Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1908-06-06

Washington, June 6.-Barely
over FIVE feet in height. Philan Ter
Chase Knox senaor from Pennsyl-
vanla and former Attorney General
of the United States, is, physically
speaking. the most dimunltlve candi-
datet for the presidency the country
has ever seen. Bnt short as he Is In
stature, he Is long in intellect.
There are other superlative adjec-
tives that might be applied. For in
stance, he Is the richest OF all the
Republican candidates. the dressiest,
the most reserved and the sportiest.
He owns some OF the best blooded
horses In America. He has earned
the biggest fees for defending cor
porations, and he was the first Attor-
ney General to find and make use of
an effective weapon to prosecute
them. He is also the baldest of all
the candidates, and the only one
that Is smooth shaven.
Knox likes the company OF young
men. At his home almost every ev-
ening there is a pinochle or billiard
game in progress in which the Sena-
tor and some youngsters OF his ac-
quaintance are the participants.
When he finds young man display
In ah Ia. I'm nF
work he is very apt to extend help
Ing hand. II was thus that Milton d.
Purdy, sometimes referred to as the
trust buster" of the administration
came into notice. Knox met him
when he was In Minnesota In con-
nection with the Northern Securities
case, when Purdy had Just begun to
climb the legal ladder. Knox was at
tracted to him and his work. ami
when the law was passed anthoria-
ing the Department OF Justice to en-
ploy special assistant attorney gen
erals. he sent for Purdy and gave
him one of the Jobs. That Purdy
has made good Is a tribute to Knoxs
discriminating judgment of men.
Knox is sensitive. Some years ago
he entered at the New York horse
show pair OF blooded horses that
had pedigrees reaching back 10 the
Dark Ages, and which to his mind
as an expert, was the finest matched
team OF trottlng horses in America.
The prizes, however. went TO horses
OF New York's social favorltes and
Knox pair received no mention. He
has never exhibited there since.
He owes his prominence partly to
the fact that he was once expelled
from the West Virginia University
for a boyish prank One of the rules
OF ths faculty was that no students
should attend theatricals. One day
a company playing East Lynne"
came along and Knox. together with
about 20 fellow studenta decided to
see the performance. One of the
professors, sent to take the names of
the offenders, reported them, and all
were sentenced to expulsion. Eigh
teen were relnstated on signing an
agreement not to offend again. bur
Knox and one other left.
He then went TO Mt. Union Col
lege, Alliance, Ohio, and II was
there that he first met William Nc
Kinley. Jr. Undecided as to the
profession he would adopt, 1t was
entirely due to Mckinley that he
finally resolved to become lawyer.
But for that meeting. Knox might
now be bank cashier in a country
town like his father.
A close student, especially of
cases In which he was interested.
and with a fine capacity of resolving
abstruse statements of the law into
concise and lucid language under
standable even by laymen, Knox sue
ceeded in his profession from the
start, In the earlier days of Andrew
Carnegie he became the ironmaster'e
lawyer and received, 1t Is said an in
come of $4,000 a year from this
source alone.
In the 20 years following his res
ignation in 1876 as assistant United
States attorney for the western dis
triet of Pennsylvania, a place that
he held for only one year, his per-
sonal retainers averages $4,000 a
year. These, with his interest in the
other business OF his firm, gave him
an income of about $4,000 a year,
and he came to be recognized as one
OF the most successful corporation
lawyers in the country. Incidental
ly he became stock holder in the