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HiS COME.William Walter Phelps DiedThis Morning.AH the Members of His Family Wereof 1888 Mr Phelps received a very large vote for the nomination for vice president, but political policy required that the nomination he given to the state of New York. Mr Phelps cheerfully withdrew his name from the contest, and Levi P. Morton of New York was nominated.at His Bedside.Life of the Jurist and Diplomat Whomirany Honored,ENGLEWOOD. N J. -Tune 17-JnageWil-Ham Walter Phelps died at 1.50 o’clock this morning.All the members of the family were at his bedside at the time.WILLIAM WALTER PHELPS.Life of the Jurist and Diplomat WhomMany Honored.William Walter Phelps was bom in New York city Aug 24, 1839.He was descended from William Phelps, who settled near Simsbury, Conn, in 1630, and w'ho was a brother of John Phelps, who w*as private secretary to Oliver Cromwell.For more than a century the descendants of William Phelps made Connecticut their home. The great-grandfatherof William Walter was a representative to the Connecticut assembly for 30 consecutive term*After he left congress in 1889 he was one of the American commissioners sent to Germany to negotiate the Samoan treaty. The work done by Mr Phelps and Mr Kasson at the treaty conference brought them commendation from theU S government.When Mr Phelps’ duties as treatycommissioner were completed Pres Harrison appointed him minister to Germany.had made a very favorable impression upon the two Blsmarcks, father and son, during the progress of the treaty conference, and thus it wfas that he received a very warm welcome when he settled in Berlin as minister.He was appointed to a lay judgeship by Gov Abbett of New Jersey in January, 1893. while he was still in Germany, and was sworn in shortly after his return to this country. This place he held at the time of his death.In June, 1893, when Mr Phelps re-turned from his post in Germany, he was given a royal welcome by friendsfrom'various parts pf _the_country2_afc his handsome no;WILLIAM WALTER PHELPS.The first member of the family toleave Connecticut was John J. Phelps,father of William Walter, who went to New York, engaged in business and rapidly amassed a fortune.He helped organize the Delaware, Lackawanna Western railroad, and was for many years its president. At his death the bulk of his fortune went to William Walter, his son.William Walter was sent to Yale college, and despite an ajfection of the eyes, which kept him out of college for a year and for another year prevented him from reading, he won many honors, and stood second in his class when he graduated in 1860.From Yale he went to the Columbia law school, and was there graduated in 1863, upon which occasion he was vale-dictorian of his class.After a short time spent in a law office Mr Phelps began active practice. Before he had attained his 30th year he was counsel for several large corporations, among them the Rock Island railroad, Delaware, Lackawanna Westernrailroad, the United States trust company and the City bank.He was offered a judgeship by Gov Reuben E. Fenton of New York in 1868,but declined. ^ ?In 1869 his father died, and he wrascompelled to retire from the practice of law' and give his time to the care of the estate and trusts left in his charge.Mr Phelps took an active interest in all matters relative to his alma mater, and was one of the leaders in the movement styled “The young Yale movement, which resulted in giving to the alumni a share in the government ofthe institution. i-£y-: ymHe was elected to the board of trustees of Yale college immediately after the movement had been given recogni-tion, and by successive elections hasheld a place on the board ever since.Early in life Mr Phelps began to take11an active interest in politics, and during the civil war he was an enthusiastic republican. M fcIn 1872 he was nominated for congress, at the age of 33 years, in what was then the 5th New Jersey district. This was shortly after his marriage, and he had located his country home in Teaneck, N J. The district was considered a doubtful one, but Mr Phelps was elected by a flattering majority.While serving his first term in the house of representatives he made the acquaintance of the late Janies G. Blaine, then speaker of that body.Mr Blaine was alw'ays quick 1° rec ognize young men of talent, and he soon became the counselor of the young New Jersey congressman.Mr Blaine opened many opportunities to his young friend, and these were never disregarded by Mr Phelps. The ersonal and political friendship thus egun between the two men was broken only by the death of Mr Blaine.Mr Phelps’ reputation in congress ■was first made by a speech against the franking abuse, a subject which he probably felt himself compelled to choose, because his predecessor in congress, John Hill, had been the means of having