The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-08-06
Grand Sire Henry V. Borst

NR y HEN heard that Judge Henry wv V. per.t was grand sire" of the Independent Order of Odd
 Fellows, thought that sounded like just about as much as any one man ought to
 be asked to be, but when 1 heard in ad- dition that he was also a justice of the supreme court of the state of New York, lawyer, statesman and all-round good citizen, it seemed to me that he was qualifying just a little above the 100 per cent mark.
 ! This idea was entirely corroborated when I met the distinguished gentleman yesterday, for Judge Borst is a man of | many accomplishments, man Of great dignity and a man of decidedly impressive personality.
 When somebody complained to Byron once upon a time that some of his poetry was dull Byron replied:
 You can no more have poetry all gems than midnight all stars
 And so all judges and grand sires' and | lawyers and statesmen are not stars but it pleases me to say that Judge Borst is, and in the brief, hurried chat that had with him yesterday at the Tutwiler just before the luncheon hour, when he was to be the guest of the Kiwanis club, it was my pleasure to learn something of his achievements, his interests in life, judicial as well, regarding the great or ganization of which he is the distinguished head.
 T am proud to say that I was born New Yorker" Judge Borst said, in his dignified, statesmanlike manner, his intel lectual face framed with tinge of white hair, and his serious, earnest eyes, be- speaking the kindly nature of the man. And I want to add that if I hadn't been born in New York-in Amsterdam, which is my birthplace and my home-I would ra ther have been born in Alabama than anywhere else.
 Tn civil life I have followed the pro- fesson of county judge and other offices before I was appointed to the supreme bench. I have the distinguished honor of being the only democrat ever elected in my judicial district My term of office
 is for IA years, six of which I have al- ready served, being previously appointed for one year to fill vacancy"
 I may mention just here that Judge Borst has been prominently mentioned as a candidate for governor of New York, and when I spoke of this to him he ad- mitted it, but declared that just at present he was not considering himself as a possibility in the next gubernatoriai race. This suggested the present incum- bent, Governor Smith, who is warm per- -f I,,I0 t,d nf whom he said:
 Governor Smith is a fine man and
 is making a fine governor. He is fair-minded democrat, a big man and very popular"
 On the subject of prohibition and suf- frage the two leading issues politically everywhere now, I asked Judge B.orst his opinion, and he replied:
 T have always been moderate in my position toward prohibition; believe the open saloon is a great menace, and is a detrimental instrument to society. On the suffrage question, now that 1t has come I am glad the women have got what they want. Let them have it. In my own state, New York. where they have the vote, things are flourishing; we are prosperous: good wages are being paid of course the high cost of living is matter of great concern, and the working people are complaining severely
 
 of it. We are all sound and strong for the peace treaty, and the league of na- tions, and everybody wants the ratifica- ton to come as soon as possible, and the people at Washington to stop talking and everybody go home and be happy.
 ''The women who are interested Tn lodge work-the Rebekas." said Judge Borst, do not make suffrage an issue in their work; individually they have their own predilections, but this work takes them into other lines. They are not members, of course, but an adjunct to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, as the Eastern Star is to the Masons.
 s'My own utilization with lodge work covers a very long period said Judge Borst, serving in many capacities in my own state and for 16 years attending as grand representative the southern grand lodge At St. Louis last year I was made grand sire to serve tearm of two years.