Grand Forks herald. [volume], June 20, 1919, Image 12

About Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955

Image provided by: State Historical Society of North Dakota

                
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pHAUNCEYM. PEPEW fe efebtj
five years old.
Yet today he is as full of the se£
of life s* cytt, his soiqe }s stjil ptroog
and hearty »nd the whimsical humor
that has made him a national character
as sn »ftcr:dinnef %'w
than sixty years is «l fresh thirty
years ago.
The laugh tb»t has never failed to
echo after one of bis witty stories Li
far removed from the frwW?!»f «*cfcle
of old age. His raiud is far distant
from thestsge where men wfro *Fe old
dwell in \he buried past. Indeed, the
it-eight of eighty-five y^ars iias evpu
foiled to bend his should&s.
"So 709 would like to know whft
thoughts anew birthday brings to me?"
asked Mr. Depew smilingly after we
were seated in the reception room of
his New York home at 27 West Fifty
fourth street.
"Young man, you don't appreciate^!.
fear, how risky that is.- Spwe time
ago the papers printed what I had to
say on growing old gracefully, and' do
you know I had scores of letters from
old fellows all over the world criticizing
me. They inferred that I was cheat
ing.
"Really, living to be eighty-five and
much older is a simple matter.
"Here is* my formula. It can be
summed up in thesis two rules-t' (1) Say
gp! Cut it out! (2) Say no when
asked to dp something that will hurt
you, or if you have done it, cift it out.
"These are efforts of will. Ogly
will, however, can bang you to old
age, Take my own case for example.
"Thirty years ago I was killing
myself smoking. I suffered the worst
kind of torture when I gave it up.
had" to conquer through will powef.
There are many men who drink too
much or who eat too much. When
they decide to moderate their babita
they must hold to it(
"The follow who gives up and goes
back to bis eld habits usually exceed#
his original excesses. One of the
pities of existence is that most things
you enjoy best do not agree with you
internally.
"Yes, her4 lira fet the age
eighty-five years and I never felt better
in toy life."
There is no reason, if you enjoy these,
xihy you should die, if you don't eat
too much.
"I have seen a thousand of my friends
and acquaintances lie. What killed
them? Half of thjem died of worry
5-j over things that never happened,'which
gZ they thought would happen. Most of
the other half dug their graves with
their teeth. In both cases is was a
|j*5 species of suicide."
Chauncey greets the visitor with a
•is1.!flrm grasp. Hjs blue eyes twinkle »er
rilr- His tread is firm, and not a
grease shows in that well-known face.
Mr. Depew speaks with the same
extraordinary virility one expects from
looking at him.
"I go to my office every day except
Iplanday. Tjm a dissctor of the board
*lfL tbe New York Central, you kLow. I
there .at 10 o'clock, faithfully, iad
'A*
Pi
^«rWi?7
omfro
r? -f* s.
17 BUP MeV*IGp
Fladbtg the Thrill la Ufa
Here Mr. Depew leaned back in his
chair ud the famous laugh was heard.
"Physically I am not impaired, sad
I feel that my mentality has not suf
fered, but, of course, when wa judge
our own physical fitness our mental
condition must be judged by our
friends.
"You know after an It to the ability
to be able to get a thrill out ot life
that makes it worth living. There are
several thrill* that come to moat of
ns. There is the thrill when a fel
low** beat girl consents to become hi*
wife. Thea there is tha thrill that
cornea when we fail in business and
are la debt. There ia the thrill when
we recover from that and pay all our
debta. And I have gone through all'
those thrills.
'Every day brings me a thrill now.
It is a.great thing to have lived
through a period where more history
haa been made in a few years than in
centuries before. I have gone through
mere in my lifetime than my father,
my grandfather and my great-grand
father in the total years of their lives.
"lad speaking of thrills, there is a
constant thrill for me to know that we
entered this war for democracy, for the
ideals of the Allies.
"It is a great thing to be alive BOW.
