The life and speeches of Hon. Charles Warren Fairbanks, Republican candidate for vice-president

Contents

Chapter. Page

I. Ancestry and Boyhood 7

II. Success as a Lawyer 19

Chapter I. ANCESTRY AND BOYHOOD

A S" industrious and toiling farmer's boy. ■* A hardworking college student.

An industrious press reporter.

A successful lawyer.

A safe and popular politician.

An able and distinguished Senator.

A wise and conscientious statesman.

The unanimous choice of a great political party for the second office in the nation.

Such, in brief, is the story of the life and achievements of Charles Warren Fairbanks.

Fifty-two years of active, busy life; no idle moments ; no time for vacations ; no time to waste. Always industrious, always a student, in his achievements he has again emphasized the possibilities that are before every American boy.

On the farm he gave the same earnest and careful labor he exhibited in pursuing his studies in college, to his work as a lawyer, to his duties in the Senate.

Never a self-seeker, his successes and his honors have come to him because of his native ability, his , industry, and his conscientious discharge of every duty, whether of private or public life.

He has not been without ambition, but his ambition has been to do the very best he could in everything, under the circumstances surrounding him. In school and in college he was ambitious to utilize every moment and gather all the knowledge he could in the time allotted to him. As a press reporter he was ambitious to give the best work possible; as a lawyer, to win an honorable success; as a politician, to aid his party by giving to the public through his speeches a just, fair-minded and honest exposition of public policy. In the Senate his ambition has been to give the country intelligent and enlightened service.

We live in a country where it is a delight to boast of our "self-made" men. Napoleon once said he was the first of his house, yet after all it is good to have forefathers, to come from a long line of ancestry distinguished for honesty and integrity, who lived honorable and upright lives, winning and holding the respect of their fellow-citizens. In one respect Charles Warren Fairbanks is a self-made man — that is, he has succeeded in life without the adventitious aid of wealth or of influential friends. He made his opportunities, having himself laid the foundation enabling him to seize on the opportunities when they came, but he can count a long line of ancestors who filled creditably the various stations in life to w^ich they were called.

Among the yeomanry of England was a family of Fayerbancke. For generations they had been farmers, growing up into a sturdy love of liberty. They loved liberty of conscience as well as they loved civic liberty. They believed in God, and in man's accountability to God, and they became Puritans. With others of that way of thinking the Fayerbanckes suffered persecutions under the dominance of the Established church. There came a time when the commons of England were forced into a struggle with the King in defense of the liberties of the people. In that struggle the Fayerbanckes bore honorable service under Cromwell.

One day, only a few years after the town of Boston, Massachusetts, was settled, a ship from England came sailing into that port. Like all ships from England in those days, it brought to these shores a number of emigrants fleeing from the persecution at home, and who were seeking a land where they might serve God after the dictates of their own hearts. Probably none then thought of this being a land of liberty as we now view that term, but to them it was to be a land of liberty of the conscience, far away from the tyrannies and persecutions of an Established church.

Among those on board of the ship that came sailing into Boston harbor on that day was Jonathan Fayerbancke, who, with his wife and four sons and two daughters, had left behind them the home that had been that of their ancestors for generations, and had turned their faces to this land of liberty of conscience.

Jonathan Faverbancke, like all the Puritans of his day, was a man of strong prejudices and of iron determination. There were some things about Boston he did not like, and he became one of the pioneers of the town of Dedham. The Puritans were professed believers in liberty of conscience, but in practice the liberty they permitted was only the liberty to believe what the congregation decided. The sturdy and independent character of Jonathan Fayerbancke prevented him from giving this absolute and unquestioning adhesion to the dictates of the congregation, and for a time he was not in good fellowship with his fellow-colonists. In the records of the church at Dedham is to be found this entry :

"Jonathan Fayerbancke, notwithstanding he has long stood off from ye church upon some scruples about publike p'fession of faith and ye covenant, yet after divers loving conferences with him, he made such a declaration of his faith and conversion to God and p'fession of subjection to ye ordinances of XT in this Xyt he was readily and gladly received by ye whole church 14d— 6m.— 1664:."

