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 PHILANDER CHASE KNOX It is never worth while to follow and deny a persistent and intentional misrepre sentation. But the statement or charge that Senator Knox was a corporation lawyer is so contrary to the fact that it is almost amusing. Of course every lawyer who has force and capacity is apt to number corporations among his clients. If he does not, it is no particular tribute to either his character or intellect. The question always is, what sort of corporations are his clients, and what does he do for them? But Senator Knox's entire professional career was singularly free from corporate alliances and from the habit of advising corporations, which does indeed get to be a persistent habit and finally gives a bias — uncon scious, perhaps,—to a man's entire sym pathies and ideas. On the other hand, where Knox's work touched the interests it was on behalf of the aggregate rights against special claims, of the people against the interests, business or political. In one case he broke up the vicious practice of fraudulent and pretended bidding on munici pal contracts, by which the work was thrown open to genuine competitive bidding and corrupt frauds on the city of Pittsburgh were stopped. In another case, by a construction of statutory language which was bold and novel but logically sound, he deprived the natural gas. conpanies of a thirty years' monopoly which they claimed under the Pennsylvania law, and threw that business open to free incorporation and competition under an amended law which was clear in its terms. The reason for Senator Knox's success at the bar are not far to seek. He is very alert minded, quick and keen in his insight, but thorough and deliberate in all his mental operations; he has a natural gift for' the underlying philosophy of the law. It is because of these qualities that he is steadily developing now before the country as a great constitutional lawyer. The same qual ities always stood him in good stead, and joined with rare courage, physical and

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moral, with great fertility of resource and boldness of execution, with sound common sense and generous judgment of others, candor and companionability, it is not strange that he attracted many clients and made devoted personal friends among his clients. He is very clear, brief and incisive as an advocate, and presents his cases with an admirable conversational method of address. He has always insisted upon the value of condensation, which is an element of success at the bar in the writing of briefs and in the presentation of them most commonly neglected. In one case involving the ownership of the Indiana polis traction system, in which distinguished counsel were associated with Mr. Knox or opposed to him, two or three days were consumed in elaborate and verbose argu ments, when Mr. Knox closed the case for his side in an address of twenty or twentyfive minutes, seizing and emphasizing the main point of the case, and upon this argu ment and the distinction which he made the case turned and was won. The Penn sylvania reports are full of cases which he argued before the Supreme and Superior Courts of that State during the twenty years between 1880 and 1900. I pass them by without more detailed reference and come to his public career. Mr. Knox's work as Attorney General was the national sequel and crown of his private professional career. He entered the office in the spring of 1901 pre-eminently as the personal choice and appointee of Presi dent McKinley. There was no political significance in the appointment. Mr. Knox had never taken any part in politics beyond the duties of a citizen and voter, and had never, after resigning from the Assistant United States Attorneyship, held any office except the presidency of the Pennsylvania State Bar Association in 1896. President McKinley and Mr. Knox had been warm friends since the days when McKinley was prosecuting attorney of Stark County, Ohio, and Knox as a lad at college in the county