Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1917-09-20
JOLLY AND WITTY
WAS JOE CHOATE
As Noted For His lo,..; as
For Great Legal Lore,
A few RANDOM STORIES

His Wife-:4ow He characterized
Richard Croker, the Tammany Boss.
Some of His Famous Witticisns and
Other Anecdotes of His Life.
With the death of Joseph 81. Choate,
noted lawyer and former ambassador
to England, the world is distinctly
poorer. AS an after dinner speaker he
ranked among the first in the land, and
his fame extended beyond the seas.
His name hid been mentioned for a
congressional nomination while he was
still in his thirties; but, although an
active participant i'll political lis well
as philanthrooic movements in these
first years OF his success, he did not
seek office. lie had but one ambition,
which he put into words himself, an
ambition which in time lie was to
achieve.
I'D rather be the leading advocate
Of the American bar" he would say,
than be president of the United
States"
and what would you want to be if
you ceased to be Joseph II. Choate?"
some II asked him whimsically on q
much later oc, aston.
Il should want to be-" he answered
quickly, with Il bow and a smile to his
wife, Mrs, Caoate's second husband"
c. o7te's Advice
Joe Choatr had a reserve fund Of
the unexpected. Some American dish
es We're servel up at q breakfast party
in England, one being ham and eggs.
y young lad, 1t the ambassadors right
was ignorant Of the slippery ways Of
fried eggs Oh y dish. s" he accilental.
fy spilled the contents g.. her plate.
oh. Nr. Cloate," sac exclaimed, 81
don't know What to do, for I've drop
ped an C,g Oh the fCor.." And Choate
replied:
IF ! We're Eou Ia cackle."
A Famous N''is4icisn.
One of Choate's witticisms which
has been most frequently repeated was
IlSiSu II llS 1 llUCl
case, which turned upon the authen-
ITCHY of some alleged antique statues.
1t was charged, among other things,
that a certain figure of Venus had been
worked over and made into q Hope.
y witness had sworn that the statue
as ii then appeared was different from
the way it looked when first taken out
of the packing box.
Lost flesh in the hot weather, I
suppose?" suggested Choate.
My learned brother is so fond Of
making jests that he overlooks some
of the serious points in the testimony"
interposed the counsel for the other
side. Now, if my learned brother
pray don't drag me in all the time,"
interrupted Choate rather tartly. "I'm
not on trial here. Please go on with
the business in hand and leave me
out
Leave my learned brother out" ex-
claimed the opposing counsel, with
mock alarm. "Why, we might as well
leave out Venus hcrself!'
"Oh, very Well" returned Choate;
leave me out with Venus and 1 Won't
object!'
Choate and Croker.
His opinion of Richard Croker, the
Tammany boss, was freely expressed
by Mr.. Choate in addresses in the New
York state campaign Of 1898. At a
meeting in C~hickering hall, in replying
to an attack by Croker, he said, 81
must say l regard it as the highest
compliment for any respectable citizen
to be abused by him." At the same
meeting he said:
We'll, this audience looks to me like
a good, old fashioned audience who re-
member things they have read in the
Bible. Cookers speech and why he
spoke recall to my mind the familiar
story of Balaam's ass. And in two or
three points Mr.. Croker reminds US Of
that very celebrated beast of burden.
IN the first place, until the ass spoke
nobody in the world imagined what a
perfect ass he was. If he had not
spoken he would have passed into his
tory as an average, ordinary, silent ass
who carried BALKAN on his way. but
when he spoke he was distinguished
over all other asses in the land"
As a Speaker.
Mr.. Choate always was droIl. seem
ingly genial and having a very pleas
ant time.
His first address that really gave
him the nation as an audience was the
one he made at the opening of the La.
dies Sanitary fair back in early civil
war days. But when talking to q
group Of Rad. life alumnae in the Ho.
tel Manhattan almost thirty-six years
later he gave. with his usual graceful
charm and gallantry, his own idea OF
what he considered his best speech.
81 made it to an audience consisting
OF one young lady some forty. years
ago." he said. with a glance and bow
toward Mrs. Choate. who sat across
the table from him at the Radcliffe
girls luncheon. ''That was the short.
est and, ] am quite sure, altogether
the most diff eult and at the same time
the most successful speech in my life.'
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