I thought I had struck the high point in
events when I passed through the Civil
War. I was elected to the Legislature
from New York in 1861 and I was with
the New York regiments operating
against Lee. But those times are noth
ing to the present day. This period
i: gives one an appetite for living.
"After all, life consists of the thrill
and the fun you get out of it. Every
r* thing is new to the man who laugha,
who has a good appetite and good diges
tion and a reasonably good conscience.
•wzzsi
Oil tlM wMfc
fs
i'&A
CHAUNCEY M. DEPEW
Here Is the Formula for Keeping
Young From the Modern Ponce
de Leon—Chauncey M. Depew
Say "no", when asked to do something that will hurt
you, or, if you have done it, cut it out
Get a thrill and lots of fun out
of
in life.
Don't worry half the people die from worrying over
what never happened..
Go slow on what you eat half the people dig their own
graves with their teeth.
Taste everything at dinner but eat only the roast.
leave at about 1 o'clock for luncheon.
Usually I go home. I take a shcrt nap,
and then return to the office at 2:30,
where I remain until 5 o'clock. Then I
close up the desk and go home. Do I
ever take physical exercise? No,-I
never had any. A little home
calisthenics in recent years, but
never enough to amount to anything.
When I was a boy, you know, syste
matic exercise was unknown. There
were no sportsmen's clubs or anything
like that. Rowing was just being de
veloped at Yale, but it was sot taken
aeriously.
"Years ago, on account of working
sixteen hours a day and making
speeches at night, I got rheumatum,.
"Acting on the advice of an English
doctor I gave up beef and I have not,
eaten any fot thirty years.
Moderate Eating. Is the TMag
"Most people eat far too much. For
a long time my breakfast has been one
egg, half a muffin and half a cup of
coffee with hot milk. I gave up coffee
at luncheon and dinner'' because it
affected my sleep. I find that I 'Jo rcry
well on a very light breakfut, and :or.e
thing for luncheon and not very much
of thhfc. I take a small piece of chicken-,
or one chop, with a vegetabfe and a fruit
dessert.
Cut out tobacco if it impairs your health,
Remember always that it is a great thing to be alive.
"A good rule for dinner is:
'Taste everything, bat eat only the
roast.'
Mr. Depew then told why he does not
smoke.
"I became an inveterate smoker ot
cigars°in college," he said. "In tact,
I became a slave to tobacco. -In1 time
I got so I couldn't think or prepare a
brief or make a speech without smoking
all the time. I burned up twenty
strong cigars day. I became aubject
to insomnia, violent indigestion and
nerve troubles. I tried to break off
gradually, but that can't be done.
"So about tjrenty-five years ago I
stopped-suddenly and for good. Life
was agony for three months and I
wasn't godd for anything. However,
since then I have felt much better for It.
"Would you like me to tell'Jou th^
story of my last cigar? Well, I -had
gone to Albany to prepare an importapt
railroad question SWire a joint com
mittee of the Legislature. I stayed up
late preparing my caae, stnoking all the
time. I couldn't sleep whe^ I went to
bed. I realised that was getting.tei .be
my conatant condition. But In the
morning- when I pas*ed\ tSe hotel
tobacco stand and saw th««e good old
Partaga cigars, which .were a .favorite
brand at that time, and which cost
twenty-five cents in those days of low
prices, I couldn't resist.
"I bought a Partaga and walked op
the hill toward the Capitol. was feel
lag very bad.
I looked at
mi
everything you do
At the State atreet corner
,, —my cigar and said, 'Qld
'friend, you have sacrificed 'yourself Jfor
me, and I've pretty aearly sacrificed
myself for you. Here's where yon and
I part company.' They I tossed the
.&4ar away. It hit the side of a passing
horse car and landed in the street. The
conductor jumped off, picked it up aad
we*t em smoking happily.
"Well* here I'am today, but Idon't
haow what became ot the horse car con
dnctor."
