USA > Pennsylvania > A biographical album of prominent Pennsylvanians, v. 1 > Part 15
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Gen. Hoyt's reputation as a lawyer is second to none. Ilis legal knowledge is not only broad and comprehensive, but accurate to the slightest detail. Ilis arguments are concise, logical, and philosophical-too much so, perhaps, for success before juries, but of the utmost value and importance in legal discussions
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before the courts. IIe is truly learned in the law. As a counsellor he is pre- eminently valuable. During the time he practised at the bar his advice was sought after by his brethren in important and critical emergencies, and, when given, all who knew him knew it might be relied upon. His knowledge of the fundamental principles was so thorough that the greatest respect was always cx- pressed by lawyers for even an " off-hand " opinion on matters under discussion at the various meetings of the members of the bar. Ile was attorney for many of the large banking, mining, and railroad corporations. But his education and study were by no means confined to legal matters. Mathematics in its highest branches is his favorite pursuit ; while history, philosophy, science, theology, and general literature are alike studied with great zeal and relish, all contributing abundantly to enrich a mind well capable of enjoying their most hidden treasures.
The training which Governor Hoyt received in early life as farmer boy, as scholar, and as teacher, always within the influence of his father's example, taught him, at least, the value of thoroughness and accuracy in whatever is un- dertaken. And it may well be stated, as characteristic of the man, that to what- ever subject he has given his attention he has spared no effort to reach the very marrow of it, and understand it in all its details. His library is large, and ex- tends over a very broad field of literature.
In 1869 Col. Hoyt was appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for the coun- ties of Luzerne and Susquehanna, but resigned the position in 187 3.
In 1875 he became Chairman of the Republican State Committee, and he conducted the campaigns of that and the succeeding year with success.
In 1878 he was nominated by the Republican party for the position of Gov- ernor of the State of Pennsylvania. It was at the time of the greatest excite- ment in the State on the question of the resumption of specie payments. Many believed that no one could be elected on an unqualified hard money campaign ; but the General, scorning all subterfuges, sounded the key-note of the campaign in his first address by declaring : " Professing to be an honest man, and the can- didate of an honest party, I believe in honest money." In June of the same year, in some remarks he made at the Du Quesne Club, at Pittsburgh, he used the identical language. We make this statement because it is generally supposed that Hon. Galusha A. Grow is the author of the sentiment. He was elected by a large plurality, and inaugurated January 14, 1879. His term was for four years, he being the first Governor who, in pursuance of the new Constitution, served for that period. The oath of office was administered by the late IIon. Warren J. Woodward, his former instructor, and then a Judge of the Supreme Court of the State.
Subsequent to his election Governor Hoyt wrote for the Historical Society of Pennsylvania a " Brief of a Title in the Seventeen Townships in the County of Luzerne: A Syllabus of the Controversy between Connecticut and Penn- sylvania."
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HENRY M. HOYT.
Being positive by nature in all the habits of his mind, he is naturally positive in his political views ; but in all political discussion he has shown that his posi- tiveness is not a result of partisan bitterness, but a conclusion from a thorough and careful study of the Constitution and history of his country.
His official correspondence and veto messages abundantly illustrate the accu- racy of thought and legal ability above mentioned. They are models of con- ciseness, and, so far as they go, are studies in the science of government. No bill was ever passed over his veto; but, on the contrary, the vetoed bill invari- ably showed a loss of strength after the reasons for the veto had been made known.
During Governor Hoyt's administration no extraordinary or unusual opportu- nity presented itself for the display of executive ability, but it will be marked as among the most peaceful and successful the State has enjoyed. At the time of his inauguration, through a variety of causes, the treasury was in an unsatisfactory condition, several hundred thousand dollars of dishonored school-warrants being afloat for want of sufficient funds for their redemption. By wise adjustment of the revenue laws, and a vigorous collection of delinquent taxes, the finances of the State were brought into excellent condition, so that every demand was promptly met, and when he retired sufficient funds were on hand for every purpose of governmental expense, beside large annual additions to the sinking fund. The State debt falling due during his term was refunded at very fav- orable rates of interest, so that an annual saving of several hundred thousand dollars was made in the interest account. The credit of the State was never so good as at that time, and was fully equal to that of the general government.
