How a Utah Boy Won His Way

How A Utah Boy Won his Way BY GEORGE D. PARKINSON, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO It is an interesting fact that in reviewing the story of the lives of prominent men the frequent occurrence of success in places where it is least looked for and under seemingly unfavorable conditions overturns the apparent anomaly of the isolated case, and thus the exception often proves the rule. It is this element of surprise and contrast which fills the biographies of great men with an abundance of human interest. For example, out of an environment of ignorance and superstition arose a Luther; from poverty and obscurity came forth a Lincoln to teach the world ; from the warm, uninvigorating atmosphere of the island of Nevis emerged a Hamilton to take a place among the greatest statesmen of the world. Nor need we wander so far away from home to discover the working out of this same principle. Indeed its actuality has been demonstrated and is being demonstrated within the limits of the personal experience and acquaintance of many of the readers of this article. Who is not acquainted with the epoch-making accomplishments of Brigham Young in spite of the apparent insurmountable obstacles with which he was surrounded on all sides. Witness the work of his master mind in the building of this great commonwealth, arising as it has out of a wild desert and hampered in its growth by the combined opposition of prejudice and ignorance till today it is the admiration and wonder of the world. This wonderful story is retold in the lives of some of its native sons and daughters who, reared in surroundings of simplicity and unacquainted with the world, but endowed with a high sense of honor and unlimited natural capacity and led on by a boundless ambition, have excelled in the world's centers of learning and culture, have been leaders among statesmen and diplomats, and have attained places of prominence in business and finance. As a striking example of this fact, attention is here invited to the story of the remarkable success which has been attained by the subject of this sketch, a man who is comparatively unknown to his home people but who, entirely upon his own merits and in a surprisingly short time, has arisen to a position of international prominence and honor. Joshua Reuben Clark, Jr., who is general counsel to represent the United States before the Mixed Claims Commission now sit-

558 IMPROVEMENT ERA ting to adjudge claims between the United States and Great Britain, was born September 1, 1871, in Grantsville, Tooele county, Utah. His parents are Joshua R. Clark and Mary Louisa Woolley Clark, daughter of Bishop Edwin D. Woolley, of Salt Lake City. His grandparents were among the handful of sturdy pioneers who, like the pilgrims of old, left their homes and loved ones and braved the dangers of an unknown wilderness for conscience sake. Mr. Clark was reared on a farm. The grade school's of Grantsville and the Preparatory Department of the L. D. S. College, in Salt Lake City, provided his elementary school education. Not until he had reached the age of twenty-three did he have an opportunity to enter upon a high school course. This lost time was more than made up, however, for in the four succeeding years, besides making up the high school requirements, a college course was completed, and in 1898 he received the degree of Bachelor of Science from the University of Utah. This accomplishment becomes the more remarkable when the fact is added that during the entire four years spent in college he earned his own livelihood by working out-of-school hours. This out-of-school work consisted of acting as clerk to the Curator of the Deseret Museum, who was then Dr. James E. Talmage. The duties of this clerkship were to act as janitor, "showman," stenographer to the Curator, and to arrange for exhibiting the specimens of the museum. It might be of passing interest, on account of the prominence in later life of the members of the class of 1898, to mention their names here. They are Albert Johannesen, who for some time served as petrographer for the United States Geological Survey, now Professor in Petrography in the University of Chicago ; Herbert Hills who, until his untimely death, followed his profession of civil engineer ; Dr. Ralph V. Chamberlin ; Miss Mary Connelly, now editor of the Young Woman's Journal; and Mrs. David O. McKay, then Miss Rae Riggs. Shortly after completing his college course, Mr. Clark married Miss Luacine A. Savage, daughter of C. R. Savage, Salt Lake's pioneer photographer. During the succeeding five years Mr. Clark was engaged in educational work in Utah. The first year was spent in teaching English and Latin in the L. D. S. College, and commercial courses at the Salt Lake Business College, and after a year as Acting Principal of the Southern branch of the State Normal school, at Cedar City, he became again identified with the Salt Lake Business College and continued to teach there until that school was absorbed by the L. D. S. College, in the spring of 1903, and during the latter part of this time acting as principal. For some time he had been contemplating taking up the study of law, but as the years passed, he found it more and more difficult

