Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1907-11-08
SENATOR B0RAH ALREADY IN
THE PUBLIC EYE BY REASON
OF HIS REMARKABLE CAREER
IN PRIVATE LIFE.
FOUGHT MANY BATTLES
Senate Has Been His Ambition, but
His Professional Life Has Fur
nished Plenty of Excitement-A
Born Fighter.

to the Portland Telegram says:
United States Senator w. E. Borah
left Boise yesterday for Washington,
and will remain there until after the
opening of congress. If the Petit
bone trial begins at the time now
set, November 81, he will return to
Boise Immediately after taking the
oath of Office, to assist in the prose-
cution of the case, but If the trial
goes over until the January term, as
now seems probable, ne will remain
in Washington until after the first
of the year.
Senator Borah enters the senate
under extraordinary circumstances.
He will need no introduction to Off
cial Washington or to the nation at
large when he takes his seat. 1t is
doubtful If a senator from the Far
West ever occupied more conspicu-
GUS place in the public eye before
taking the oath of Office than has
the Junior senator from Idaho. Dur
ing the stirring events In this state
of the past year he has been the CEN
trail figure-first, as the prosecutor
of the officers of the Western Fedora
ton of Miners and then as defendant
in a most remarkable trial for land
=
frauds.
The Senate His One Ambition.
From earliest manhood 1t has been
the ambition of Borah to go to the
senate. He never aspired to any
other office and was never candi-
date for any other. 1t was the SEN
ate or nothing for him in his pol
itical life. From the time he came
to Idaho, IS years ago, when he was
just entering upon the practice of
law, he was conspicuous in Idaho af-
fairs. He was never an intense par
tisan, and on many occasions he diff
fered from other republican leaders
of the state on important issues. In
1895 he toured the state with Bryan,
and was an ardent free silver man.
That, his enemies said, meant his
political death, but 1900 found him
back in the ranks of republicanism,
as strong with the people, evidently,
as before He tried for the senate
in 1902, but failed of election by
narrow margin, w. B. Hepburn de-
feating him. Last year he asked the
state convention to pledge
itself to his election to the senate,
and it did so. There was no repub-
lican opposition to his election when
the legislature met last winter, and
he was formally named to succeed
Fred T. Dubois.
Prosecuted Corcoran in '99.
Mr.. Borah' first reputation as
criminal lawyer was gained, in 1899,
when he was chief prosecutor in the
case of Paul Corcoran, charged with
being the leader of the rioters in the
Couer d'Alenes. The manner in
which he conducted that prosecu-
ton attracted widespread attention
and the trial ended in Corcoran's
of murder in the second
degree. When Governor Hunt par
doned Corcoran, after he had served
two years in the penitentiary. Borah
denounced the governors act unmer-
but since that he believed
the act was the result of powerful
political influences back of him, and
that the pardon was never granted
of Hunts own free will.
When, after the murder of Gov
ernor Steunenberg, the officers of the
Western Federation of Miners were
arrested in Colorado and brought to
Idaho, charged with the crime, the
state at once looked to Borah as it's
special prosecutor. He was not
placed in charge of the prosecution,
that duty being assigned by Cover
nor Gooding to James H. Hawley.
but he was engaged as associate
counsel He worked in perfect ac-
cord with Mr.. Hawley and while the
latter was in charge of the case,
Borah was the most con-
spicuous figure when the>irst OF the
cases came to trial.
His Victorious Acquittal.
All the time Senator Borah was
engaged in prosecuting Haywood,
cloud hung over his own name. He
l., r-..