^sked to tell: wine of his celebrated
stories, Mr. Depew related the (99 M
n4, of conrae, lwartil^.^laed
ia thiIau|A that lairitabl]' itllovel kit
Famous Railroad CKieftain and After-Dinner Raconteur Philosophizes on Life and Combines
of His Famous Shafts of Humor With Epigrammalic Hints on How to Live Long and Be
hI-
ago a maa wa,'
brov^it l|ito my oflleo to geo me oa
very Important matter that he would aot
lntrust to aiy secretary. He had xritb
him a big map, all rolled up and as-,
tall as be was
"I asked him fa state his bys.ineM
^e'^uyin.:
'Tfee Vfaderbilt Una is ia peril?:
aad #n» tfe-only mf i# the P«|te4.
states wl,o can care it.'
"Th«i Pre iwollod hfi fnap and with
bis pointed out the yartoys Mlata
sHUere railroad routes might be built.
'I have two purposes fa «Ui)lg
here. Qne to .save tbe V«a4erWlt
jypteni asd the «Jth£r ie to offer jow «r
ItjS rep^veseatatire the cfcaace to beceme
the greatest railroad man the worlds
"'How is the Vandepbjilt line jj»
^peril?' aaked. Vr'
"He took his eaae and pointed.
'The Pennsylvania line is going to
by|ld a road from here to here. The'
Baltimore and Ohio is going to build
from here to here. The'Erie will build
a parallel line from here to here.. Or
dinarily this would paralyze your sys-'
tem but I have it in my power to
save yoy. I hare already applied to (fee
government for a charter to build
road from Otoeha to New York, and
have in my possession thirty-four bil
lion dollars' worth of rights of way,
And I am here to talk business.
'Po you know what Bismarck Mid
to the king of Crusia at the opening
of the Franco-German war?' I askM
him.
One of the Pepew Storks
"He looked at me doubtfully, then
angrily retorted,
'You have the reputation of a
joker, and 1 suppose this is one of your
jokes 'but I w*ut you to'lnow that
1 'am-serious and will not submit.
am giving you a chance to earn the
eternal gratitude of the Vanderbilts anil
also the opportunity to become a rich
man.'
'And I repeat the question,' I
interrupted.c 'What did Bismarck say to
the Icipg of ^russia at the opening of
the Franco-German war?'
'I suppose you won't be able to
talk business until you get that joke ^ut
of your system- I don't know what
Bismarck said, and I don't care. But
just to please you, I'll ask you what
he said-'
"I squared my shoulders aad deliv
ered the answer: -v
'Roll up the map of Europe.'
'Well, how docs that apply to this
business? I don't see the joke,' he said.
"I was patient and tried to explain.
*^_am Bismarck and you are the king of
Prussia and I say to you, roll up the
jaap of Europe.'
"1 suppose that means you won't,
entertain the proposition,' be ejacu
lated.
'That's precisely what i£ does
mean,' I replied.
'Well, then, if you can't take this
off my hands, you cau at least, do me
one favor,' he said as he rolled up the
map.
'What is that?' 1 asked.
'You can give me a pass back to
Cleveland.'
His First Client
"After being graduated from Yale I
made up iny luind to begin my career
as a lawyer, and1 my father's attitude
hastened my plans to go to work for
myself. He told me that he would pay
for the first month's office rent, buy inc
what lawbooks 1 needed, furnish the
office, and pay for the painting of the
sign that hung outside my door, and
that was all I would ever get out of
him except by his last will and testa
ment.
"I knew he meant what he said, and
began that first week as an attorney
with many misgivings for the future.
"It was on the second day of the week
that I found my first client. 1 My office/
'was in Peekskill and I was competing
with leading legal lights who had more
than local fame in their professions.
On this red letter day of my career a
farmer came to me for advice. After
hearing his case I told him that I would
give my opinion if he came around the
last of the week. Then I wept to work
to read my lawbooks on that subject,
and exhausted every opinion theretofore
published on that point.
"True to his word, he came around
on the last of the week, and I gave him
my written opinion.
"As I handed it to bim, he Mid,
'Chauncey, I suppose you will want
something for this opinion?'
"'Yea,' I said.modestly. "I have
worked all the week, My fee-i» lye
dollara.'
