| Show J Joseph s ph W Folk St Louis Famous Circuit Attorney ey 1 II Ii W FOLK JOLK of ar St Louis Loula circuit attorney of the Eighth ju judicial JOSEPH J J 1 district Is ls probably the most talked taked of young OU man In the tM United States today He Ile Is also one one Of I r the tho admired men anen In the country c a fact which seems to put to rout roul tin the statement of the pessimists that tha t honesty d sent lInt pay IJa nowadays for tor forit it Ir Is II one ODe characteristic which pc toes jQ H x r has Ita played an nn important im important fart lart lart In the meteoric mel rise to prominence of ot this youthful St SL Louie Louis lawyer It IR la hit his uncompromising hon honesty honesty esty ut and nud his hilS Inflexible and unswerving I adherence to duty dul without reference to the personality of 01 the tho man whose vie 10 I of the law III may have hae made It tt for tin Sir r Folk to become b come lilt his I bitter enemy en snore ern Mr Me Folk enjoys the enviable distinction tion of or haying effectually broken up one our of or the most mOIl daring and shameless cor gangs that this country has ever known It If the old Tweed crowd be except excepted d And the St SL Louis Louie w eln many respects even more open In their assaults assault upon the rights of ot ell teens benl than Ihan the followers of ot Tweed They exactly ask Whar ore are you OU going to do about It but they Ihl re required required that the money be paid rold In ad advance vanes vance or else ehe deposited in such II a man manS manner manner ner nor that there was wai IU no possibility of the bribers suffering from a 11 change of heart lad anti M withdrawing kern from hl his hie cor tor corrupt corrupt rupt rup arrangement Indeed It was van this very lery excess of cupidity cupid It and the deter determination to take lake no chances that led I Ito to the undoing of ot the gang ni I The young circuit attorney whose fame hit has spread from St Louis Loul to the I country at large lea Is a Q by birth He studied taw law at the university aff after r i l 1 cling from which he practiced his pro profession for n a couple of ot years at Drowns Browns vole Tenn During this thin time he made madea a specialty specially of ot criminal law but when he went to Ht it Louis Iou I II having decided that that city elt olTer 11 a n broader field fieh than Ihan for tor his hll activities he gave II up hN his criminal work and devoted himself exclusively to civil practice He Ire cot lIot along exceedingly well too and numbered among It Ii clients sev several several eral of the Important corporate Inter Interests eats ests The Thc young man married and ap op appeared a peered to be entering upon a highly re rt respectable rev comfortable and uneventful career er When the event cent occurred which has ba changed the entire trend of at his life Prior to that time lime Mr Folk had Joined tho the Jefferson club an organization of or orI I Democrats and to so 0 greatly was 41 Mi hi advice ad ail VIM vice IC esteemed est emed that he had been given Sho the presidency president lie He had further won wok the regard of or the people of th the city by bringing about the arbitration which resulted In the settlement of the street treet streetcar streetcar car strike of or 1699 So o It II happened that thata a IL couple of or yen yean ago aro when the ticket t for tor the cumin elections was wat as being made up Mr MI Folk olk was Will suggested at III a 11 good man to nominate for tor circuit otter attorney ney ne The bosses bOlles were willing one man would suit cult them as a well as M another provided he would pull the votes vales But Dut Mr Folk declined the nomination Then they lIle threatened threaten ell to nominate him anyway and he wry very N coolly Informed them that If they did he hc would refuse to run Then many citizens clients of bt Mr lit r Folk persuaded him that tha t tIt It was lilt hia ht duty dut to the city to 10 permit his hiD name to He tie yielded ld When Mr 1011 Folk served ered notice on the bosses that If It elected he ho would do his hie hi hiI hiep p I full Cull duty dut regardless 1 of party or other affiliations they the goal natured I ly I they had heard that sort ort of thing before thing thine which sounds well eU be e r f J T Tf c f ry id r 9 T i 11 9 t J JV V 2 CIRCUIT ATTORNEY JOSEPH WINGATE FOLK tore fore election am and It is never neer meant mUnt to be betaken taken liken seriously except pt by the uninitiated ed d voters Mr olk I was elected ant and then came the first horrible surprise a for tor forthe forthe the bosses One of ot them told Folk that he must do what he could for a heeler who ho had been arrested In connection with Ith election frauds The boN bow nearly dropped In his hit tracks when Folk in informed formed him that he should do every everything everything ery thing within hit his power to emit I nd the rae ras rascal ra racal cal to prison The Tho statement that theman the theman