Albuquerque morning journal., 1922-12-19

might have been and was not l might
perhaps have been one of that group Of
friends who gathered about him, to whom
he wrote and to whom he talked in the
frankest and most delightful fashion about
men and books and politics. and the ever
lasting riddle of the mysterious vastness
of tho universe.
I was thrown with him rather init
n1ately for a few months in the summer Of
1855, when he was about - years of age
and was four years older. We were fel-
low reporters on a San Francisco daily
newspaper and in my minds eye / can
see him now as I looked up to him then.
In years he was younger. but in expert
ence, and ! think in maturity of purpose,
older than I. / find as / read this book
that he was already at that time member
of the bar, but did not know it then.
recall, however one day when we we're
sent to make a report or an abstract Of
some important Supreme Court decisions,
how clearly and skillfully he did the work,
In the winter of 1888, just before l met
him, he wrote to friend. as this book
records:
l desire to see the world, to rub off
some Of my provincialisms. to broaden
a little before l settle down to a prosaic
existence. So, as l say, want to live
in Boston while, and my only possi-
bilty of so doing is to get a position on
some Boston paper, something that will
afford me a living and allow some little
time for social and literary life. How
ever don't much care what the billet
is. can bring letters of recommenda-
tion from all the good newspaper men in
San Francisco, both as to my ability at
editorial work Il have done considerable
for the San Francisco NetCS Letter and
Erdntiner) and at all kinds of repor-
torial work. . l passed the law
examination before the Supreme Court
last month so l am now a full fledged-
but not a flying attorney, have not de-
termined definitely on going into law.
think I subconsciously felt the quail
ties in Lane which enabled him to write
THE LETTERS OF FRANKLIN X. LANE.
Edited by Anne Wintermute Lane and
Louise Herrick Wall. Houghton Mffln
Company,
this letter-rather an unusual one for
boy of 20. At all events admired and
liked him and think he did not dislike
me. But l soon returned to New York
and the pleasant acquaintanceship had no
chance to ripen into an intimate friend
ship. What makes the might have been"
still sharper is that as l turn over his
letters find that IN 's9 Lane was living
in New York, where ] was also living. He
was correspondent OF the San Francisco
Chronicle. and he soon gathered about him
a group of men of very diverse types who
"came together" as one of the group says
"to discuss plays, poetry, politics, any
thing and everything-the great actors
comic operas, the songs of the street
science, politics" One o. this little coterie
was Brydon Lamb, "of Scotch descent, but
born in America; a delightful combination
of strength. sweetness and light; the
simple grace Of his manner, his unhurried
sv eech his urbanity. captivated us; VIC
loved him for what he was, and we con-
sidered him our drbiter elegantartunt."
Now knew Brydon Lamb very well at
that very time, and have known him
ever since. although he has now returned
striking illustration of what may be called
the divisibity of life In New York that
my friend, Brydon Lamb should have been
the close associate of my admired ac-
quaintance, Franklin Lane, and that no
one of us should have had the faintest in
timation of the fact? The friends whom
Lane attracted must have been a pleasant
group. Lane was, says one of these
associates. interested ir human beings,
not problems. excepting as their solution
might be made serviceable to the needs OF
individuals He had great tolerance for
the most unusual opinions. / don't think
that Lane ever had moch interest in the
dogmas OF science, religion, or philosophy;
he lived by the spirit . them, that cannot
be expressed In formu-ae He had the Pc
culiar senstiveness Of . poet for words,
colors and sounds, and for moral beauty,
and blended with i the statesman's OBJ
servant awareness of conditions in the
world Of affairs"
But Lane was not a pedant by any
means. He had lively sense Of humor,
In a letter written to Sam" Blythe while
Lane was a member of the Interstate Com
y
port me for Supreme Court Justice? see
that ] am mentioned Between US, ] am
entirely ineligible, having a sense Of hu-
NOR"
II.
The volume before us is in no sense a
biography, but out of these letters, admir-
ably arranged and knit together by an ap-
propriate word of comment here and there,
the main facts of Lanes life and the main
thoughts of his mind can be easily CLEANED,
Returning to the Pacific Coast from New
York, he established a newspaper In Ia
coma, which throug'l no fault of his own,
was not a commercial success. He next
went to San Francisco, opened a law office
with his brother, threw himself into the
work Of municipal reform, was elected City
and County Attorney and was the pioneer
leader In that movement Of reform which
in six or eight years changed California
from a veritable sink of political corrup-
tion into one Of the best governed States
in the Union. His success in this work
led TO his nomination as Democratic can
didate for Governor. with that singular
paIipnity with which William Raudntnh