that abuse abolished. In that speech he showed singular powers of sarcasm and repartee.Mr Phelps’ speech on the finance bill gave him still greater fame, and his name was written on the pages ofnearly every paper in the land. This speech was a clear synopsis of the leading principles of monetary economy, and might serve as a compendium to Mills.It gave him power, and men suggested that he should be secretary or thetreasury. His name was prominentlyStates sena-mentioned in the United torial contest of 1874, his opponent inthe republican ranks being ex Senator Cattelf, but his contest was not successful.During Mr Phelps’ service in congress he discussed questions of banking and currency, the Pacific mail subsidy, and the government of the southern states, He was sent by the house, with Charles N. Potter and Charles Foster, to Newr Orleans to investigate the outbreak of the white leagues against the Louisiana legislature, which had led Gen Sheridan to denounce the league as bandits.Both parties to the difficulty finally agreed to abide by the committee’s decision, and the legislature was organized in accordance with its report.From the outset of his congressional career Mr Phelps showed independence in debate and action. On one party measure, the civil rights bill, which as a lawyer he declared unconstitutional,he voted against the republicans. This cost him his reelectlon fn 1874, when hewas defeated by seven votes in a district that he had previously carried by2715.After leaving congress he again took up the management of his financial affairs and became an arduous worker in the business communities of New Yorkand New Jersey fffiAlthough he continued to take an active interest in politics, he was not again a candidate for any political office or convention until 1880, when he was sent as a delegate at large from New Jersey to the republican national convention, where he did his utmost to secure the nomination of Mr Blaine.Shortly after Prc3 Garfield’s inauguration Mr Phelps was made minister to Austria, where his familiarity with the language and customs of the country, his liberal mode of life, and his intense Americanism, made him a valuable representative.When Pres Garfield died Mr Phelps, to save Pres Arthur any embarrassment, cabled his resignation, but it was nearly a year before he was relieved from office by the appointment of a successor.He arrived home in the autumn of 1882, and his former constituents of the 5th New Jersey congressicnal district prevailed upon him to again accept a nomination for congress. He was elected, and reelected in 1884 and 86.lie not only acquired a national reputation in oongress, but established a character for political independence and liberality which gained for him the respect of the whole country. The distinction and popular favor which he then won he held to his life’s end.In 1881 he was a delegate at large to the republican national convention, and aided in the nomination of James G. Blaine for president.In the republican national convention .ome in Englewood, N J.As a‘ financier Mr Phelps was no less skillful than as a diplomatist. He had unlimited faith in the agricultural, manufacturing and financial future of the country, and he made his investmentsaccordingly. ^ ^ _His prompt aid and financial sacrifice, a few years ago, to save friends fromembarrassment and a national bank from threatened failure, was an act for which he received deserved credit.I7Mr Phelps was a natural orator, and never liked to make set speeches. When-— spoke ____.important matters, and he w-as alwayslistened to with close attention.Among his more noted speeches wererft “those on the franking privilege in 74, sound currency in 74, the civil rights bill in 75, Fitz John Porter's case in 84, oration before Gen Grant and his cabinet at a Grand Army reunion in Paterson, N J, on The Dangers of the War,” and one at Mt Holly, N J, Memorial day, 1886, on The Dangers of Peace, a tariff address before the Agricultural society of New Jersey in 84, and one on congress before the New England society in New York in 87.The degree of LL D was conferred upon Mr Phelps in 1889 by Rutgers college, New Brunswick, N J.fl03a03tinbtibtl3iMr Phelps w'as a regent of the Smith- Bsonian institute, a fellow of the corporation of Yale college, vice president of the Columbia law school alumni association, and one of the founders of the Union League and University clubs of New York city.itfihwMr Phelps never posed as a philanthropist, but there are many who can testify to his quiet and unostentatious generosity. His fortune is variously estimated at from $2,000,000 to $8,000,000.tlPa*ilt;3«*i1J•va ■ fKinni ii
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Boston Sunday Globe
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Sun, Jun 17, 1894
Page 2
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