Newspaper Page Text
ONCE TRACK WALKER, NOW GREAT LAWYER The Career of Martin W. Littleton Selected at Leading Counsel for Harry K. Thaw, It Predicted That District Attorney Jerome Will Find in Him a Worthy Opponent at Coming Trial V orK. It. buck ill tSSSj v v :i .i following di.ilocm lmk place U i- m lie form.i!i of a little rail i ;'! dotMi l Tpi sml losy 'K"1. siiiilifc oung trackwalker h . .ihk1 iritui'o grid ready tongue l i ! earned Mm a reputation extend i.-j ! ar arto-s a Tcvi.s township. V' U I'' ,t n.-'ty blight o-tn? man." V i the fiireii.n. "I Mtptiose some day . i 'i"'t to b" the ronl'tctor of a . : ti t train, don't yo-t? .No. tr," r.'j.Ii-l the t:i'chui'.cr, ; 1 1,'UT expert ll IM- tllHt " I Vihi don't Von might li usiiic to o::.-thini; 1 1 - that. What do ou Ive.e T(i lie?" I expect to be a big laaer in Xi V r ii ." .'."'i the foreman had iccot'C'iwI i v.i) his laughter he said: ' Pretty far cry frotn tra hwalker In a mr n i it :tn lawyer, isn't it?" Yes. t-ir. Inn no further than liotn j . i I splitter to pm.hlent." Martin V. Littleton was the ro- :. k-il trackwalker. A few yoatfe ji ir when tin- whole country was titiKing with his pcech at ln St I. "Hi national convention In which he nominated Alton It. Parker for the j i sidency, Mr. Littleton went hark t i his oM corner of TrAas. anil met ii ' iailro.nl f iriTii-in v.!k had skcii heil i t for him the irMK?nt fuluie of a f-elfht coikI k tin . Part of Ambition RejtieJ. Wi I!. Martin." said il.e fniemim. f'iM- -ltitnKl son" bi !. I v.as i':: linK, ain't you'.'" 'I'm oliler." Nnd you'i" a leg N'i w York lawyer, l-vt. ain't you? " Well. I don't knoA- about the 'big,' le t I'm a New York !ii w i r. anyhow." !t probably caused .-o:i.e talk down in Texa.-. when It wa.s (earned that "M-ri" Littleton had been .-elected as rVikf counsel for Hairy K. Tl.aw. It tawsed some in New York. While he has been recognized for several ears a-; ;in able trial lawyer, be has not ...e.) prominently Identified with the c 'initial branch of his profession, al tln'irh he has been many times ad-vi-e-i that ho could bi-comc supreme in ;t.at field if he would enter it. His t-uecess since he lelt his old home in Texas has been iiliuott phe fonjenal, and it has been due largely lo these things detenr.iuattrn. af faoiMtj of manner, a gift of oratory M'i'1 conciseness of expression. There hh; few men In New York who can ixr him in making a plea before a Jury: there are fewer who ran make a tv.ii'e i leasing after-dinner speech; i here are few wjjo can eipial h'.in in rharly stating a complex proposition; there is none who can excel him iu iea!i;jg a telling verbal blow at an op oitii:ie time. And. ndtled to it all, he is a thorough student of the law. I!e is an expert at r rossexiunination. i :i lighter for what he thinks is rUht a id he !as a forceful way wi'b a jury. Becan-e Famed as Orator. Hack In his bovhood days iu Texas he was known as an orator a:id stmy-teller.- He could recite a!! the old tiliii A'fV masterpieces with a lire ih.it stirred the "boys" iu the tillage s'ore, and. a short tlu.e late:, when be was active In politics but net old eiioiuh to vote, ho run 1.1 rouse the old timers down !n Weatlierford to bursts of applause with his oiatorical efforts. i wai due to no choice of his own that Littleton went to Weatlierford. Hi was; horn Iti a log rahin In Uoane county, in the eastern part of Tenneu- 3" yean act last January, and when Just a youngster wan taken by 111 father to Wcatherford. After blay of a few year there the elder Littleton decided to move hack to Teti'ieKiW-e, hut the son. then under 16 Mars of a ileelined to actompnny littn. He preferred Texan. Kven at ihat tender age he had begun to dream of a life in New York city. The Idea of studying law hadn't occurred lo him, hut he wait determined lo get ia the "midst of things" and to make hi. way at something. Worked and Studied Law. teiendent on hla own efforts af'er his father moved back to Tennessee i:e (lid odd Jobs about Weatlierford for a time and then, for want of Moniothlng lo do. obtained a Job aa trackwalker. It wasn't the sort of work hi preferred, but he wasn't par ticular and lie stuck to It for several months. It was during this servitude that ambition In become a lawyer seized liim. Ills ready wil and hit; i-.hilliy lo say things better than the other men on the read caused some of his associate to suggest the law to him. I'.y way of shot tciilni; Ills path some what to bis chosen Held he left the railroad and got a job as "devil" in t'l" office of the I'ark County News, wiikh was published in Weatlierford. lie ilidn'l like