theman man had helped elect Mm him met with the rep nse that th the fellow had evidently misconceived his character With hit his election at II circuit Mr Ir Folk began In a systematic manner to study the criminAl law which he had years yean ear before abandoned and hit his bid aid and end hi his newly acquired Knowledge were soon to stand Mm him In too Coat tood alt A newspaper reporter one day called his attention to a paragraph to the ef effect feet teet that t a L corruption fund of or n had been b en raised ral ed and was then In the vaults nulls of or two safety deposit companies for tor the purpose of or bribing members of or orthe the house of or delg delegates t s and councilmen councilman In connection with a 1 suburban railroad grab grall Mr Ir Folk lost no time and the same day da r d the sheriff herll to tub sub I nearly nf rl prominent persons persona An to n Investigation began and It was a highly amUsing proceeding p for far a I few days doy to those in Ui tl whom Ihorn It would Guld natu naturally naturally rally be bl expected eXI ted to cents alarm lied Hid not nol such things l been n tried before Was Waa WasU It U not all 1111 a n v very try ry clever bluff blurt on the part of the young circuit attorney attorns who Iho really was tins playing i pretty rUy good polities politics The smile went around among the men man sub but H It earn came off In a 0 very nr short hora time Mr Folk Falk starting out with what hat was WItS r ally a colossal 1 bluff and making all torts sorts of threats ali which he ht had hud no Idea whatever of ot carrying Into managed to extract from some of or orthe the principals abundant verbal testimony t testimony 11 t mony mon of fraud and then going a IL little further contrived to bluff hit his hi way Into the safety tely vaults of ot two banks bank bankIn In one on of et which was wan found 7 W U IJ lIh for tor tM members of or the tho house houM of ot i delegates delegate rat In he the Ih other for Cor forthe the th Ou lImen I When the trine trills of af th the bribers and anI their tools began Mr lr Folk surprised nut every ry one on by b th this Ihl of his hist bl cases el t More afore to than a 0 dozen down inn Caen were wert we seal to prison several lied II to foreign countries and mJ there thre are r still others ethers whom the circuit rl lt attorney hop hopes hoPH to get let Mr Folk Is It an abnar quiet t man mill manlie He Ue takes lakes t cry thing seriously though he smiles almost constantly He n con can connot toIl cannot not be bullied he h cannot be t cajoled A thoroughly loyal trend friend woo he yet ret eonald era ora that th the of friendship trl red end e d when a man roan has done lIone that which I oh sacrifice of self Thus Thul It hat has come corne to pus pits that of r the thi men who are now wearing stripes as 3 the result of ot what hat they consider Mr 1 Folks overstrained sense of duty to t r the public were but a II few tow short months month I yago Y Yago ago his hie warm personal friends friend He liens Hels Is rath rather r a n small mill man smooth shaven shaen r with a Il i permanent and rather peculiar v h little lItto dimple In tilt the tie renter center cent 1 of or bis ls chin tr It Tile This detracts somewhat from the firm finn appearance of the tho Jaw though ono ono n 1 I at lit the latter would suffice to t convince any of physiognomy jr Ir that Its lis owner Is a IL hard man to sway from his hili desires be they tle right or K a wrong It Is I fortunate for tor St BL Louis that Mr 11 Folks Impulses are worthy for tor were he a it ii J would be a II more difficult matter matt r to V r bring him to book than It proved for tor him to round up the plunderers who are arenow are t r now engaged In III working for tor the state stat and denouncing Joseph Wingate Folk tolle 1 But Dut Joseph Wingate Folk Foik Is le all right light In the estimation of or the vast ut majority of the cItizens of St SL Louts Louis and while It It b said that he Intends upon the 1 time of his present term of or office om to politics politico for good and end all It it Is I I likely that anything within the gift of Dr St SI Louie will be p his hll should hould he change chance his mind And at as a every one Is to aware that It is I a prerogative not confined to the gentler sex leX leXo ex No o exhaustive analysts analysis of af the charac character ter of ot Mr Folk Will III avail for tor It Is Im Impossible possible Ible to judge such tuch n a man men by bT his hit utterances I Indeed Inde there are lire not n t enough of these th se utterances to form torm a working basis bUll He lie mutt must b bt be judged by i his work ork and the reader Is I Indeed ob obtuse obtuse obtuse tuse who ho from a simple recital of ot th the events with which during the past few tew months month Mr r Folk has bas t been t n so prominently neatly n nU connected Is I unable to form torm a fairly accurate opinion of or hi his salient f tl CI M L ELTON EtTON J 3 |
