Evening star., 1936-02-08
Curtis

Continued From First Page)
was a crusader against vice and q
county prosecuting attorney, and then
was elected to the House and later to
the Senate.
Immediately on his elevation to the
vice presidency he served notice that
he would not pursue the course Of his
predecessor, Charles G. Dawes. in his
efforts to revise the rules of the Sem
ate permitting unlimited debate. He
threw down the gauntlet to his prede-
cessor in his speech of Inauguration.
declaring 1.-The Senate is the master Of
its own rules"
However, as Vice President, Mr.
Curtis ruled the Senate with q firm
hand and brooked no overstepping OF
parliamentary regulations. With his
background of a score Of years Of
service and his thorough familiarity
with the rules, he stood out as an able
presiding officer.
Almost at the outset of his incum-
bency as Vice President he gained
WING AOtlNC WllCll
to the State Department against the
place accorded his sister and official
hostess, Mrs. Gam, at Official social
functions. Secretary of State Stimson
was called upon to revise the ruling of
his predecessor, Frank B. Kellogg, who
had assigned Mrs. Gam. Secretary
Stimson asked the diplomats to extend
the courtesy Of precedence to her and
they agreed.
Mrs Alice Roosevelt Longworth,
wife of the then Speaker of the House,
and Mrs. Gam were the chief figures
in the controversy, which never was
definitely settled.
Had Blood Of Indian Chief.
Born January 25, 1860, at North
Topeka, Shawnee County, Kans., Mr..
Curtis had in his veins the blood Of an
Indian chief and of French and Cana
dian traders on his maternal side. His
father, William Curtis, traced his
American ancestry back to 1921. His
mother died when he was baby and
he was taken in charge by his wrinkled
old Indian grandmother, Julie Poppin,
the daughter of White Plume, a chief
of the Kaws. His grandmother per-
Suaded him as youth to go to his
white relatives and become one of
them.
When he graduated from the Topeka
High School he delivered the COM
mencement grafton. Then he began
studying law, driving the hack at
night and selling fruit at the railroad
station to help pay his expenses. He
was admitted to the bar In 1881 and
when he was "a was elected prose-
cutting attorney of Shawnee County,
proceeding during his term to close all
the saloons in the county.
After one unsuccessful attempt, he
was elected to the House in 1892 and
served continuously until 1907. Then
Senator Joseph E. Burton, who had
resigned. and, with the exception of
an interlude from 1912 to 1914, con-
tinued in the Senate until his election
as Vice President. On the death Of
Senator Bodge of Massac achusetts he was
elevated to the post of Republican
leader.
On November 27, 1884, Mr.. Curtis
married Annie E. Baird Of Topeka
They had three children. Mrs. Curtis
died in June, 1924.
Loved Life Of Kinsmen.
As boy, Mr.. Curtis loved the free
life Of his Indian kinsmen. After his
grandmother Poppin had sent him to
his white relatives at Topeka he once
returned to the Kaw Reservation, hav-
ing tired of the restrictions of the
city in Topeka. That was his last
extended visit to the Kaws. One
night around the campfire Of the In
dian settlement, Julie Poppin crawled
over to him nd in whispered tones
ordered him to return to his white
relatives and become one of them be-
cause the Indians could not offer him
the opportunities for success in life.
She led him to his pony, placed him
in the saddle and hit the animal q
blow with quirt. The boy rode away
never to return as member Of the
Indian camp:
For several years thereafter Mr..
Curtis put to use the skill of the
Indians on horseback, riding with con-
siderable success as jockey on vari- |
Gus Western tracks. That experience |
came to an end when his grandmother |
Curtis started him to school. The
boys love of the race track and its
vnarfnrnaAry DArcicfad - aIare
throughout his life. While he was q !
Senator and Vice President he fire.
quently visited the tracks nearby |
Washington to indulge In his favorite
recreation.
To his last days Mr.. Curtis carried |
scars from injuries received in q fall |
over a 40-foot embankment in Kansas |
City. There in race he was riding |
Headlight, notorious renegade horse, |
who bolted from the track, broke |
through fence and hurled his rider |
over the embankment.
Never regarded rs a man of fash
ing genius, Mr.. Curtis was noted !
chiefly as one who had courage and
persevered He was one of the hardest |
workers in public life in Washington,
getting results by his eternal diligence
and never losing his temper. During
his campaign for the vice presidency,
he became visibly irritated only once,
when he declared q man in q Western |
audience, who was heckling him was
too damn dumb to understand" Mr..
Curtis covered every sertion ~ the