"The fanner exclaimed, 'That ifi
preposterous price, Chauneey. Why,'
here you are'just starting out in your
work and. yon should not aak the prica
of older attorney*! 1 think $1.75jig
plenty for the job, and you are lucky
to get that from, your firs£ client.'
"I aaw that it waa ho^elesa and took
the $1.75 for my week's work.
"On the following week the farmer
again called at my office and said,
'Wen, Chauncey, I came la to tell
you about that advice of yours. Iv
was not quite satisfied with your opin-
mm
msk
result was that for thirty years, I guess,
I averaged four or five speeches a
week. It did *e no ead of good. When
I was a boy. I wasn'l muc^i of a talker.
I was as average debater at Yale, but
I had to commit everything to memory
in those days. I sever spoke without
notes uati} the campaign of 1850, and
here is how that happened:
"My family, who lived.'in Peekskill
(Peekskill is on the Hudson' river
within range of New York), were Demo
erats.v While I was in college I was
convened to the anti-slavery side, and
whea the Republican party was tormed
I at once joined it. Naturally this die.
tressed my parents, but I was very
earnest and insisted upon making a
speech, at av local meeting. was iso
full of the subject that 1 forgot I had
no notes, and I spoke for mbre than
an hour extemporaneously.
"The state committee invited me to
take part in the national canvass.
That's bow I got into politics. I have
addressed every Republican convention
from 1856 to 1916 and cxpeet to be
heard again in 1930 if they ask me. £es,
sic. I am the dean of the spellbinders."
Mr. Depew was requested to give his
views of the political horizon.
"Oh," heMaughed, "I think the Re
publicans will elcct a President next
year. That's jnot mere speculation,
but the taol calculation of a man who
has beeh in politics sixty-three years.
Consider this: In nearly every country
at war eacept America the administra
tion that whs in power took in all the
parties and had a coalition government.
This is notably true of England and
France.
ion, as the case involved a lot of prop- Buried treasure! That, declare the
11 called on Mr. "O," (nam-
Mjtf If l^Mads a neeeb lajaafc, he sought refuge in a
'With us the war Gas been carried--r/^"1
on from start to finish wholly by the
Democratic party, bo far a| the cabi
net ia concerned. No one of the op
position wa^ invited in. The demon
strated expert-talent of the Republican
rp^E very mention of an island of the\
J- Pacific and you have a name to con
jure with. At may be the halo that has
surrounded Robinson Crusoe since your
childhood days, but'whatever the reason
there is something mysterious, roman
tic about islands. Hence, when suit was
started iU the Superior, Court of Santa
Barbara, Calif., a few daya ago by
one of the seven holders of title to
Santa Cruz Island for the partition of
that little aun-kissed empire of 90,000
acres among the individualx owners,
imagination was at once kindled anew.
The ostensible purpose of the partition
is to give the- federal government an
opportunity to acquire such reservations
as may be required for the defensive for
tification of the channel and mainland
against the invasion of the United
States via California by enemy troops.
The general plan is to mount long-range
guns captured from Germany and t&us
be in position to sweep the paths of
the Pacific for miles.
Buried treasure! That, declare the
ot
er(y and so -,
ihg a leading attorney .of New Yorkf dewoeratnm, for be it known in £he
and gave him your opinion. He Feid it of long ago when the British
over, signed, O. K. at the-bottom of pirates, headed by Sir Francis Drake,
the page and what do you think he plowed the ipaia they despoiled the
had the nerve to charge me just Spanish galleons of many million
writing that O. K.?' dpllars' worth of gold and siW coin
'I don't know,' I aald. PMvf ato plate, gems of rare price, \wllion
'He charged me fMO!' »od doubloons. Only a small fraction
M«nd lore, is the great
JaalJaaatm— WA ifc 1. A.s
It waa suggeattd that,a few.remarfcn Drake'a ill-gotten gaiaa wa% ever
by Mr. Depew/upon' public ppeaklhf recorded as hiring reached England,
might pMn intereatiag. and It (a known that npoa at least on*
VYou know public speakfiil hM «x«aira when tip Jraccaneer wAs hard.
jbfsn my reenptien. I fo|ud ottv pressed. by ^he-Spanish armada, after
yeare «go ^uit tf I miM ur4,«H he twa despoiled a tretsure squadron
li refaeshetf and clarlfied^my on Ita way from Manilt and the Splee
*3J5 tf-
00
0
"OW frlondi ypv Hav« aacriflcad yourself for mo, and I've pretty nearly sacrlflcfd myaelf for you.
where yoy and I part eompany"
party was ignored aad dismissed.