Charles Warren Fairbanks is the ninth in descent from the Jonathan Fayerbancke who settled in Dedham, Massachusetts, in 1636. lie was born on a farm in Union county, Ohio, May 11, 1852. His z < m

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k- tr father, Loriston Monroe Fairbanks, was a native of Vermont, but before reaching manhood he removed to Massachusetts, and at Ware, in that State, worked in a woolen mill, but afterward emigrated to Union county, Ohio, to engage in farming. He returned to Ware and learned the wagon-making trade. He then again removed to Union county to engage in wagon-making, which he followed for several years. After his removal to Union county Mr. Fairbanks married Mary Adelaide Smith, whose family was among the early pioneers of Union county.

It was in a log house that Charles Warren first saw the light. Fifty years ago tilling the soil was not so easy as it is in these days of improved farm machinery, and the elder Fairbanks had a hard time to meet the expenses of his increasing family. As soon as he was old enough to assist in any way with the work of the farm, young Charles was assigned his tasks. The family was large, the land had to be paid for and the forests cleared, that the land might be cultivated, and the work had to be done by members of the family, so the young lad was trained to laborious service. There was little time for idleness had he been disposed to idle. The returns from the crops were limited, and frugality as well as toil was the lot of the family.

In no way was he different from the neighboring farmer boys, unless it was in a strong desire to obtain an education. In the evenings, and at other times when released from the labors of the farm, he eagerly pursued his quest for knowledge. He read all the books he could obtain, and during the short sessions of the country schools he attended them. He early determined that if within the range of possibilities he avouM secure a collegiate education. In this craving for an education all the members of the family heartily sympathized, and his parents encouraged it. Thus, at the very outset of his life young Charles met with all the encouragement his family could give him in his aspirations.

The biographer delights to relate stories of the youthful life of his subject, and the people take an equal delight in reading incidents of the boyhood life of men who have become distinguished, on the theory, it is supposed, that "the boy is father to the man," but there are few incidents connected with the boyhood life of Mr. Fairbanks that would interest the reader. He was not bad, as boys go, nor was he especially good. He indulged in no wild pranks or escapades. On the farm he was industrious, and at school attentive to getting all he could from his books. He was not precocious, nor did he give any evidence of future greatness. Once only was his life in serious danger. It occurred when he was about four years of age. The carpenters were building a new frame house for the family, and were using the old log house as a workshop. Little Charles wandered into the old house where they had been at work. . The floor was littered with shavings, and the lad thought he would like to make a fire. He opened the door of the stove and undertook to thrust in a handful of the shavings. It was only a flash when the fire extended from the shavings he had thrust into the stove to the pile on the floor, and the room was ablaze. The flames were between him and the doorway, and how he finally escaped has been something of a mystery.

He was much more than ordinarily daring and courageous as a boy, and especially excelled in breaking and managing horses, and became an expert horseman while very young. On one occasion while attempting to ride an unruly colt he met with a serious accident, resulting in his receiving a broken arm. He persisted and conquered the colt. While still carrying his broken arm in a sling, he controlled and stopped a runaway team. He was fond of hunting and became an expert marksman, and is today what would be called a good shot. He joined in the neighborhood, merrymakings, and was ever a welcome addition to every company of young people.

But in one very important respect in his case the boy was the father to the man, for his boyhood delight in study followed him, and he became a studious man. The sturdy integrity and honesty and the habits of labor of the boy have characterized the man. As a boy he learned to exert his best endeavors in whatever he undertook, and as a man that has been his unchanging rule. In the country school and in college he put forth his best efforts to obtain knowledge; as the editor of his college paper he gave his best thought to what he wrote; as a press reporter he gave the same conscientious labor ; as a lawyer, his clients got the best results of his studies, and in the public service he has always given the best he could.

At the age of fifteen he saw his way to enter college. He had saved up a few dollars, and with this meager sum, backed by good health, a frugal training and a determination to succeed, he was optimistic enough to see the end. His parents were not poor, but they were far from being rich, and it was a hard struggle on the farm to make both ends meet, so but little could be spared to send one of the boys to college. But young Charles was not to be deterred by any such difficulties.

