The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1932-09-09
Interesting Career of the Hoosier Statesman
Who Is Directing the Hoover
Campaign.

His next trip to the "city" was
when, as lad of eighteen, he entered
the Terre Haute Normal school to pre-
pare for a career as school teacher"
TO help maintain himself in school, he
got job working in a shoe store on
Saturdays, thereby depriving himself
of any chance to participate in foot
ball, although he was good football
material.
After two years at Normal school.
Sanders got a job teaching at the old
Buchanan school, near home. He
cites it as mark of the progress In
diana was making that his mother
taught the Buchanan school when it
was rude log building; his elder sis
ter taught there when the schoolhouse
was frame structure, but that when
he went to teach at Buchanan it was
to an attractive brick schoolhouse.
On the savings of two years as
teacher. Sanders enrolled in the law
course at Indiana university in the au-
tumn Of 1904. Despite the fact that
he dropped out for three months dur
ing the course. he graduated with a
LII. B. in the class of 1907, Of which he
was president
Within week after he had received
his sheepskin from L o., the young
attorney was 'practicing law" with
the firm Of McNutt & McNutt, In
Terre Haute. He remained in that Of
fee for nine years, until leaving to be-
gin his first term in congress, by which
time the firm had become McNutt,
Wallace & Sanders
His race for congress marked an i'm
portant milestone in Sanders career.
Not that entering congress isn't an i'm
portant step in the life of every men,
Der, but In Sanders case it was a
step away from the practice of law,
which had been his lifetime ambition.
Since then he has attempted at various
times to return to the legal profess
sion, each time to be blocked by the
demand that he assume other public
responsibilities not of his seeking.
Incidentally, his first congressional
campaign fell in the Presidential year
of 1916, when President Wilson was
running for reelection on the issue,
"He Kept Us Out of War;" Sanders
home district was also the home of
Eugene v. Debs, Socialist leader, and
Debs had been put into the race as
the candidate Of his party. The Dem
ocratic candidate was Ralph Moss, for
many years a member of the lower,
house from that district.
Although the normal Socialist vote
In the district was about 1000, Debs
that year polled vote of close to TO-
600. Despite this and the fact that
the country went Democratic with
Wilson, Sanders was elected by a plu-
rality of $40 votes. In the special ses-
sion of the new congress called by
President Wilson early in 1917, San
ders cast his first congressional vote
for warl
During the eight years he remained
in congress he was a member of the
interstate and foreign commerce COM
mittee and rose to become a member
of the powerful steering committee
which decides on the majority party's
legislative program. He was recog-
nized by his colleagues as a member
who kept his head in all emergencies,
who could always be depended upon
for cool. calm counsel and whose judg-
ments and conclusions upon pending
legislation were sound and reliable.
But during all this period the urge to
practice law still persisted. Soft was
that in 1924 he decided definitely" to
put politics behind him and get back
to his law Office. To make this de-
cision effective. he announced that he
was through with congress-that he
would not be candidate for re-elec-
ton in 1924.
Then politics intruded again. Pass