Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-01-29

TIE ARGl
universal uprising regardless OF party
to urge hiIl to remain in congress.
The Democrats told him they would
put no opposition candidate in the field
and lived up to the pledge.
The third occurrence is, Of more re-
cent date ard is known of all men.
When President Elect Taft offered the
secretaryship OF the treasury TO Bur
ton that gentleman stood by his guns
and said he preferred to be senator.
1t took courage to do that, especially
when there was danger of creating bad
blood with future administration Of
his own party.
The new Buckeye senator has shown
the same sort of independence all
through his career. Whenever there
has been an Instruction I'm the house
Burton was usually found at the head
of 1t. He led the fight against the
senatorial machine" In Ohio, with
both Foraker and Dick leagued
against him. While he and President
Roosevelt are warm friends, he did
not hesitate to fight Roosevelt's pet
plan for four battleships and to criti-
else the administrations proposal to
buy Panama supplies abroad. 1t is
plain that Theodore e. Burton not
only has gray matter. but uses 1t for
the purpose that God and nature in
tended. He is party man, yet his
ic,s
One of Burton's most prominent
characteristics is caution. He never
takes stand until sure Of his ground.
He is constructive, has nothing in
| common with the knocker or pessimist.
On the matter of appropriations he is
not an obstructionist, but there must
be sound reason for expanding public
money before he favors 1t.
A Leader of the Bar.
Mt. Burtons middle name is Elijah,
| which may be the reason that he tries
| to conceal it. He comes from the
| Western Reserve. where the New Eng
| land conscience is still IN full force.
| He was born in 1851 in jefferson, o..
| the home of Ben Wade and Joshua
r. Giddings. In his modest congress
sional biography. consisting of eleven
lines, Burton says he was educated at
| Grand River institute, Austinburg, o.;
| Iowa college, Grinnell, Ia, and at
| Oberlin college, Ohio, from which he
| graduated in 1872. He first started
| teaching, then studied law and began
| practice in Cleveland, where, after the
| usual vicissitudes and scant living of
the young lawyer. he rose to be one
| of the leaders of the bar. He got into
politics by being elected TO the council,
| after which the young men insisted on
his going to congress. He served one
term, then was out for four years
| There was reason for his being out
| The reason was Tom L. johnson. In
| fact, the two defeats Burton has suf.
fered were both at the hands of John
| son. 1t is q shame that two such good
men should slash 1t into each Other
when there are so many mean mer
that need running ont of politics.
In 1894 Burton went back to con
gress to stay. 1t was Tom Reed who
picked him out for the rivers and har
bors committee, where lie has made
life a burden to lobbyists and purvey
ors of pork" ever since. Reed loved
men with brains, and he saw signs o.
promise in the tall, angular, stool
shouldered member from Cleveland.
Two of Senator, Burton's most con
spicuous services In public life, outsid
Of being led up as lamb for the sacri
fee in the mayoralty election of hi
own city, were his great speech for til
| Panama canal, in which he convince
congress of the ACCESSIBILITY of tn
lock instead of the sea level type. ART
his speech nominating William II. Tai
for president in the last Republican
national convention. In the past fcy
months he has not only declined tn
treasury portfolio in the Taft cabine
but was the most prominently mer
toned candidate for speaker outside Q
Cannon. which talk he stopped as 500
as it came to his ears.
Lives Much With Books.
In appearance Burton is nearly. 81
! feet tall, wears clothes that do not f
too well, has Il close cropped gray mu:
tache, contemplative gray eye,
high forehead, sparse brown hair,