Not far from his home was the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, Ohio, and to that institution he determined to go. A neighbor lad was equally ambitious for a collegiate education, and he, too, was poor. They conceived the idea of joining forces and thus making the burden easier on each one. They rented a small room near the University, and therein placed what little furniture they needed. A part of it, a table, a bookcase and a washstand, was made by Charles himself on the farm. Their parents, as often as they had opportunity, sent them supplies of provisions. There they roomed, and there they studied. They did their own cooking and took care of their room. Their table was never luxuriously spread, but it was always ample. Their expenses, all told, amounted to only one dollar and fifty cents a week. In these days of athletic sports and intercollegiate excursions and fraternities young Fairbanks and his roommate would make a poor showing among their fellow-students, but perhaps it was best for them that their college days were days of adversity.

The meager sum of one dollar and fifty cents necessary for the week's expenses had to be earned, and Charles, who had learned on the farm the use of tools, became a carpenter's assistant, or did odd jobs of carpentering on Saturdays. He was not in college for play, and soon became known as one of the hardest working students in his class, yet when he found time for relaxation no one joined in the sports of the hour more heartily. His sunny temper aud his cheerful and obliging disposition soon made him one of the most popular students in the University, while his studious habits and correct deportment made him a favorite with the faculty. He became one of the three editors of the college paper, by election from his class.

His college life, like that of his boyhood, was almost wholly devoid of those incidents that make readable stories in biography. In after life his classmates always spoke of him in terms of respect and affection, but could recall to mind little in the way of incident. A short time ago the former room-mate of the Senator recalled how on one occasion they cut cordwood for a farmer, taking their pay in wood for their winter fuel.

There is, however, one little story that illustrates the trials he passed through. One day he and his room-mate engaged in a friendly struggle, when the only pair of trousers young Fairbanks possessed gave way under the strain. The damage done was beyond repair, and the procurement of new trousers became a necessity. The young student went to a clothing merchant and asked for credit, but it was denied him. There was one other dealer in ready-made clothing in the town, and to him Fairbanks at last applied. Here he met with a different reception, and the credit was readily extended. The merchant who was thus willing to aid a struggling college student is still doing business at Delaware, and since his old-time debtor has become a prominent man in the nation he frequently refers to the time when he trusted him for a pair of trousers.

Hon. H. D. Crow, of Washington, was a college mate of Mr. Fairbanks, and tells the following little story that exemplifies one of the characteristics of the Senator:

"Fairbanks went through college very young, graduating at twenty," said Mr. Crow. "He was a tall and slender youth, a good student and industrious, but not regarded as particularly brilliant. Two young fellows named Locke and Jones, had been expelled from the college because they would not give information concerning some of their comrades' escapades. The entire student body met one afternoon to discuss the advisability of petitioning the faculty to restore them to their classes. There was considerable debate over the matter, which finally resolved itself into a fraternity fight.

"The debate had been between seniors chiefly and few of the juniors had ventured to express opinions. As the last speaker sat down someone addressed the chair from the ranks of the sophomores in the rear. There was a clamor of protest from the seniors and juniors. A tall, ungainly, awkward boy, with a voice that had not matured, stood quietly waiting for the recognition of the chair. His cool persistence won, and the chair recognized Fairbanks. ~No one knew what position he would take, for he was not a member of any of the fraternities. He made a plea in favor of restoring the two expelled members, not because they were or were not members of any society, but because it would be a kindly thing to do. That speech won the debate. The student body voted with Fairbanks.

"Mr. Fairbanks, some time after his speech, became a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, but he had no thought of doing so at the time he made his speech."

One who was with him in college says that in the social gatherings there was none more genial or more welcome than young Fairbanks. aHe was not only genial/' says this writer, "but he was full of spirits, and in conversation most entertaining. His laugh was infectious. Possibly he would not have been called a brilliant student, but he certainly was remarkable for his grasp of all subjects and for his capacity to absorb knowledge. This is demonstrated by the fact that he crowded a six years' course into five years. On nearly every occasion when the students wanted one to speak for them young Fairbanks was chosen, he being regarded as a leader. At one time there was a difference between the faculty and the fraternities. Fairbanks was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta, and although there were students concerned who were both older in years and in length of membership, he was the chosen spokesman of the fraternities."

