Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1907-03-04
SpOOner Too Poor to Longer
Serve Nation ReSOIveStO Re-
sumo Practice of Law Aftef
Sixteen Years in Public Life,
RESIGNATION SURPRISE
TO HIS COLLEAGUES
Decision to Retire IrrevOcabIe
Says Veteran Lawgiver in
Letter to Governor of State.
Term Expires March4, 1909,

I IBy Morning journal Special Leased Wire
Washington. March 3.-Senator
/ Spooner has written a letter to Gov
ernOr Davidson of Wisconsin tender
! ing his resignation as senator of the
| Unite states to take effect May /.
The letter was dated Yesterday but
the fact that such letter had been
written or that Mr., Spooner contem-
plated resgning did not become
known to the senate unti late today.
when it created great surprise and the
3 Wisconsin senator at once found him.
self the subject Of many anxious in
/ quirieS. no all he reD!ied that his
mind was fully made up, He had
found, he said that to continue in his
| present position would require a sac
ritce on his part that he could not
/ justify himself in making. In reply to
questions he said he would resume
his practice Of law but declined to say
whether he would be located in Wis
, consn, He did say, however, that he
would continue to be citizen of that
state as long as he lives.
Vice President Fairbanks was one
of the few public men to be made
acquainted with Mr. Spooner's plans
before he wrote his letter The llnowl-
edge came to him through the per-
sOnal confidence Of the senator, but
the latter made no official communl-
cation on the subject to either the
senate or it's presiding officer The
law does not require that a resgnng
senator should do more than Mr.
SpOner has done. but some senator's
who have resigned have given notice
to the senate.
| Senator Soooner in his letter to the
/ governor of Wisconsin, saws
81 hereby resign the office of sena-
tor of the United States from Wis
COnsin, this resignation to take effect
on the first day of May, 1901
Both by law and custom the fore
going formula suftices but | cannot
bring myself to surrender the trust
with which Wisconsin has so LONG and
so highly honored me by curt sem
tence which includes no word either
of explanation or of gratitude.
"On the fourth day of March in
stant. 7 shall have served in al six
teen years as a senator. This is long
time, for one not financially or per-
sonally able to abandon IT, to take
from from his profession, II has been
taken from mine, for | have not
thought it compatible with the full
and uninterrupted discharge Of public
| duty to pursue it, and | have, there
fore. during my service, with two or
! llltte tllllllB tNCtpllpuSs purely lOttlt.
absolutely abated therefrom,
For years my duty had plainly re-
quired of me an early return to the
practice of my profession, and | have
never since | last took the oath of
office. wavered in the determination
to retire from public life on the eN-
| piration of my present term, March J,
1903. / might well content myself
with public declaration of my pur-
| pose so to retire If 1t We're not for
! a like declaration made upon a similar
occasion, and what followed. In the
| year 1900 | announced through the
| press over my signature to the repub-
! licans of Wisconsin that | had 'un-
alterably determined to retire from
public life at the expectation of the
! term ending March, 1903 unless |
| should deem II my duty to resign ear
| lier. | justified the announcement
upon the ground that the people, and
| those who might aspire to the office
were entitled seasonably to know from
] me that ! would not accept re-elee-
| ton Despite that declaration, cir
cumstance with which the people are
| familiar seemed to make It my duty
| to accept a reelection, proffered as
| il was in a manner which rendered 1t
at once command and finer honor
! than any | had ever dreamed would
come to me; one, indeed, which oug6t
to satisfy the pride and ambition of
any man. A similar declaratian by me
at this time. however, strongly
phrased would, | am persuaded, prove
unavailing to withdraw my name from
consideration during the next two
years. as did that which ] 80 publicly
and unreservedly made in 1900
"As my purpose to retire from pub
lie life Is and has been lrrevocable. /
am unwilling to be further considered
in connection with an office which |
could not in the circumstances accept
"A senator will be chosen for the
term beginning on the fourth OF
March, 1903, and there will be, and
should be, during the next two years
grave and wide consideration among
the people as to the person upon
whom the honor VIII be bestowed
After much thought deem Il to be
my duty. all things considered, To the
people of the state and to the party q
whose partiality am indebted for the
highest honOrs within its gilt. to take
myself now beyond recall from the
field of possible choice. | am therefore
impeled not only for the reasons
suggested but also that | mag be- free
to devote to the discharge of private
duty, too long neglected, TO the re-
mainder of my term to resign the Of
fee at this time, white the Legislature
Is In session to choose senator fol
the unexpired portion thereof.
"I await myself of this opportunity
to say. although ! am sure II Is no.
needful. that am unexpressibly
grateful 10 the republicans OF Wis
consn for the generous and abiding
confidence which has he'd them three
times to elect me to the high office
of senator