The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-01-04
SCOTT OF PLYMOUTH
THE next SPEAKER
He's an Active Gentleman of
Political Experience
He's Found Time to Hold an Office or
Two Since Yale Turned Him Out,
Rising Young Lawyer-He Was
LiIley's Friend, Now He's Lieu
tenant for Mclean.


tenant for Mclean.
Fred A. Scott of Ply1nouth-which
| means that he is also of =Pequabuck,
Terryville and all other e1virons-who
! has been settled upon as8he Speaker
of the coming House. is one Of the
younger represented of the old
| guard which was trained under Orsa-
mus r. Fyler and which has always
presented an unbroSen and lmpreg-
naOle front to the enemy-except when
it got to fighting within itself Upon
such sad occasions, as history relates,
the encounter of the Kilkenny cats
becomes a tame. insipid thing for
comparison.
Mr.. Scott is the Mclean candidate
tfol. the Speakership. Announcement
that he is to be elected with practi-
cal unanimity. while the Buckley men
try to look as though they liked 1t,
is concession that the venerable Sen
ator has given up the fight so far as
The lower chamber is concerned. Fol-
lowing the usual battle ractics Of the
Old guard. Speaker Scott will distrib-
ute the plunns of committee appoint
menus according to the virtues of the
membership as displayed in the vote
for Buckley or Mclean. Buckley
would like the Speaker and his pleas
ant little New Years gifts. But he
doesn't have Scott
The Plymouth man has had much
of public life and the politics adller-
emit thereto; In his own billWick ne
is a, campaigTler Of the Bob Eaton, j.
Henry Roraback school. with, more in
tellect and subtlety than the redoubt-
able Bob and more mobility than the
substantial j. Henry. He has been all
| kinds of clerks in the Legislature and
next month he's going to be Judge of
Probate in the Plymouth district. 1t
won't be any trouble at all for an
active gentleman like Mr.. Scott to be
judge and Speaker at the same time.
Indeed he'll have plenty of leisure for
such as is necessary in law-abiding
Litchfield county and for looking after
his commercial interests which are
considerable.
Mr.. Scott was born in 1856, grad
| uated from the Hartford High School
in 'S5 and from Yale in 80. Then
he took a shot at the Yale Law
School, which turned him out in 81,
full Pledged Phi. B.. equipped to do
battle with John Hubbard, Don War-
ner. L. j. Nickerson, Col. Sam Horne
and all the other legal luminaries with
whom nature has endowed Litchfield
county so prOdigally.
But Mr. Scott hasn't confined him
self to the Iaw-that is not to dry,
musty court and office law. He has
sat much Of the time at the Court OF
the People, occupying therein all sorts
of offices at all sorts of salaries. He
was assistant clerk of the House in
'95, clerk in '97, clerk of the Senate in
'99, clerk of bills in 1901 and engross-
ing clerk-O great Sam Eddy, but
those nice clerkships do last!-in 1908.
There being no more clerkships i'm
mediately available he became a Rep
resentative in 1905. but he got the en-
crossing clerkship back in 1907. Again
in 1909 he showed up as a member
of the House and now he's back with
the Speakership just ahead of him. In
cidentally he is president of and trea-
surer of the W. H. Scott Company,
which does a big business in coal,
lumber and provisions.
Mr. Scott was always a lieutenant
of George L. Lilley. He haF a hand
in the first stormy Lilley campaign.
when the Hartford convention noni-
gresham at Large despite loud and
distressful cries of Beef Trust"
heard from State street. Also he had
a hand. in that last stormy New Ha-
ven gathering which nominated Mr..
LiIley for Governor, and in the course
of which oe Barbour shook his fist
in o. r. FLYERS face by way Of en-
phasizing his statement that he pro-
posed to raise hell.
1t was Scott, too, who had an i'm
portant hand in upsetting the slate
for the comptrollership back in 1904.
Senator A. J. Muzzy Of Bristol, who
was at the convention with delega-
ton of rejoicing Bristolites. All went
merry as marriage bell until some
time close to midnight on the eve Of
the convention session. Then Scott
discovered that Litchfield County had
no place on the ticket. A word to
the ferocious is sufficient. AS soon
as Litchfield County discovered that
it's blood ought to be boiling it boiled
it's blood War cries sounded from
the quarters of Frank B. Mum. At
the psychological moment Scott & Co.
produced Asabel w. Mitchell Of
Woodbury.. The Muzzy forces, dream
ing in their tents, were surrounded
before they knew it. The Waterbury
delegation broke out into Civil War,
dividing it's votes between two cam
didates and George M. Clark of Had
dam 1amented the Corrupt Practices
Act. Mitchell, as history relates, was
nominated.
Mr.. Scott it will be noted, is a very
lively individual with two active legs
and a. brain that works while he
sleeps The chair of the next House
will be found willing and ready at all
times if the Speakership schedule is
carried through as expected. He will
name Judge Gilmore S. Banks of Fair
field, as chairman of the Judiciary
committee which carries with it the
House leadership.
An apple pie made without the up