The Washington herald., 1917-05-21
Joseph H. Choate Last of
Patricians at American Bar

Joseph hodges Choate was the last of
the elder patriciate OF the American bar.
or that proud aristocratic line, which
began with John Marshall and perhaps
reached It's finest type in Rufus Choate
the distinguished New Yorker, who died
last week was no mean examplar.
Mr.. Choate was not, in the strict sense
Of the word, one of the inteIlectuals, He
was not, perhaps. one OF those profound
and subtle corporation lawyers Of whom
the late John g. johnson, of Philadelphia
who died only few weeks before Mr..
Choate did-was the unquestioned leader
To certain extent he outlived the age
in which his breed reached its true
effulgence.
But who that ever saw that noble
Roman head OF his. who that fell under
the spell Of his personality, one Of the
most fascinating that the past two gen.
erations of America have produced, could
ever have forgotten It? His was an
Olympian personality. and II was the as
set which. II 1t had been applied to
American public life, wuold have brought
him the highest gifts within the reach
Of the people.
Harvard Graduate at Twenty.
Mr.. Choate was born in Salem, Mass,
on January "a, 1882, and graduated from
Harvard at the age OF 90 He reached a
he was of middle age. mainly because
OF his wonderful effectiveness with
juries. 1t was not until he was past mid
die age that he began to be called upon
for public service. He was a member of
the New York Constitutional convention
in 1894, and was chosen by President Nc
Kinley to be Ambassador to the Court
of st. James in 1899. His service there is
recent history. For six years he was
the most popular diplomat in London;
perhaps the most popular diplomat that
the United States had ever sent to Brit
ain. He became an institution in Eng
lish life, being constantly called upon for
addresses and receptions from Lands
End to John o. Groats, and 1t was with
genuine regret that London saw him de-
part when Mr.. Roosevelt appointed
Whitelaw Reid to succeed him In 1906.
Mr.. Choate's last public service was as
delegate to the peace convention at The
Hague in 1907, and his last public appear
ance in Washington came when he ap-
peared as counsel for J. Pierpont Nor
gan in the so-called Pujo money trust"
investigation in the last few months of
the Taft administration.
MerciIess as Cross-ExamIner.
One Of the historic cases OF the Amer
lean bar involved the appearance of Mr..
Choate as counsel in a suit against Rus
sell Sage. The lawyer subjected the
multi-miliionaire to a merciIess, gruelling
cross-examination which became a sensa-
ton from New York to San Francisco.
1t was so harsh that the New Republic.
commenting on the death of the LAWYER
says in its obituary comment: From
that time forward lawyers ceased to
have quite the same feeling for Mr..
Choate."
But in a career Of more than half a
~ mt
a blot. and that in itself speaks volumes
for the character OF the man whom the
great city of New York designated as its
hnest type of citizen to welcome the
Right Hon. Arthur James Baifour only
two weeks ago, and who died, perhaps,
because of the overtaxing OF his strength
In welcoming the members Of the British
mission to the city which he had made
his own.
Died Serving Country.
Mr.. Choate died in the service of his
country and II he could haye mads
choice Of the time and manner OF his
departure from this life, he would with
out doubt have chosen exactly the
moment and the event which now de-
fine the limit OF his career For his
enthusiasm. earnestness and sincerity
stimulated, as they were by the won.
derful events which he was permitted to
live long enough to see. persuaded him
that he should take his full share and
due part in those ceremonies which re-
vealed to the nation the stupendous
issues in which the United States is to
share.
Mr.. Choate may have had misgfvings
about the ability OF his body to with
stand the strain to which he was to be
put, but his youthful eagerness and en-
thusiasm were so overwhelming, bnd
his wish to do his part was so master
ing that he entered into the service 50
fully realizing that it might be of fatal
termination as does the soldier who ao
vances to charge the enemy.
1t was in fact an extraordinary youth
fulness that characterized Mr. Choate
even long after he had passed the
Scriptural limit Of age, which enabled him
to live not as an old man but as
young man, or one still in the maturity
of his powers. He lived in the present,
looking forward into the future ana
dwelling little II any in the past There
fore, he was always a young man ana
his mental powers and temperamental
qualities were those of mature youth,
even though he was venerable in YEARS.
Career Rivals KInsman's.
Some day a sufficient biography OF Mr..
Choate will be written, for he deserves
it, and it may in some features OF 1t
prove as fascinating as does the story
Of the career of his distinguished kins-
man, Rufus Choate. Now and then 1t
has occurred to Mr.. Choate's professional
associates in New York that he had as
a young man established Rufus Choate
as his ideal example; and yet he was
himself of such original mold, physical.
mental and temperamental that he would
surely have stood forth among the lead
ers even though he did not possess the
inspiring memory which was associated
with Rufus Choate.
He was not a very great lawyer In the
technical and profound meaning of the
word and probably could not have de-