HOW A UTAH BOY WON HIS WAY 559 to break away from educational work, in which field he had already attained a prominent position in local circles. However, in the fall of 1903 he moved his family to New York City, where he entered the law school of Columbia University. From that day his rise has been rapid. His previous experience and education had ideally fitted him to take up the study of law. His rugged physical makeup, developed in his early youth upon a Utah farm, now stood him in good stead. With no outside interests to dissipate his attention and energy, he gave himself up entirely to the pursuit of his law work. Immediate developments proved that he had "found himself" in this new field. His work was of such a high quality that in the beginning of the second year he was elected one of the first three Second Year students to the editorial board of the Columbia Law Revietu, an honor bestowed only in recognition of the highest attainments in scholarship. At the end of the second year he was made editor of the "Recent Decisions Department" of the Reviezv, which position he held until his graduation with the degree of LL. B., in 1906. His work early attracted the attention of Dr. James Brown Scott, at that time a professor in the Columbia Law School, and during the vacation period, between the second and third years at the law school, he assisted Dr. Scott in the compilation and annotation of a case book on quasi contracts, which is now used in most of the leading law schools of the country, and upon graduation was employed by Dr. Scott who meanwhile had become Solicitor for the Department of State of the United States, to compile and annotate the major portion of two volumes of cases on equity jurisdiction, his work covering the sections devoted to the origin, growth, and development of equity, the nature of equity jurisdiction, the grounds of equitable jurisdiction, the fundamental principles and maxims controlling the administration of equity, equitable rights predicated upon accident, and an elaborate series of cases devoted to the equitable remedy of specific performance. At this time Secretary Root was casting around for a suitable man to fill the position of Assistant Solicitor in the Department of State. Appointments in this branch of the government service were not at that time made under political patronage. They were not part of the spoils system, in any way, but were made entirely on the basis of efficiency and ability. The choice fell upon J. Reuben Clark, his appointment being made in September, 1906. His first considerable work in this office was the preparation of a monograph upon the subject of citizenship from the standpoint of judicial determinations and decisions thereon. This was incorporated and made a part of the final report of a board appointed by the Secretary of State to report on the subject of citizenship, expatriation and protection abroad, the board being constituted under and in accordance with a joint resolution of Con-

560 IMPROVEMENT ERA gress, calling for such a report. This part of the report is used as the reference work of the Bureau of Naturalization, Department of Commerce and Labor. The work has been characterized by an acknowledged authority as a "masterly compilation." The Assistant Solicitorship was held by Mr. Clark for a period of four years, during the latter part of which time he served as Acting Solicitor in the absence of Dr. Scott. This four-year period is full of big achievements. Cases of international importance, involving millions of dollars ; difficult questions of international, constitutional and civil law were referred to him for expert advice and decision. Such recommendations, upon their acceptance by the Secretary of State, would thus become the final and authoritative position of the United States government upon the questions at issue. The following is typical of the nature of the business which was handled in this office between September 12, 1906, and July 1, 1910. Entire charge was taken of the matters of extradition and during this time the famous Russian refugee cases, the Poureen and Rudovitz cases, were handled. As a result of his work, in connection with these cases, on the invitation of the American Society of International Law, of which he is a member, Mr. Clark delivered an address before that body, at the annual meeting of the society, in 1909, upon the subject of political offenders and offenses in extradition. Also an important phase of his work was the investigating of old claims of American citizens against foreign countries. Acting upon his report of the case, Secretary Knox took up and pressed upon the attention of Chile, the now famous Alsop case. Subject to the approval of Secretary Knox, Mr. Clark handled the diplomatic negotiations with Chile which led to the framing of an agreement upon a protocol under which the whole matter was referred to arbitration, the king of England acting as Royal Amiable Compositeur. The Assistant Solicitor prepared the entire case of the United States in this controversy, the arguments of which covered 350 pages, with an appendix of two volumes containing the evidence submitted, and the counter case of the United States (the answer to Chile's case) which covered 200 pages, with an appendix of one volume of evidence. The rush of the current business of the office was so great that the work on the Alsop case had to be done at nights after working hours. The king of England, as Amiable Compositeur, gave an award in favor of the United States, for $905,000, which is one of the largest international awards ever made. In July, 1910, President Taft, upon the recommendation of Secretary of State Knox, appointed J. Reuben Clark Solicitor for the Department of State. The Solicitor is technically an officer of the Department of Justice, ranking as an Assistant Attorney

HOW A UTAH BOY WON HIS WAY 561 General, and designated for work in the Department of State. As a matter of law, he is the chief law officer for the Department of State, and all legal questions arising in connection with the work of the Department of State, both as affect the government of the United States and as they affect other governments, are referred to him for opinion. In this capacity Mr. Clark assisted, for example, in the drafting of our Treaty of Peace and Commerce with Japan, of 1911 ; our loan treaties with Honduras and Nicaragua, the last three as yet unperfected. He was also consulted in the drafting of the Knox-Bryce Arbitration Treaties with Great Britain and France, which treaties were approved with amendments by the Senate after a long debate. The character of the work of the Solicitor may be judged from the following list of questions which do not constitute a schedule of all of the work performed by him, but is merely illustrative of the wide scope of his work : International right and custom of Great Britain to levy a tax on the official income of an American consul in India. Right of Cuban Government under Cuban constitution to pass laws impairing the obligation of contracts. Effect of proposed amendments to the Mixed Civil Code of Egypt. Regulations and procedure for the consular courts in China. The effect of the Piatt amendment (Treaty of Relations with Cuba, 1903) as limiting the power of Cuban Government to enact fiscal legislation. Clearance papers, granting of, to ports held by insurgents. Closure by parent government, either by executive decree or legislative act, of ports held by insurgents. Constitutional right under constitution of Panama of "designado'' to exercise functions of the President. Consular certificate to common law marriages in China. Damages for interference by the parent government with traffic to and from ports held by insurgents. Declaration of London, a proposed codification of the rules of maritime warfare. International prize court, for the determination of international prize .cases. Real property, law of, in Morocco. Maritime conference at London, for codifying the maritime laws of the world. Mining laws in Morocco. Payment of double customs duties— first to insurgents in charge of port of parent government and then to parent government, and vice versa. Protection by the United States of Colorado River levee— Imperial Valley. Right of aliens to hold land in the Kongo. Right of consuls to administer estates toAmencan citizens. Duties of consular officers in protecting American citizens.^ Duties of consuls in case of mutiny on American vessel on high seas.

