Rocky Ford enterprise., 1916-05-05

Looking at myself impersonally. am inclined
to think have a very patient mind. l mean by
that mind which moves slowly. which plods for
ward instead of dashing or leapng. There is moth.
ing brilliant about 1t. brilliant mind. 1t strikes
me. is like thoroughbred horse. good for race
but afterward needing to be stabbed for day or
two My mind is like plow horse. It cannot
spurt. but It can go on turning furrow after fur
row. That lets me get through a lot Of work
by a patient mind" he went on. 81 also mean
a mind which does not leap to attitudes and deci
sions. but feels its way And mind which does
not get its back up easily. Opposition does not
make my mind bristle. difference of opinion is
not a personal thing with me.
And think" he said. his dark eyes twinklng
and his wide lips quirking with fun. "t has been
very decided advantage to to be little and
to look young. really mean that" he hastened
to add and cited two instances in illustration. One
was his argument before the Supreme court Of the
United States in the Cleveland traction cases. an
argument which attracted the fattering favorable
comment of the learned Justices. The other was a
speech which was one Of the outstanding features
of the Baltimore convention which nominated
President Wilson.
Neither of those" he commented. could by
any stretching of words be called great speech.
The natural fairmindedness of men what
pulled through in both cases. looked SO
handicapped that my hearers said instinctivey.
Give the boy chance!'"
Such cool, almost academic selfanalysis led
me to ask him how life struck him. SO to speak
what ambitions 1t stirred in him. I'D like to prac
tice law" he said. "That is my one ambition
There is no office or position that care for. But
I'd like to practice and practice and practice law.
Further talk along that line developed the rather
interesting fact that the new secretary of war is
one of those men who seem to have been moved
forward by the urgings and propulsion Of their
friends instead of fighting forward Of their own
accord in response to an inner impulse. Post
master General Wilson all but dragged him from
his briehessness in Martinsburg to get his first
taste of cabinet ways and duties and responsible
ties Martin Foran dragged him to Cleveland to
become a trial lawyer. Tom Johnson dragged him
into politics. And Woodrow Wilson has Just
dragged him to the war department.
The circumstances of the Foran case are un-
usual enough to partake Of the romantic. In 1897.
when the young and still younger looking attorney
was returning from his first visit to Europe. he
was table mate of the late w. T. Stead and a mild
hammered. retiring English barrister. One day
Baker came deck to find the barrister in peck
of trouble. A stalwart lawyerish sixfoot Irish.
man. full of Gaelic FIRE had waylaid him and was
charging him. in his own person. with all the
wrongs England had ever perpetrated on the dis
tressful country. Il happened to be rather IA
miliar with the Irish land laws" so Mr.. Baker
tells 1t, land contrived to substitute myself for
the barrister in the argument The upshot OF II
was that my opponent and became good friends
and spent the rest of the voyage playing chess
together We parted In New York. went back
to Martinsburg, and no word passed between us
for two years. Then the man-Martin FOran-
wrote me the firms business had SO increased that
another partner was required and that he wanted
me- had long felt should be in a larger com
munity than Martinsburg. and l liked Cleveland.
but / knew they wanted trial lawyer. which
was not. So l went full of excuses. prepared
to thank him and be dismissed in friendness.
Before could get my first excuse out Mr.. Foran
had ushered me into Office and said, Here's
yours and before caught my breath he had sent
some clients in for me to talk with. ! stayed in
Cleveland and learned to be trial lawyer"
His enlistment active fighter in the John.
son camp was equally casual. Tom" was sick
,t, latyv yypG ,,,tn
service to fill his place at rally. Toms sick"
said the man who introduced him. This is New
ton D. Baker who's going to speak in his place.