Chapter II. SUCCESS AS A LAWYER

V^OIING FAIKBANKS entered college a raw, •*■ country boy. He was tall, slim and strong. In 1872, when he left, being graduated with high honors, he was still tall and slim, but much of his shyness and awkwardness had been polished away. He had improved in his style of speech, but he retained his serious thoughts of life. He returned to the farm, but only temporarily. He had other views for life. He had stored his mind with the knowledge to be obtained from his schoolbooks, and from the teachings of his preceptors, and he desired to use that knowledge in a broader field than was offered by a life on a farm. The law was to be his chosen profession, and he went to work patiently, earnestly and persistently to prepare himself. He was through college but was out of money, and to study law more money had to be earned. The late William Henry Smith, a brother of his mother, was general manager of the Associated Press, and through him young Fairbanks was employed as an agent, first at Pittsburg and then at Cleveland. Engaged in the arduous labors of a press reporter, he applied the habits of industry he had displayed in college, and utilized every possible hour in continuing his law studies. He attended one term at a law school in Cleveland, and in May, 1874, was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Ohio.

At this time a strong temptation to enter politics came to him, but he refused. He said : "The practice of law is to be my life work, and I must first make my place in the profession sure. When that is done then I can afford to give my attention to politics." He was well aware that the game of politics is a fascinating one, and once entered upon is hard to break away from, yet its pursuit greatly militates against the fortunes of a young man, although he may be successful from a political standpoint, and he would not enter the game. He did not ignore politics, however, but carefully studied the great political problems of the day, and when a campaign was on gave some of his time to speechmaking for his chosen party. His first political speech was made in Union county, Ohio, before he was twenty-one years of age.

On October 6, 1874, after he was admitted to the bar, and after he had determined to make his future home in Indianapolis, he married Miss Cornelia Cole, who had been a student with him at Wesleyan University. When he was ready to enter the active practice of his profession the problem of where to locate was a serious one. His observation had

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taught him that the best chances for success were to be found in a growing city. The bar in such a city might be well supplied in numbers of aspiring lawyers, and in ability, but he remembered the old adage, "there is always room at the top," so he determined to cast in his lot and begin his struggles in some growing city. The top was still far ahead of him, but he determined to reach it if patient, persistent work would take him there. After canvassing the whole field he finally decided on Indianapolis. It was a fortunate choice for him and for the State of Indiana.

Before deciding to make his home in Indianapolis he visited the city and readily saw its future possibilities. It was the capital city of a State that was rapidly growing in population, wealth, and commercial and political importance. The city itself was expanding. It was a great railroad center, and was becoming the center of vast manufacturing interests. Consequently such a place would be one where great legal interests would be involved, and he decided that it should be his future home.

On removing to Indianapolis he and his young wife occupied a modest home, for their means were restricted, and neither of them was disposed to make any ostentatious show or to live beyond their limited means. They felt hopeful that success would come, but the place of the husband at the bar was yet to be won. The fight to reach the top might be a very hard one. They could not tell, but they were brave of heart and brave of hope. If conscientious labor, hard study, a strict attention to business and integrity of action could win success, they believed it was within their reach, for Mr. Fairbanks was patient, was a hard student, and was determined to give strict attention to his profession, and integrity of life and of purpose was his birthright from his parents.

He had a happy faculty of making friends, and with him once to make a friend was to hold a friend. Step by step he climbed up in his profession. At first clients came slowly, then they multiplied rapidly and success was assured. He won the esteem and respect of his fellows at the bar. When he entered on the trial of a case he gave it assiduous attention and close study, depending on the law and equity rather than upon any chicanery or tricks. In fact, he had nothing of those elements in his makeup. He never assailed the attorney or the litigant in opposition to him, but treated attorneys, litigant and the court with the utmost courtesy and respect.

In a very few years he had as wide and as lucrative a practice as any member of the Indianapolis bar, and for several years his emoluments from his law practice steadily grew, and there were but few lawyers anywhere in the United States with a more lucrative practice. His practice extended into many of the States, but was especially large in Ohio, Indiana and

Illinois. Much of it was connected with large transportation and corporate affairs. He had no practice in criminal matters. Neither his mind nor his reading ran toward criminal law, and he never tried but one criminal case. Increase of practice brought hard work, demanded more hours of study, and laborious research. He began with a well-grounded knowledge of the elementary principles of the law, but his practice soon required a thorough knowledge of the statute law of many of the States, as also of the laws of other countries.

Much of his practice was before the Federal courts, and he had to meet and contend against many of the most prominent lawyers of the country. He began with a very modest library, consisting of a few volumes only, but they had been chosen with great care. When he entered the United States Senate he possessed one of the largest and most valuable libraries in the West.