A valuable reform in the method of punishing persons convicted of first of- fences, especially the young, has been adopted through the exertions of Governor Hoyt, and is to be carried into effect at the reformatory prison now in process of construction at Huntington. To this subject of the punishment of convicts, Governor Hoyt has given thorough examination and study. Through his in- fluence exclusively the General Assembly were induced to change the plan of building a State penitentiary into one for constructing a reformatory on the most approved and successful models, for the purpose of providing a place where un- fortunate criminals, not yet hardened in crime, might be brought under good in- fluences, and at the end of their terms of punishment have a chance, at least, of restoration to society as useful and honest citizens. Whatever benefit results from this wise humanitarian effort, the State will owe to the forethought and in- dustry of Governor Hoyt.
The extirpation of the so-called medical college, located in Philadelphia, which, by the sale of bogus diplomas, had for a long period brought disgrace on the State and nation, as well as the destruction of upwards of two hundred fraudulent insurance companies, had the active co-operation and support of the Governor.
In addition to the literary work already mentioned, Governor Hoyt has deliv-
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HENRY M. HOYT.
ered a number of addresses on different occasions which have secured for him the reputation of being the most scholarly and cultivated Executive the State has ever had. Notably, one at the opening of the Pan-Presbyterian Synod in Phila- delphia, and one at an agricultural fair at the same place. The first attracted very general attention from theologians of this and other countries there assem- . bled as displaying a remarkable familiarity, not only with all church history, but also with the tangled and abstruse theological dogmas, disputes, and doctrines of ancient and modern times, not usually within the knowledge of laymen. But perhaps his most scholarly address was that delivered in October, 1882, formally closing the Bi-Centennial Celebration.
Among the last and most valuable of his acts will be regarded in the history of our times his opposition to a system of personal politics, which had grown to such proportions as to threaten the integrity and freedom of our institutions. In his letter declining to act as Chairman of a distinctive political meeting while holding the office of Governor, written during the campaign of 1882, he stated his convictions, and asserted "the inherent right of the freemen of a Republic to declare the ends and aims of public conduct." Hle rose to the height of the inspiration of the founders of this Republic in his declaration that "where in all the space between abject submission and rebellion, no place is given for appeal, argument, or protest, revolution is an appropriate remedy." And he only repeated the lessons of the history of the abolition movement and many others when he asserted that "peace will never come until the moral forces in politics which you have organized prevail." His position was taken with great pain at the thought of the possibility of offending some sincere friends; but being satisfied of his duty, and knowing better than they could the dangers arising from the political system which used public trusts solely for private and personal schemes, he sounded the alarm, and took his place, as he did in the attack on Charleston, in front of his friends. However much men may, in the excitement incident to a hard political struggle, differ from him in judgment, no man, friend or foe, can deny the moral courage behind the act. As to that there is no room for debate.
Governor Hoyt retired from office in January, 1883, and shortly resumed the practice of his profession in Philadelphia. Of his retirement an editorial in the Telegraph appropriately and justly said :
Henry M. Hoyt retires from the Executive Chair of the State to-day with the marked respect and cor- dial esteem of the people of the whole Commonwealth. His administration, especially in view of its political surroundings, during the past four years, has been fully equal to all just expectation. Hlad he at any time attempted to inaugurate a new era, to bring about the retrenchment and reform which the people in November last imperatively demanded, his efforts would have been futile, on account of the hostility of the entrenched machine. The bosses had not yet been admonished and chastened, and they ridiculed the advocates of reform. It is well known that Governor Hoyt foresaw the storm that was inevitable, and that he earnestly warned his political associates to mend their ways; but his wise counsel was not only rejected-the defiant managers sought to compel his public abjuration of the views imputed to him. Then came the crisis and Governor Hoyt was equal to it. Just at the right time he struck the enemies of the people a staggering blow, speaking words of crushing truthfulness that demoralized the machine and its apologists. Remembering the vindictiveness of certain political leaders and their open
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threats to destroy the Executive, the fact that two months have passed without attack since he manfully took his stan I for honest and reputable political management and pure government, conclusively shows that there is nothing even in the inner history of the outgoing administration of which its friends may be ashamed, while the public record of four years is found to excel in every essential particular any of its later predece-sors. Personally Governor Hoyt stands conspicuous as the ablest and best-equipped man . who has occupied the Executive Chair since Governor Curtin's time. Could the secret history of his ser- vice as Governor be written, it would undoubtedly be seen that he has withstood greater pressure from evil sources than any of his Republican predecessors at least. Being a man of quiet and unostentatious nature, not given to political or official " posing" after the manner of the demagogues of the time, he has fought his battles beyond the range of the public eye, with characteristic dignity and independence, not soliciting public sympathy or public approval. He has been content to let his acts speak for themselves, and his silently endured public misunderstanding and criticism that would have crushed a weaker man. A Butler or a Blaine would have pursued a vastly different course, but the people would only have been deceived, not protected or served. Governor Hoyt's last message was an exceptionally able State paper, and its concluding references to the political evils and needs of the times will become historic, affording the student of the future a curious subject of study. This appeal for a new departure in political methods was the echo of an aroused public sentiment, and its force will be felt in the years to come. Governor Hoyt will be followed into retirement by the best wishes of all good citizens, irrespective of party.