Therefore the burden of speuding all
these billions of dollars and the blun
ders and waste has been assumed by
one party,
1 "Every great war hps been fol
Icv^ed- by dissatisfaction. It seems in
evitable. If there had been a combina
tion government the people might feel
inclined to divide the blame, .and you
might say' both parties might, have a
chance next year.
"But under the circumstances every
thing will be put on the Democrats, and
I expect |o hear almost a frenzy of
cries, 'Turn '9m out.'
am giving you a chance to earn the eternal gratitude of the
Vanderbilta and alao the opportunity to become a rich man"
1
"The breakdown in the aircraft pro
gram. the waste in shipbuilding, the
chaotic mail service, the delay in pay
ing soldies' allotments and all the
other things that have irritated the
public will be laid to thfe Democrats
because the administration bas been
wholly Democratic."
Mr. Depew's reminisceuces prompted
I
the remark that he possesses a remark
able memory.
"Yea,'that'is so," he agreed. "My
best asset is my memory, which' has
been always good. --You know I have
been with the New York Central fifty
throe years, and my recollection goes
back to. the^days when records were not
kept as carefully as they are now. I
remember clearly the details of busi
ness conferences that' took place long
years ago. Last year something came
up that made it important for the direc
tors of the railroad to know just what
was done at a conference held nearly
fifty year's ago.
waB able t0 teU
JU8t *'ho
rtfff**
were
there, including Commodore Vander
bilt, Judge Rainey, the famous phio
lawyer Amasa Stone, whose' daughter
marriea John Hay, and the others. I
remembered that Judge Rainey was
Seek Buried Treasure in Pacific Islands
,/
dax. Juan Rodriques Cabrilla,- the
daring Portuguese navigator—the fi^st
Wjpito man to #l«w CaHfoirnia-^iscdir
ered tbent whan passing up the coast
In 15^2. He found them densely peo
pled by .triples of industrloua Indians.
Nejtt came Sebastian' Viscainorift 1002,
anil ha tells the same story of Indians
and aetlv
tola fouiki
the nei't ^tatury when Fatb^rJaniperp
Serra and ths padres arritad they dis'.
covered that tha' islands were all but
\x &
Hera'a
asked for an opinion as to tha legality^
of a matter that was under discussion,
and that his opinion prevailed. All
who were present except myself
dead.",
7:
Mr. Depew refused to give any
formula for the acquisition of a wonder
ful memory. It is a natural gift, h*.
believes, in his case, and to it ho
ascribes much of his success as an after
dinner speaker.
casual remark put Mr. Dapew to
reminiscing on the matter of prohibi
tion.
"Fifty-eight yeafs ago, when I first
went to Albany as a member pf the Leg
islature," he said, "there were no tem
perance societies and a man who didn't
drink was regarded a,s a fauatic with-,
out political future. The bar waa
always near the hotel entrance and if.
oil didu't go in voluntarily you wer«
dragged in. I saw many men go to thy
devil because of alcohol, but. fortu
nately I bad a strong head.
"However, I made up my mind that
if I was going to retain my health I
should have to make a compromise.
Since thea I have never touched
whisky or other, 'hard liquor,' except a*
a medicine. I tasted the wines and
found the one agreeing with mt waa
champagne.
"I explained to the boys that I had
decided to drink nothing but champagne,
but fortunately few would 'order it, so'
for twenty years I was practically a
temperance' man myself. Then, after:
prosperity came, I made it a practice
to .drink a pint of champagne each eve
ning after dinner, and at no other time.
