The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1907-11-23
THE GARFIELD SONS.

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Two sons of President Garfield.
seem to have inherited much of the
executive ability of their father. One
OF these, Harry Augustus, is now
president of Williams College, and
the other, James Rudolph, is Secre-
tary of the Interior. In the October
number of MunSey's Magazine ap-
pears short sketch of the lives of
these two brothers. We read:
1t has almost passed into a COM
mon place that the sons of distin-
guished men do not make name for
themselves, that they are obscured
by their fathers greatness. Accept
ing this as generally true, there are
still many notable exceptions. The
most famous instance in America po..
litical life is found in the Adams
family of Massachusetts, two mem
beEs Of which were Presidents of the
have had distinguished careers.
Another exception seems to exist
in the family of President Garfield,
two of whose four sons have rapidly
attained to prominence. The first of
these is James Garfield, now Secre-
tary of the Interior. The political
progress of the young official has been
achieved within less than dozen
years. On leaving college he took
up the practice of the law in Cleve-
land, and his first appearance in pub
lie life was in 1896, when he was
elected to the Ohio Senate from his
fathers old district. As Senator
he fought the old politicians vigor-
ously, and secured the passage of the
Garfield Corrupt Practises Act. In
1902 President Roosevelt made him
a member of the Civil Service Com
mission, and in the following year
Commissioner of Corporations, in the
Department of Commerce and Labor.
His first official report in that capa-
city startled the country by its frank
ness, and by his statement that the
present diversity of corporation law
in the United States amounts to an
archy. At the beginning of the pres
ent year he was promoted to full
cabinet position in succession to Sec
retary Hitchcock, whose vigorous CAM
paign against the violators of the
Federal land laws Mr.. Garfield is fol-
lowing up with no less energy.
Harry Augustus Garfield, who is
two wears older than his strenuous
brother, has also made his mark, hav-
ing lately been called to the presi-
dency of Williams College-an insti-
tuition of which he and all his BROTH
ers are graduates, as was their father,
President Garfield. Harry Angus
tus Garfield is the first head of Will
liams College who did not come from
the pulpit. He has been for years a
lawyer, and a lawyer who was nor
content with what law students call
"bread and butter education" He
is grounded not only in the practice
but in the theory and the history of
law, having studied not only at CO.
lumbia in this country, but at Oxford
and in the London Inns of Court. He
has interested himself in municipal
reforms, has helped to reorganlze the
United States consular service, and in
1908 was made professor of politics in
Princeton University.
The activity and energy of the
younger Gar6elds were shown when
they were mere children living in the
White House, where they were filled
with the spirit of mischief and played
many pranks. One of their favorite
amusements, it is said, was to empty
an ink bottle over the presidential
desk. Their boyishness was, in fact,
direct inheritance from their father,
who was full of humor, genial in man.
ner, and always courteous; SO that even
his political enemies were fond of him.