His success in his profession was not, in one sense of the word, phenomenal, but came from his thorough training, his close and conscientious attention to business, and his faculty for making friends. It was the result of a determined and set purpose. When he entered the United States Senate it was at a great pecuniary sacrifice, for, having accepted office at the hands of the people, he determined to give to their service the same conscientious attention he had given to his profession, and to do that he must be prepared to give all his time; so he at once retired from the practice of the law. In his youth, when tempted to enter politics he had refused, saying that he must first win a place in his profession, so that if he failed in politics he would be sure to have something to fall back upon ; second, he must accumulate a competence for himself and his family. Having succeeded in both these directions, when the people called for his services he could give them his undivided time and attention.

It would be pleasant to indulge in reminiscences and fill a few pages with anecdotes connected with his legal practice, tell of great and signal triumphs he won over distinguished and able counsel, but the reader can not be indulged in that respect. He won notable triumphs, it is true, but they were won by a thorough preparation of his case and an intimate knowledge of the law. He knew the law, and "the tricks of the law," but never indulged in the tricks, and only used his knowledge of them to prevent himself being tricked by an opposing attorney. He never had any startling cases, but he did have cases in which vast interests were involved, and they were presented to the court or to the jury without any startling complications. Hence he was better known to the bar and to the bench than to the general public. His practice led him into an acquaintance with many of the distinguished men of the nation, and he won their friendship and confidence. In this he found one of the elements of his later success in politics.

Chapter III. HE ENTERS POLITICS

A S HIS success at the bar increased, and as his ^ position in the profession became fixed, he felt that he could give more time to politics. He had been a student of politics. He had given careful study to all the great political problems of the day, to the political history of the country, and to the policies advocated by the various political parties, so that when he was ready to enter the political field it was as a well-equipped warrior. He had, at various times during political campaigns, made a few speeches, and had impressed himself on the leaders of his party in Indiana, so that his advice and counsel were sought, but it was not until 1888 that he took any active part in the management or direction of party politics.

Among the early professional friendships he formed was one with the late Walter Q. Gresham, who was Judge of the United States Court for the district of Indiana when Mr. Fairbanks began the practice in Indianapolis. This personal friendship remained unbroken until the death of Mr. Gresham, and that friendship had much to do with the entering into active politics by Mr. Fairbanks.

In 1888 Indiana had two distinguished sons who were talked of as possible candidates for the Presidency— Benjamin Harrison and Walter Q. Gresham. To decide between the two placed more than one citizen of Indiana in a quandary, but not so with Mr. Fairbanks. Ever fair and open in his professional life, he determined to be equally open and fair in his adherence to the political fortunes of any man. He was a friend of General Harrison, and admired his lofty character and great qualities. He had often met him in legal battles, and knew full well his great abilities as a lawyer. He had heard his speeches on great political occasions, and had watched his career in the Senate, and fully appreciated his grasp of matters of political policy and statecraft. He knew that if General Harrison should be exalted to the high office of President of the Republic the administration of the affairs of the nation would be marked with high ability ; but against all this was the personal affection he had for Judge Gresham, inspired, first, by the kindly consideration of the eminent Judge to a young and struggling lawyer, and increased by the wonderfully fascinating personality of Mr. Gresham. Had he not believed that Judge Gresham possessed all the qualifications to make him a great President and a safe head for the nation, these personal considerations would not have weighed with him.

As it was, he instantly made up his mind to support Judge Gresham, but in pursuance of the policy that he had always followed, he wrote to General Harrison a letter stating the reasons that led him to support the candidacy of the Judge. It was a fair, candid, open statement of one friend to another, but one that is not often found in political life. One of the most cherished possessions of Senator Fairbanks is the reply of General Harrison. The reply is as follows :

"Washington, May 11, 1888.

"C. W. Fairbanks, Esq., Indianapolis, Ind. :

"My Dear Sir — Your kind letter of the 8th has been received. I assure you that your frank declaration of your preference for Judge Gresham can not in the smallest degree affect our friendly relations. I am not one of those who have no friends who are not followers. It has been my wish, and my efforts have been with my wish, to suppress all divisions of a personal character in the party in Indiana. So far as I could I have restrained my friends, but, as Judge G. has himself found out, that is not always possible. I feel sure that you will know how to advocate his claims without unkindness to me.