It agreed with me and I with it.- In
the last two years, though, I have let
up on it, for it caused a little indiges
tion.
"But I remember ^en it wattA
bottle and now it's around $14 or|l8.
A Line Anent Prohibition
"Prohibition is now what Mr. Cleve
land would have called 'a condition
and not a theory.' The danger it brings
is that of reaction against prohibition
carried too far. You simply cannot
treat beer and light Sfines as you do
whisky. They are not the same thing
and do not have the. same effect.' HAr~.
ever, revolt against the prohibition
amendment cannot be strong enough to
effect its repeal,' for the vote of thir
teen states witlf a combined population
less than New York city can keep it
in. I understand that prohibition \wrks
^well in Kansas, but in the dry pates
that I have visited the conversation
was all aboiU-how to tfet around the
law, and which of the many ^recipes for
home manufacture was the best."
Whereupon, Mr. Depew arose ready
for "a little stroll" as part of l)is plaa
for keeping young at eighty- five.
harbor of Santa Cruz. Tons of bis.
loot were lightered ashore and buried oji
the ieland, so the story runs. Having
eluded his pursuers, a storm coming*
up from the west, Drake was compelled
to set.ssil without having recovered bis
hidden treasure. The voyage to Eng
land waa made ia safety, bujpthe're is no.
evidence th^ either Drake or his suc
cessors or agents returned to Santa
Cruz. The navy of 8paln afforded pro
tection to her island ctfinmerce to auch
an extent that piracy became taboo. The
present Owners of thejlsland—one fae
tion-of the holders—is saj|d to have made
a discovery beirihg upon the focattop of
the pir^t^'s-c^che but the jowners are
involved in quarrels, aad nd explora
tion under present Jconditlons is e|ther
possible or permitted. Those who -think
they know where the, wealth lies hidden,
are unwilling that''the other faction of
the syndicate ahall profit by the knowl
edge, and rely upon partiram "by the
court .to .award them tlw 'coveted
infs.
8aata Craa and -tlte other islands
lying just ok the Qaiifornia^cpS)^ .were
not riWaya the barren df9erted aitf tprest Is tHat which ttna fw iia bbject
depolate wastw the fisherman sees to- tte uncovering of,the SpanUh treasure
dajk Juan Kodriques Cabrilla, the buried securely by Sir Frhncts Draks
deserted. The heavy timber spoken oi
by those who had preceded them had
dwindled to mere shrubs, while a£ lea*t
one of the 'islands—^San Nicolas—had
been concerted into rivers of sand drift
ing into the iea.
Great mounds of Indiiln poles .\tel^
where the .Indians went but tbWe -is
'nothing to indicate whether they were
ovirpowertd by a superior race or
wiped" fri®- the face of ,tSe earth by
the Russians descending upon theib
from Alaaka. That tljey wehs trans
ported to the mainland by boats is not
probable, as the only boats they pos'
sessed were such as they "could manv*
facture with primitive tools. ,Tb?y had
a© edged tools except df flint, and the
only method the^ had ftf hoidip^ tha,
planks together was by boring bolsa
through the ^boards and securing thein
by meana of rhwhide.
With the division of the islands into
individufil holdlngs it is believed'ex
.tensive ei^Ibratioiis Will be undertaken,
when it iaa^pected the Indian wounds
wHl eiicavatod in the hope of reading
\the story of the lost tribe. But tha
exploration that'holds tbo grwter |p-
«nd believed io .ba atltt tsposlng ia its
nixing place.
Of deeper interest to scientists^
ever, than thavse«rch tor burieMteai*'!"
ore are the possibl^ttsi tbft
^ploration of tha Islands may-ropep to.^K
ar^heologists and paleontologists. In
Sixty yeai's later Por-^ ths past the Swfhce oi^ tbo posaeMons
em ths^same. fiiit dirlng^lh^receivad otfly a superfi^ai
:iaff Howwer, that sijratchtag
yielded fons of Interesting riltes of saS
sarlite civilisatidn.
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