ink nnd pressroom eti quette, so afUT a short term here he Ki'i a Job as baker's helper. Mixing dough and reading law didn't prove us delightful a combination us he had hoped and he resumed his old job of trackwalker because It gave him plen ty of time to i.tu'ly nights and to think about his btudk's during the dayt'uit;. While he was ' using up tallow candles in his attacks upon Hlackstonu he realized that It might be helpful to him if he had a short term of schoof ing In the rudiments. He had never been inside a sehoolhouse. although he had received some Instruction nt home and had picked up a good bit of information on general topics. To tarry out his plan he weiu to Sprlng tnwn. and there for eight months he did chores and farm work and studied with an old lierman who numbered anions his pupils the children of most of the aristoe: ats of Parker county. Entered Attorney's Office. In the olnht months Littleton learned as much as he felt was neces fary for the time being. He could do fractions a-t well as a:iy one; he could parse everything that could he pHrrd; he could wri'e as fust and as plain as any boy In the toitnty. and he could recite better than any actor wjjo bad evtr struck Weatlierford or tiny place in that J art of Texas. He knew the history i f the I'nited States like a bock, and he had a pretty good idea of the history of other nations, which iu his youthful opinion didn't amount to nuieh ai.yhow. Thus equipped, he entered tin office of the district it'omey ot Weather ford comity as a clerk and law stu dent. As expressed by u mr.n who knew him in those, days, "he fairly Hte the law books." He t.wept through them with ilghtiing upeed, nnd in IMil. at the ae of 11), be was admit! yd to the bar. Ho was then on.: of the leading young citizens cf the ccni:i seat. As soon ns be waa admitted s practice he hung out hla shingle In Weatlierford. and forthwith ha began lo win eases in the local courts. The suavity of manner that distinguished him proved lo be one of his chief as sets, and Ihe quick wit which glvs" him 'advantage over his opponents at thu present lime aided him then In de feating his older adversaries. Twu ytau In Weatlierford put him at Ihe head of the profession there, despite the fact that he was still a beardless youth who had cast but one vot. Bright Career in Dallas. Dallas was the scene of his next en deavors. He was unheralded, but it was only a short time before he be came recognized as a lawyer of ability and boundless ambition. In two years he became assistant district attorney, and In that cupaciiy he made a reputa tion as a prosecutor which extended pretty well all over Texas. His grasp of criminal law was described as re markable and his handling of a Jury was said to be tittle short of mar velous. There, was Just enough of the old southern fire In his oratory to make Juries bow before him. During his career In Dallas he was conMunfly fondling his ambition to come to Now York. He had never leen east of the Texas line since his father had moved over from Tennes see, and be had never met more than a half dozen men from the metropolis. Hut be bad read of it and dreamed of It and he was determined to make a cletin Jump across the continent as soon as he could scrape together enough money to pay the expenses of himself and of Mrs. Littleton. Winning Wife. There wasn't any Mrs. Littleton at that time, hut he was determined there should be. It has been said that the greatest oratorical effort of his life was that put forth when he induced his wife to marry him, give up MFr lux urious home In Texas, and come to New York with him. He bed made a splendid success as a lawyer, but had little money; he bad no friends In New York, and not even a suggestion that he might obtain work. Mr. and Mrs. Littleton, nevertheless, bade good bje to Dallas In 18 and a short time later arrived In the city, which the youthful bridegroom he was then but 21 years old had dreamed of conquer lut;;. The young lawyer, despite his Texas la t. els, did not make the strides here he had made iu the southwest, hut he whs neither surprised nor disap pointed. He sought work in the of fices of various lawyers and finally ob tained a iioEltlon with the firm of Peck & Field, ljiter he found a place with Sheehnn & Collins. Still Liter he became attorney for tlie Hrooklyn Heights Railway company, and It wat while there that his star began to rise. He attracted attention In the TfeniST trial coir.