In conclusion of the summary of the characteristics of Governor Hoyt, here feebly portrayed, we would say that in him there is not only the intellectual power manifest in his writings and his labors at the bar, but there is a rare intel- lectual and moral candor, an honesty of thought, an unselfishness of purpose, and a warmth of affection, known best to them who know him best, and appreciated by his friends. In conversation he always says something worth remembering. It is a flash of insight into some object or other. Wit, energy, determination. sincerity, are his characteristic qualities-a man who believes least of all in idle complainings and questionings. Dilettantism has no place in his composition. Sincere in his conviction of the beneficence of the results, he has shown himself willing to adopt the best methods effectual for their attainment. If no sufficient aid of the kind most desirable is present or assistant, yet in no case is the alter- native of idle laissez faire and complaint to be adopted. With clear insight into the heart of things, both as to their present bearing and future prospects, he has never been known to avoid a responsibility, or betray a friend. His unselfishness appears at times like a lack of self-appreciation, which might be, if it has not already been taken advantage of by scheming, if less able associates.
Governor Hoyt was married on the 25th of September, 1855, to Mary E. Loveland, daughter of Elijah Loveland, a native of Vermont, but who removed to Kingston in 1812. Her mother is of the ninth generation of the descendants of Thomas Buckingham, one of the Puritan fathers, who emigrated from England to Massachusetts among the first of his class, in June, 1637, and who is the ancestor of the vast family of American Buckinghams, so many of whom have gone high up the ladder of distinction in the professions and in politics in various sections of the Union. Mr. and Mrs. Hoyt have three children living, one son and two daughters. The son, Henry M., studied law in Philadelphia with HIon. Wayne McVeagh, and graduated in the law department of the University of Pennsylvania. He is now a practicing lawyer in Pittsburgh.
HON. WILLIAM A. WALLACE.
WILLIAM A. WALLACE.
H ON. WILLIAM A. WALLACE, ex-United States Senator from Pennsylvania, and for fifteen years a State Senator, was born at Huntingdon, November 28, 1827. He is descended from sturdy Scotch-Irish stock on both sides. His father, Robert Wallace, emigrated to this country in 1819, and for a time taught school in Mifflin county. He finally became a lawyer and settled in Hunting- don. He was a gentleman of education, but of limited means, and it was not in his power to give his children superior educational advantages. He taught school, edited a newspaper and practiced law, his most prominent position in the legal profession being reached when he was elected District Attorney of Hunt- ingdon county. In 1836 he removed to Clearfield when that county was a wil- derness, and the great interests which have since made it famous were hardly dreamed of.
