Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-01-12
rENNYrAckER AuToBIoGRArny-No. ~



he remained over the next day. receiving
people there while was up at the DEPART
ment at work. lie had visited me before at
Moore Hail and at Pennypacker's Mills,
and the effort to fathom the underlying
impulses of man so remarkable was an
interesting study. IIe had no presence
he had no voice; he was never imperative.
and yet he nodded men to his will. Durham
had wanted TO have T. Larry Eyre retained
as Superintendent Of Public Grounds and
Buildings. ami after another appointment
had been made he sent telegram TO Quay
which was regarded as offensive. quay
showed Il to me and said:
IL am done with that fellow. I shall not
permit him TO do n thing again
Quickness of Quay's Mind
To me the quickness with which he an
nounced n purpose to dismiss man with
| the strength of Durham was startling. In
| this instance | threw oil on the waters and
| said:
Senator Durham is not at all we'll. With
| all of us, when the nerves are n little
! tangled and things do not come our way.
we are apt TO show irritation. Durham
| will come around all right"
The thought seemed 20 appeal To his
sympathy and experience.
on one occasion about this time there
| was vacancy in the Court of Common
pleas in the Twentieth Judicial District
and consulted Quay and Ponrose about it.
! Penrose urged the appointment Of a man
who had been active and useful in the
politics of one Of the counties. Then I
indicated preference for Joseph VI. Woods,
a gentleman and man OF good antece-
dents, being descendant of John Wither-
spoon and a lawyer Of standing IN the pro-
fession. At once Quay said:
Woods will be the best appointment"
penrose did not utter another word, but
Immediately after the interview telcgraphed
10 Woods that he would lie appointed. I
was Informed long aftcrward that Judge
Woods was under the impression that he
owed his appointment TO the Intervention
| of Penrosc.
Source of Quay's Power
Sometimes | queried whether quay ever
| tried to influence the mon around him;
whether he was even fully aware that he
| was influencing them; whether he did any
| thing more than, seeing clearly what the
| rituation required, indicate his line Of
! thought. with the result that they. after
pondering. saw that he was correct, At
! all events he made no apparent effort. lie
was, Of course, helped by the fact that his
success in many contests made men feel
that he was probably correct especially
! since often he had information outside of
| their ken. Sometimes when have differed
! with him have later found myself doubt
ing whether, after all, was not mistaken.
| His sympathies were quickly aroused, and
| there never was man more of whose
| actions were determined by altruistic senti-
! ment one secret Of his success was no
| doubt the fact that he felt and manifested
| n genuine interest in the welfare OF others.
| He hclped the Indians ana became II chief
| among them not for what they could do.
| but because he felt an interest in them
| on this evening he talked TO me about the
| matter, as an interesting fact, that we two
| descendants of Major Patrick Anderson. or
| the Revolutionary army, Were mt the same
| time Senator and Governor. lie told me at
| length of his plans to remove the bones OF
his grandmother from ohio. where she had
1 been buried, to the Anderson family yard IN
| Chester County. IT seems the old woman
| had expressed the desire to be buried among
her kindred but at the time of her death
| those around her were too poor to comply,
| and he carried out the wish Of this long
dead woman. He talked to me of his son
| "Dick" with apparent regret that he was
| nothing of a politician and only maker oil
| money, in which pursuit he was fortunate
! What seemed to me remarkable, l found III
him a strong vein OF superstition, the kind
| Of fatalism which gave Napoleon faith in
| his star and which made Jacob Boehm, the
| shoemaker OF Goerlitz, so sure OF his IN
| splration. We even talked OF ghosts, ana
| 7 was nstonished TO hear him say i'll all
soberness:
"Lately was sitting in my library and
ont or the darkness woman in white
loomed up before me. I knew right well
who she was and what she wanted
should have been glad to have pursued
the subject further, but i was too delicate
and waited, but he said no more.
Quay and the Courts
Then we talked over the vacancy in the
Supreme Court. l had thought over the
matter seriously and had prepared list
of six men whom I regarded as the most
eligible professionally, AT its head was
Charles T. Rice, President Judge Of the
Superior Court, and on it were Mayer sulz-
berger, David r. Watson, Democrat;
LYMAN D. Gilbert and Judge John A. Nc
Ilyaine of Washington County, of whom
the Justices of the Supreme Court held
high opinion. He looked it over and said:
''I do not want Rice. If you appoint him
shall have TO oppose him myself in the
convention. He is one OF those Yankees
from around Wilkes-Barre, and you cannot
trust one of them"
said:
Senator, il you are opposed to him 1
shall not appoint him"
During the conversation he said to me:
.'It would be gracious thing upon your
mart TO appoint John p. Elkin."
"It would be too plain. and since Elkin