-s and was regarded as a "comer" in criminal law. Involved in "Big" Cases. In lfcM he was made an assistant district attorney of Kings county, and while tervlng in that capacity he had charge of some of the most notable cases in the borough avros the bridge. He prosecuted "Five Hundred and Twenty I'er Cent" Miller anl was chief prosecutor in many other prom inent tapes. And during nil this time he was giadually earning a reputation as an orator and after-dinner speaker. He i.ttr.'icted ' particular attention be cause he was of a different school from his competitors. He brought east with him a southern charm of manner that. Invariably made frlcuds for hi i) i. His real debut aa an orator came during; the campaign of 1'JttO, in the old Acadtmy of Music, In ll-ooklyn. Knov vi as a i.uui who could make a fall- speech, he wa3 put down on the programme as one. of Ihe talleiidrs. Three Democrats of national promi nence were f hcduled for the chief ad dresses, nnd David II. Hilt "was her alded ai the principal attraction. When his turn came Mr. Littleton thea a man of but US years created a sensa tlnn Irom die start, il is nu exag geration to kj.v that he really elec ttJflcd the audience. His speech was vUort, clear mid to the point, and his eloo,ii! nee stirred the crowd to storms of applause. Instead cf leaving Ihe hall everyone stayed and still others lummed their way In. l.lttlr'on became known out aide of Hrookb after that. It was that effort. In fact, whlcfi led to,hl selection M ihe niHu to nominate .Alton B. Parker , lor the presidency ai- the St. Ixiul -convention of 1V04. William F. Sliee- bsn heard his Academy ai Music ' speech.-and In looking for some one to make the supreme effort at the fit. Iuls convention he suggested Little ton. Studied Address Carefully. It Is not necessary to recall the sen sation caused by Mr. Littleton's speech In St. liOtils, but It Is Interesting to recall tbn preparation made for the address. Unlike most orators, Mr. Littleton does not profess to be an Impromptu speaker. He can make an Impromptu speech, but be never does so If he can help It. He prepares bis sentences with great care and then commits them to memory. In fact, be does not have to put forth any effort to memorize them. When he has writ ten a speech he has learned It. He can repeat It with practically no varia tion. He prepared his St. Louis speech weeks ahead of time. He rehearsed It at home, and when he needed a larger place In which to train his voice he went out to the cathedral In Garden City and practised for hours. After be rcVhed St. Ixiuls he went to the con vention hall one Sunday afternoon, and in the presence of two or three of tits friends went through the speech two or three times to get the proper pitch for his voice. His oration created a sensation and put him In stantly in the front rank of American orators. Never a Seeker for Office. Although possessing the attributes of a successful politician and having po litical ambitions, Mr. Littleton has not been a seeker for office. He was perman ent chairman of the Democratic state convention In 1902 and was borough president of Brooklyn In 1904 and 1905. He was urged to accept a renotn Inatlon for borough president, but be declined. He had two reasons for do ing so. One was that he wanted to leave the office before he had been criticised; the other was that he was, as he publicly expressed it at the time, "unable to make both ends meet." He retired from public life to build up a law practice, and he has been busily engaged In doing so ever since. lie left Brooklyn a couple of years ago and set up In Manhattan, and he has been prominently before the public since In his legal capacity. In the mat ter of earnings he is said toVank with the leading lawyers of the city. Not yet 36 years of age, be may truthfully be said to have a glowing future, and his close friends intimate tlia- it will not be alone In the field of law. After he has accumulated a com- M 1 II. , I . 1 I I . ioriauie ioriuno u is nam ue may been again to re-enter public lire. Younger by many years than any LITTLE-TOM other lawyer who has In recent yea. been In full charge of a case bo Im portant as the Thaw trial, Mr. Little ton will be eagerly watched during his conduct of that trial. His f nerds say that lils experience as a prosecuting attorney In Texas and in Brooklyn will greatly aid him in bis fight, and they predict that the pitting of his ability against the cool, unerring methods of District Attorney Jerome will furnish one of the most interesting contests of , Its kind seen la New Yo.'