Senator Wallace was but eight years old when his father removed to Clearfield. Although so young, he had had some educational opportunities in the public schools of Huntingdon. When he went to Clearfield he pursued his studies as best he could in the schools of the place, but no opportunity was offered him to gain more than a fairly good English education and the rudiments of the classics. He began the study of the law when a little more than sixteen years of age in his father's office, and helped to support himself by doing clerical work in the offices of the Prothonotary, Sheriff, Treasurer and Commissioners of the county. He applied himself with great earnestness to work and study, and his employ- ment in the county offices gave him a knowledge of titles and surveys which was of great value to him after he was admitted to the bar, as the bulk of the cases in that county were ejectment suits and other litigations growing out of disputed titles to land and lines of survey. He was admitted to the bar in 1847, before he was twenty years of age. His father, in the meanwhile, had moved to Blair county, and left him to make his way by his own efforts. For a time it was a hard struggle, and he was compelled to earn his living in part by teaching school. During this time, however, he devoted himself to the practice of law, and by hard work gained a foot-hold. He was painstaking, conscientious and untiring, and when he got a case he prepared it with a care that soon attracted attention, and his practice began to increase. Many prominent lawyers then practiced at the Clearfield bar, among them Andrew G. Curtin, Judges Hale, Linn and the younger Burnside, and the class of cases he was engaged in were mostly eject- ment suits, which were of such importance that the parties to the litigation had the means to employ the best talent. Attrition with strong minds and the char- acter of the litigation rapidly developed his force as a lawyer and gave him a large practice.
The hard work required and his close application told upon his health, so that
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in 1862 he accepted the nomination of the Democrats for the State Senate as a relief from the drudgery of his practice, and in the hope that the change of scene and action might benefit him. It-was impossible to make an active canvass or really any campaign at all, as the war and the invasion of the State by the Confederates at the time absorbed every other thought. Each of the candidates had therefore to rest their case with the people without the usual excitement and interest attending upon political movements. He received his full party vote in the other counties of the district, but in Clearfield he ran so far ahead of his ticket that he was elected by a good majority. For thirteen years after his first election he was returned to the Senate, and, notwithstanding the bitter assaults that were made upon his political action, at each election he ran ahead of his ticket in his own county.
He went to Harrisburg with merely a local reputation, but he soon made his name known throughout the whole State, and in a very few years it was known throughout the whole country. His election to the State Senate gave the Demo- crats a majority of one on joint ballot, and his vote made Charles R. Buckalew United States Senator in that year.
So rapidly did Mr. Wallace develop into a power in his party that in 1865 he was, without his consent, made Chairman of its State Central Committee. He found the democracy split and demoralized, and at once addressed himself to the work of organization, in which he developed unusual tact and ability. In this year the only State office to be filled was that of Auditor-General, and there was no great interest taken in the canvass. Gen. W. H. H. Davis was the Demo- cratic candidate, and was defeated. In the succeeding year, although his party was in better working condition than during his first year as Chairman, he went into the canvass to see it again defeated with Heister Clymer as its candidate for Governor. In 1867 Judge Sharswood was the candidate for Supreme Court Judge, and Mr. Wallace at the head of the State Committee conducted such an adroit and noiseless canvass that the Republican candidate was defeated. In 1 868 the most memorable canvass of his career as a political manager was made. Seymour and Blair were the candidates for the Presidency and Vice-Presidency against Grant and Colfax. The October election in Pennsylvania was the pivotal contest, and the issue was made and fully tested there. He not only gave his party a splendid organization, but good heart, and brought it to the polls in such excellent working condition that the Democratic candidate, Hon. C. E. Boyle, was defeated by less than ten thousand votes in the October election. A change of less than one per cent. would have reversed the decision, and might have beaten Grant in the November election. Even with the prestige of Grant's name and popularity, his majority was less than twenty-nine thousand at the Presiden- tial election. The contest that year in Pennsylvania was one of the bitterest ever known in the history of the politics of the State, and the Democratic party, under the leadership of Mr. Wallace, was in better condition than for many years before or perhaps since that time.
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WILLIAM A. WALLACE.
In 1871 the Democrats obtained control of the State Senate, and Mr. Wallace was, by almost unanimous consent of his party, chosen Speaker of that body. In 1872 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention at Baltimore, and voted against Horace Greeley, but followed liis party in supporting him for the Presidency after his nomination. In the same year, while yet a State Sena- tor, and in the very zenith of his power in the Democratic party in the State, Mr. Wallace was chosen Vice-President of the Texas Pacific Railroad Company, for the purpose of looking after the legal questions arising from the complicated character of its charter rights under Texas, Louisiana and United States laws. When he accepted that position it was with the distinct understanding that his services were only temporary, and related exclusively to the legal questions that would naturally arise out of the title and over the construction of the subsidized road. He went to Texas, and attended to his duties with great satisfaction to the managers of the company, returning when the Senate met to resume his duties in that body.
