The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-28

l the ability of Senator IaFollette. Just before this on the floor of the Senate he had taken occasion to severely criticise MT. LaFollette Mir Penrose and the
 regular republicans need the insurgents in their business just now The insur- gents represent the element of the repub- lican party that first became frightened and began to hedge for the impending party disaster. Mild insurgency is the only real hope for the party as whole.
 To reunite the two wings of the repub- lican party the rgeulars and the insur- gents must each yield points and meet on a common ground. They will do this when the demand is sufficient.
 Mir. Penrose, MT. Taft and other regu- lar leaders are now paving the way for this coalition.
 The following sketch of Senator Boies Penrose is furnished me by H. B. Nesbitt, one of the brightest young newspaper cor respondents in the press gallery, who is a native of Pennsylvania, and who has been intimate with the republican leader for many years:
 When the Sixtv-Second Congress came to an end at noon on March last, the leadership of the Senate nominally passed from Nelson w. Aldrich of Rhode Island to Boies Penrose of Pennsylvania. As matter of fact, Senator Aldrich had sur
 
 session closed, and 1t was Senator Pen rose who directed the uncertain republican organization in a tumultous party conflict which commanded the attention of tAe people. With the coming of the new Congress he planned the reorganization of the Senate, Friends of Senator Pen rose in the Senate say that with the hos tile attitude. of Senator Aldrich toward the insurgents he never had been in sym pathy. At any rate he not only coun seled, but insisted upon. party harmony. Concession and conciliation followed.
 When the caucus assembled the insur- gents were there when it adjourned they went away satisfied
 No other man Pennsylvania has sent to tine United States Senate has attained the position of prominence in that body now held by Boies Penrose. The story of Senator Penroses start in life presents nothing to suggest the simple annals of the poor He is a member of a wealthy and aristocratic Philadelphia family. On both sides he comes from pure colonial stock His father. the late R. A. F. Pen rose. was widely known as scholar, phy- sician and professor in the medical de-
 partment of the University of Pennsyl-
 vania. His grandfather. Hon. Charles B. Penrose, was solicitor of the treasury | under Presidents William Henry Harri- son and John Tyler, speaker of the Penn l sylvania senate for several terms and | lawyer who stood at the head of the Pennsylvania bar. His great grandfather | was Clement Riddle Penrose. appointed | by President Thomas Jefferson one of | three commissioners to take charge of the
 recently acquired territory of Louisiana. | He is a direct descendant of William | Riddle, friend and contemporary of | William Penn, who came to America | about the same time as Penn, and who
 was one of the proprietors of the prov 1 ince of New Jersey. Nichols Scull, sur veyor general of Pennsylvania in the old | colonial days and Philip Thomas. secre- | tary to Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore and founder of the Thomas family of Mary land, are among Senator Penrose's di- | rect ancestors.
 Senator Penrose was educated by pri- vate tutors at home until he was Is years 1 old. Then he entered Harvard college and graduated with high honors. As one of | the graduates selected to deliver a com mencement oration his subject was, "The l Political Leadership of Martin Van
 Buren, Senator Penrose has a genius
 for politics. He has been in politics since
 he was old enough to vote. When 24 years
 old he was elected to represent Phila- | delphia district a member of the house ] at Harrisburg. From that body he went I to the state senate, where he served 10 years. In both branches of the legislature | he was recognized leader. He resigned l from the state Senate to enter the United States Senate on March 4. 1897, the date l of William McKinley's first inauguration, and twice has been reelected.
 During half a century the mantle of republican leadership in Pennsylvania has fallen upon the shoulders of only three | men-Simon Cameron, Mathew Stanley 1 Quay and Boies Penrose. The control of | Cameron was an incident of the politics | of the civil war period. Years before he died he was suppanted by Quay The | leadership of Penrose dates from the
 death of Quay. Quay had to fight for everything he secured in politics. Each cha pter in the story of his supremacy of | the republican organization records re- bellion against his rule. The forces that opposed him were defeated, but they never | surrendered They refused to negotiate | with him for peace Thy kept him out
 of the senate for two years and fought | hiU until they day he died In i Pehnsylvanis when Quad died were many able men who had been in politics when Penrose was a boy They were entirely
 willing to assume the leadership Sdeath
 had forced Quay to relnquish. As a pre- | liminary to fight for control these l men declared for a new deal" While | II i came-from the hand of Penrose. His | leadership was the logic of the situation He was the strong man of Pennsylvania | politics.
 When Quay died each of the 67 coun- ties of Pennsylvania had two republican | organizations. Quay and ant-Ouay. At the head of the city government of Phil | adelphia was John Weaver, whom the ] anti-Quay forces, in the name of reform,
 had elected mayor In Pittsburg was po- litieal chaos wrought by ripper legisa- ton enacted at the direction of Quay as a blow to Chris Magee, whom Quay had
 never beaten in Allegheny county. The
 anti-Quay republicans squared for the
 fight against Penrose. It came two
 years after the passing of Quay, when
 a state ticket was to be nominated. In Ithe primaries the Penrose organization
 swept the state. With three-fourths of
 the delegates Penrose nominated at liar risburg in 1906 a ticket headed by Ed-
 win s. Stuart for governor. Stuart was a
 Philadelphian he had been mayor of
 that city and personally was very pop
 ular. Throughout Pennsylvania, how-
 evers he was comparatively unknown.
 The other candidates also admittedly,
 were worthy to hold the offices for
 which they had been presented to the