!; in many vears. It's Chief tlse. "These," said the Inventor proudl, "are photographs of the finest aero- lane the world has yet seen." We studied the remarkable-looking object. "And how U it supposed to work?" we aiked. " "Oh." he rejoined, "It lan't supposed to work at all: but you can sue what Kpiendld newspaper and magazltio articles it will make." Mrs. Evans' Claim. Mrs. , Evans. of Richmond on Tnames, England, claims she Is the only woman entitled to wear the Alma, UnktclHviw and Inketmun medals, per mission having been granted on the death of her husband, whom she ac companied through the Crimea. Sho waa'nfiea under fire. - DlscQverd Prehistoric Ruin. In Spruce canyon, near Cliff palace, C'olortdo, Prof. K. L. Hewitt has dis covered a prehistoric ruin six stories high, one of the finest examples of the -)ll IT dwelling ever found. The Doctor's Case By Minnie W. (Copyright, by Joseph B. Dow lea) The spring bad been miasmatic, and all the portents prophesied . an nn bealtby summer; but notwithstanding these facts, "the times were out of Joint" with Dr. Bruce Pendleton. His diploma, embellished with plate glass andgirt molding, stared dumbly from the wall ot his office, with nobody to read It. His smart-looking sign, on which the paint was fresh and ths gold leaf very new, volunteered to pilot an Invalid populace to the spot where he dealt out tablets, powders and tinctures, vainly entreating them to "turn In hither" nnd be saved. For, In spite of Its persuasions, when teeth ing babies went Into spasms, small boys had green-apple colic, or despond ent adults took Hough on Rats or Paris green, the messenger in search of a medical Samaritan, like the priest and Levlte, passed by on the other side. L'nder the circumstances. It Is not at all to be wondered at that Dr. Pen dleton fell behind In his rent; that bis landlady gave him cold shoulder with cold coffee at breakfast, because of an unpaid board bill, and that polite but pressing duns formed the nucleus of his mall. One day, when bis creditors were more exigent than usual, it occurred tv him that be would go down to Litchfield, a green country hollow among the hills, and pay his respects to his Aunt Penelope. During his college course and the struggle with short rations incident to bis medical curriculum, she bad "put up" for him time and again, al ways assuring blm that this was the very last time she should do so. But what soft-hearted old lady, susceptl ble to the mutations ot tender flat tery, could withstand the compliments. insinuating and clever, of a silver tongued youth in whose favor her af fectlons were enlisted T " He would go and see, and recon quer bis Aunt Penelope. Not a bad place to go Into retreat for awhile; not at all bad. This was his thought as he lifted the old-fash ioned knocker. Dr. Pendleton had, until this moment, almost forgotten the existence of Dorla Hadley bis "Cousin Dorla," be bad used to call her, who answered bis knock. She was the orphaned daughter of one of Miss Penelope Stannard's early friends, and had been raised by Miss Stannard as her own child would have been, bad she ever been a wife and mother. Ten years ago, Dorla bad given -ao promise of beauty, but here she was now, with a color on her cheek, a light in her eye, a grace of contour rnd charm of espresslon that went through the doctor's ready sensiblli ties with a shock like the galvanic current of bis own electric battery And the air of her! It had the un conscious dignity of a Juno or Diana, What a stunner she was! Before he had a chance to say a word. Miss Stannard came and stared at the Intruder for a moment beforeJ exclaiming In astonishment: "I declare to goodness If it isn't Bruce!" Aunt Penelope was duly embraced, the doctor and his grip-sacks taken In and the hired girl for Litchfield knew no "maids" and the fatted fowl immediately had differences to be set tled.' Meanwhile the aunt and nephew talked "Still raveling your web by nlghC Aunt Penelope? Still keeping the 'suitor crew' in uncertainty? You look as young as you ever did, and are Just as much of a beauty. Miss- Stannard shook her bead and sighed a little. "No, Bruce; the Infirmities of the flesh are foes to good looks. "Infirmities? 