In the election of 1874 his party had secured control of the Legislature on joint ballot, and by common consent Mr. Wallace was turned to by his party as its candidate for the United States Senate. In the few years that had elapsed since he walked into the Senate chamber a pale, delicate and almost unknown young man, he had outstripped many Democratic leaders of less force but more pretensions. Of course, several prominent leaders of his party were candidates for the nomination for United States Senator, but Mr. Buckalew was the strongest opponent that Mr. Wallace had. It did not need the expression of the Demo- crats in the Legislature to show that Mr. Wallace was the choice of two-thirds of them. So pronounced was the feeling in his favor that long before the Legis- lature met Mr. Buckalew and other Democrats raised the question that Mr. Wallace was not eligible to the Senatorship on account of his being a State Senator. The question was debated at great length and with much feeling in circulars and the newspapers, and strenuous efforts were made to influence mem- bers of the Legislature by the arguments that Mr. Wallace could not take his seat if elected. It was of no avail, for when the Democratic caucus met there were only six votes out of one hundred and twenty-one cast for all opposing candidates. In the winter of 1874, the one prior to that in which Mr. Wallace was elected United States Senator, the Legislature was engaged in framing the acts necessary to carry into effect the provisions of the new constitution. To this work Mr. Wallace earnestly addressed himself, and much of the important legislation of that session bears the impress of liis mind and work. The general Act of Incorporation, which is regarded as one of the best of the kind on the statute books of any State in the country, was his work, and the law regulating and classifying cities and providing for their debts also came from his hand.
Mr. Wallace took his seat in the Senate of the United States on the 4th of March, 1875, and almost immediately assumed a leading position in the national councils of his party. His reputation as a man of political force, gained by prac-
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tical service in Pennsylvania, followed him in the broader work at the Capital of the Republic, and he had been in the Senate but a very short time before his judgment was sought and his advice taken upon all matters of party manage- ment. During his term in the Senate he served upon the important Committees of Finance, Appropriations and Foreign Relations. At the time when the Democrats drifted towards the Greenback heresy Mr. Wallace was of great ser- vice to his party in inducing it to take conservative action upon leading ques- tions, and in tempering and controlling the bitterness of opposing factions. In all the political events transpiring during his six years at the National Capital, Mr. Wallace held a foremost place, and, although antagonized at every step by his rivals for leadership in the State, he maintained his position, and almost universally scored a victory over his adversaries.
Mr. Wallace's career as a lawyer is as eminent as his record as a politician. Starting without opportunities or influential friends, he rapidly rose to a promi- nent place among the leaders of the bar of the State. While serving in the Senate he did not negleet his legal work. During the labor troubles in the Clearfield region he took a judicious and equitable part between the coal opera- tors and the striking miners. Although counsel for the commonwealth and the coal operators, he was never violent in his denunciation of the workmen. In the great trial which took place at Clearfield when the leaders of the labor strikes were arrested for conspiracy, and the question of the organization and conduct of the labor unions was up for judicial investigation, Mr. Wallace was counsel for the coal operators in their actions against the miners. The late Senator Matt Carpenter, Judge Hughes, of Pottsville, and other eminent lawyers, defended the action of the labor union. Judge Orvis presided, and the trial was a long and desperately fought legal battle. John Siney, the head of the labor unions, was acquitted because no overt act could be proved against him ; but Xingo Parkes and other prominent labor unionists were convicted and sent to the penitentiary. Mr. Wallace interposed in behalf of the convicted men, and urged upon the court the utmost clemency. He took the ground that the moral effect of the convic- tion of the leading strikers was greater than a harsh execution of the law. In all the many labor troubles that have occurred in Clearfield county Mr. Wallace has taken a prominent part as assistant counsel to the law officers of the county. Ile has also represented the large coal operators in that region, and by his judi- cious advice and discreet interposition between contending forces law and order have been very well preserved, and never have troops been called into the county to preserve the peace as they have in nearly every other mining district in Penn- sylvania. In the labor riots in 1877, as in all others that have occurred in the Clearfield region, Mr. Wallace's action and advice were effective and all-important. He took a judicious ground between the workmen and the operators. He held that the men had the right to strike, but no right to prevent others working, and the quiet but firm position assumed by the operators and authorities under his advice prevented bloodshed and restored order in the region. The qualities
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