the bar, and then be-
gan the practice of his profession at
Ottawa. H., III 1891. 1t was while he
was ut the Albany law school that Mr.
l-nlg 4 IL
Cleveland. and with Daniel s. Lamont,
later secretary of war under President
Cleveland. Mr.. Cleveland and Mr.. Eek
els took Il warm liking to one another
from their first meeting, and it was this
friendship to which was due Mr.. Eek
els appointment as comptroller.
On his taking up residence III Ottawa
Mr.. EckclS turned his attention both to
law and to politics. AS Il lawyer he had
but mediocre success. 1t was as q poll
tician, and particularly as an orator,
that he made his mark. lie was Il poor
man when he was lifted from compara-
tive ObScurity into Il position of national
prominence by the Cleveland appoint
ment. Mr.. Eckels' influence as a pOliti-
clan steadily increased, and by 1870 he
was 4 factor in state politics. Then, III
1898 he sprang into the limelight OF ma
tiona prominence by being named as
comptroller of the currency by President
Cleveland, his old friend ldr. Eckels
was only 80 years old when the Presi-
dent sent his nomination to the Senate.
The naming of this young, untrled and
unknown man tor Il post only second
to that of secretary of the treasury, as
regards the national finances, made a
tremendous sensation. 1t was one of the
biggest of the many surprises which
President Cleveland was fond of
SprinCing. There was howl from many
of the senators over the appointments
L., 4 r IN, +ln 70
went to the secretary of the treasury and
the President and urged that it be with
drawn. Mr.. Carlisle said he mad had
nothing to do with the annOintment. Mr.
Cleveland said he .-ad made 1t after in
telIigent consideration. and that if the
Senate choose to reject Mr.. EckelS be-
cause of his lack of experience in bank
ing he would promptly nominate another
man who knew quite as little. When the
senators learned that Mr. Cleveland pro-
posed to uphold Mr.. Eckels they reluc-
family confirmed the nOmina ton. with
an inward prayer that the national bank
ing system would not suffer harm be-
fore the President learned what mis-
take he had made. The appointment of
Mr. EckeIs was finally confirmed April
3, 1908. and the Illinois lawyer held the
office four and one-haf years.
Soon Proves His Ability
If President Cleveland had given the
country surprise the new comptroller
of the currency gave the country no less
of a surprise by the way in which he ad-
ministered the office. From the first day
he entered upon the duties of the post
Mr.. Eckels was a success. He allowed
himself to be a clear-headed, practical,
common sense man. with an excellent
grasp of the financial affairs of the coun-
try and a great capacity for executive
work 1t was only a few weeks after
he assumed office that the great panic
of 1898 burst upon the land. One hun
dred and sixty-five national banks failed
during the next ten weeks and period
of apprehension and anxiety followed
such as the financial interests of the ma,
SusDeude6 frnu1 Siock Fxchanue