1 believe you could en ter as contestant at an Olympian race and come out winner, this very min ute.1 "No, Bruce," still more energetical ly. "My sleep is reor and I have lit tle appetite; that isn't the worst of it either, for I have a terrible case of the blues. I had about made up my mind to call In Dr. Somerset and get a prescription The young man sniffed contemptu ously "Somerset? He'd have given you blue mass or Jalap, and bled and blis tered you In true antediluvian style. There's been a renaissance in the art or healing since his day. Why, he hasn't yet admitted the existence of the microbe, and swears bacteriology 1b all gammon. I've beard blm talk i jtow fortunate I came in time to save you fron Ms tender mercies." And then Dr. Pendleton's finger was on the old lady's pulse; he was In spectlug her tongue, and auscultated tier heart by placing his ear lightly above It. Meanwhile, having no more idea than the man in the moon as to her ailment, his shrewd glance had dc tecred a few liny pimples on her soft old wrist. Blood out of older, con eluded he. But, having a point to carry, bo kept his own o.iiirscl, and did not, therefore, declare the nature of the caw. I'e remembered the maxim: "All's fair In love and war," and added to It, "and when you're down on yo-ir luck." Miss Stannard was startled by bis professional movements. "Is Is it anything serious?" fal tered she. He looked at her tentatively for a moment. "Ycu must not be alarmed," aid be. Bames - MiUer "N-a-o," she quavered faintly. Tor really, there la ao occasion. But I And reason lor believing, with out the shadow of a doubt that there Is at present In your blood a substance called haemoglobin." Aunt Penelope gave a gasp. "And this, with other constituents forming the corpuscles, is now floating In a colorless liquid called 'plasma'" This sounded terribly like miasma, and Miss 8taunard groaned. "This plasma gives your blood a watery con sistency and contains some albumin ous substances called fibrin and fibrin ogen." Ob, Bruce, this is awful," cried bit aunt. Not necessarily with proper treat ment." "Can't It be stopped? Can't you do something for It?" It took some effort on Dr. Pendle ton's part to partially soothe and allay the fears he bad of set purpose, ex cited, but by -and by he succeeded, by dint of bis persuasive tongue, la bring ing his aunt to that desirable point 'There Is in Your Blood a Substance Called Haemoglobin." where anxiety concerning results be came, to a certain extent, lost sight of In a sense of present Importance as a wonderful "case." . That evening DorJa saw the doctor pacing to and fro under the trees out-' side and went out to question blm. "Are you sure to cure Aunt Pene lope?" "There's no reason to doubt it, Dorla. Dorla! I like that name so odd and qaint. No one would even Im agine what to expect In a girl named Dorla. She looked at blm furtively. He was of the type that melancholy en hances and for the first time, Dorla realized that be was not ot,ly distinguished-looking, but handsome. There was only a brief half hour of this exquisite companionship, for when Dorla rose to go, he did not attempt to detain her. But be knew, as be laid his head Uon the pillow that night, that something out of the ordinary bad befallen him. He realized that -the former desultory chapters of his life had come to an abrupt and sudden close, and its real story had begun. In the days that followed, when Aunt Penelope began to experience the Joys of returning bealtb. Dr. Pen dleton's fame, trumpeted by her, went., abroad through all that region. One day, weeks later, when the three were together In the sitting room, and the doctor bad pronounced her discharge from treatment, adding that he "roust soon be getting back to town," Aunt Penelope cleared her throat preparing to make a bold and daring speech, and screwed her cour age to the sticking place as be contin ued: "People'll call me 'AnanHia' after reading the card on my door that says, 'Back soon.' " "I suppose no one has read your card." said'Darla with a painstaking frown contracting her brows as she counted the stitches In her wild rose embroidery, between the words. Dr. Pendleton turned scarlet at this pert little remark. No man wishes to be considered a failure by the wom an be lores. "And ihelr own loss, too." Inter posed S'isa Stannard. soothingly. "Bruce," began she with some little trepidation, "why go back at all? The towns are crowded with doctors of established reputation, who seldom go away and never die. What room Is there for you younger fry? Why not settle down here, marry Dorla and all of us live together? There's plenty to support us all." Vp to this tiino Dr. Pendleton never had had the courage to pteaci uu ease, but his aunt's words seemed to Inspire blm. Then iu a few words, with mighty force, he submitted to her his case. Not until a half-smile touched her face dared he to draw her shrinking figure toward him nnd lift, to meet his kiss, the blushing faco she strove to cover with her banJs. ' And at supper time everybody In cluding Aunt Peneloie looked si ra diantly blissful that Pomona, whoso right name was Auretia. declared to herself In confidence: "I'll be I a comity there's t-ometbJug udS"