, 1921-10-20
THE TRUSTED ADVISER.

Since lives of great men remind the less great that
it might have been different. it is worth while for the
youth of America to give more than passing attention
to the footprints in the sands of time left by Philan-
der Chase Knox.
The high lights in the career Of this statesman are
briefly stated:
Assistant United States attorney for the western
district of Pennsylvania 1876. President Pennsylva-
MIA Bar association 1897. Attorney general of the
United States under Mckinley, 1901; reappointed by
Roosevelt and served to 1904 when he resigned.
Appointed to United States senate to fill vacancy
caused by death of Matthew Stanley Quay, 1904, and
elected for senatorial term 1905-11, resigning in 1909
to become secretary of state under President Taft.
Reelected to senate March 6, 1916, to succeed Sena-
tor George 7. Oliver.
nation in convention Of 1908. Refused attorney gen
eralship during McKinley's first term. Twice refused
Roosevelt's tender of appointment to the United
States supreme court. Prominently mentioned for
appointment as secretary of state under Harding, but
preferred to remain in the senate.
Was trusted adviser of four presidentstMcKinley,
Roosevelt, Taft and Harding. Successfully prosecuted
the so-called Northern Securities case" pronounced
by constitutional authorities to be the gravest and
most important issue presented to the supreme court
since the determination of the problems growing out
of the Civil war period. This broke up the notorious
Hill-Morgan railroad merger. He secured the extra
ditipn Of Greene and Gaynor, who had fed to Can
ada with large sums embezzled in connection with
government contracts in the harbor of Savannah. Can
ada refused to extradite them and Knox, acting in
direct conflict with an opinion of Sir Edward Clark,
leader of the British bar, took an appeal to the privy
council in London, which rendered an opinion in ia
vor Of the United States and established a precedent
in International law. He acquired title to the Pan
anna canal for the United States and did much to
strengthen our relationships with the Latin Americas.
He originated the plan to n~eutralize the Manchurian
railways, which was defeated by the opposition of
Russia and Japan. He gave a dignity to dollar
diplomacy"
He was irreconcilably opposed, as an American and
a senator to the Wilson league of nations. "Knox
will see through it," wrote Lansing from Paris. In
the debate on that matter he proposed what has been
referred to as the "Knox doctrine namely, "If a
situation should arise in which any power or COM
bination of powers should, directly or indirectly,
menace the freedom and peace of Europe, the United
States would regard such situation with grave con-
Germ as a menace to its own freedom and peace and
would consult with other powers affected with q view
to concerted action for the removal of such menace"
This was not acted upon by the senate. He was one
of the authors of the round robin resolution which
served notice on the Versailles peace c~onferees that
the league could not hope for the required vote in
the senate and that the treaty should not include it.
He was finally the author of the peace resolution,
amended somewhat by the house, which officially
terminates the war.
Philander c.. Knox will be remembered as one of
the foremost statesmen Of the age in which he lived.