562 IMPROVEMENT ERA Detention of seamen of Norwegian vessels as witnesses in local State courts. Right of aliens to acquire or dispose of real property in the United States. In the matter of claims, it may be observed that from March, 1909, until March, 1913, the Department of State collected or made arrangements for collecting about $3,330,000 American gold, for injuries suffered by American citizens. As Assistant Solicitor, and Solicitor, Mr. Clark entirely handled the legal aspects of claims which brought in $2,330,000 and he was concerned in the legal aspects connected with all of these claims. During the period covered by Mr. Clark's incumbency the science of international law has perhaps made greater development than during any period of similar duration. Mr. Clark, in his capacity of Assistant Solicitor and of Solicitor for the Department of State, has been called upon to set many precedents and to decide many new and novel principles, and as a result it might be safely said that he is the best authority in the United States today on modern international law. He has perhaps contributed more towards the recent development of this branch of law than any man in America. One of his most noteworthy contributions was made in conection with the distribution of the Alsop award. It consists of an elaborate opinion on the legal aspects of the ownership and distribution of international awards, in which is considered the relationship of the government to a claim which it takes up internationally, and the powers of the Executive and Congress over any award secured in the settlement of the claim. This was printed in the American Journal of International Lazv, for April, 1913, and has been favorably commented upon by the leading legal publications. On May 14, 1912, he delivered before the International Red Cross Conference, held in Washington, D. C, an address on the assistance of Red Cross societies to forces engaged in insurrection, revolution, or any kind of civil warfare. In connection with this he made an elaborate study of the entire question of Red Cross societies. The plan proposed by him to provide for Red Cross assistance in times of civil disturbance aroused considerable opposition upon the part of the continental military powers of Europe, particularly Russia, Germany, and Italy, who were able temporarily to defeat, at the conference, the project proposed. Perhaps the biggest thing that Mr. Clark, as yet, has been called upon to do, came with his recent appointment by the President of the United States to the Chairmanship of the American Preparatory Committee to represent the United States on the International Preparatory Committee for the Third Hague Conference to be held at the Hague, in 1915. The other members of the

HOW A UTAH BOY WON HIS WAY 563 Committee are General Enoch H. Crowder, Judge Advocate General, U. S. A., and Rear Admiral Richard Wainwright, retired U. S. N. The duty of the American Committee is to consider and report upon the matters which they consider are ripe for consideration by the next conference at The Hague, and to collaborate with similar committees from the other powers in preparing a program for that conference. Many of the world's greatest lawyers, jurists and diplomats have participated in the two previous Hague conferences. Mr. Clark's latest promotion came on January 15, 1913, in the form of an appointement as General Counsel to represent the United States before the Mixed Claims Commission, now sitting to adjudge claims between the United States and Great Britain. His duties there involve the matter of the presentation and management of the legal arguments and the treatment of questions of law and evidence going before the Commission. Aiding him in this matter, and working under his direction, are several prominent New York and Washington attorneys. Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, Chief Justice of Canada, who represents Great Britain as one of the judges on the Mixed Claims Commission, said, after Mr. Clark had completed his first argument before the Commission, that it was one of the most able legal arguments he had ever heard. The high character and importance of the office of Solicitor for the Department of State is shown by the .fact that it took the President and the Secretary of State several months to find a man whom they considered competent to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. Clark ; and finally, after seven or eight months of searching, during which time it is understood that many men were considered, the office was filled by the Senate's confirming the appointment of ex-Governor Joseph W. Folk, of Missouri, who had already been considered by his party for presidential honors. A letter written to Mr. Clark by Secretary Knox at the time of Mr. Clark's new promotion contains the following: "In taking note of this fact (his resignation) I seize the opportunity of expressing to you my deep and sincere appreciation of your service in that office. It has been characterized by a degree of ability^ and loyalty that has commanded my highest appreciation and gratitude." Hon. Huntington Wilson, who was Assistant Secretary and often Acting Secretary of State, stated to the writer : "I was closely associated with Mr. Clark, and had every opportunity to observe his works during the entire time he was in the Department of State I never knew a man whose high character, sound judgment and splendid ability won for him a more extraordinary position in the absolute confidence of those in charge of the department and of all with whom he was associated. As for his legal ability I heard one of the greatest