CLAUDE MEEKER
1861-1929
IN MEMORIAM
Addresses Delivered at a Special Meeting
of the Kit-Kat Club
of Columbus, Ohio, December 2, 1930
Interesting remarks were also made on
this occa-
sion by Mr. Osman C. Hooper who brought
a message
from Professor French and with it a
copy of Mr.
Meeker's book-plate which Professor
French had made
for him.
Mr. Arthur C. Johnson, Sr., spoke of
Mr. Meeker's
never failing interest in newspaper
work and stated
that he had prepared a number of articles
the last year
of his life for the Columbus Dispatch
which were printed
anonymously.
Mr. A. E. McKee, editor of the Ohio
State Journal,
paid interesting tribute to Mr. Meeker
as a citizen and
newspaper man.
Others who were present spoke briefly.
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CLAUDE MEEKER
JOURNALIST-DIPLOMAT-GENTLEMAN
BY LOWRY F. SATER
A stranger entering the office of
Claude Meeker in
his absence, would have recognized
almost at a glance,
the unusual qualities that
characterized the man. The
arrangement and completeness of the
room evidenced
a well-ordered and discriminating mind,
a love of the
beautiful, a familiarity with good
literature, an enthu-
siasm for outdoor life; a wide
acquaintanceship with
the leading men of the State and
nation; the elements
of a progressive and intelligent
leadership in his chosen
field; an intimacy of personal
relationships, and a being
thoroughly in love with life, and
enjoying to the fullest
all that each day could offer.
No one unacquainted with him, however,
could have
known how fully and fittingly this fine
figure of a man
completed this picture. On the other
hand, no one,
from the humblest to the highest in the
land, who knew
him in any of the many activities with
which the busy
years of his life were crowded, could
forget the least of
these qualities that recommended him so
favorably to
their consideration.
Whether as a journalist, political
leader, or success-
ful man of affairs; the counsellor and
confidante of big
business, or the friend of the needy
and unfortunate;
student, neighbor, friend or gentleman;
he grew con-
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Claude Meeker 593
tinuously in the esteem and affection
of the people of
the community in which he was born, and
with whom he
lived for more than forty years.
It is interesting but idle perhaps, in
the case of the
man of five talents, to speculate as to
what he might
have accomplished had he engaged in
some other line
than that in which he attained
distinction. Woodrow
Wilson would have been remembered as a
great teacher
and author, and Herbert Hoover as a
great engineer and
builder, had the one been content with
the classroom,
and the other with the laboratory.
Claude Meeker won
for himself a proud place alike in the
field of journalism
and the consular service, before
entering upon the work
for which his abilities and the
acquaintanceship and con-
nections growing out of these earlier
experiences, so
eminently qualified him.
Like John Hay, Whitelaw Reid, William
D. Howells,
William H. Taft, Brand Whitlock, James
M. Cox, and
a host of other eminent sons of Ohio,
Mr. Meeker was
-arly attracted to newspaper work.
Before reaching his
majority, he was reporting for the
Cincinnati Enquirer,
which at that time was not only a great
newspaper, but
under the directing genius of
Washington McLean, was
recognized as one of the most
influential organs of the
Democratic party west of the Alleghany
Mountains.
Excepting for a half dozen of the great
metropolitan
dailies, no paper in the country
boasted a more brilliant
company of reporters than those who
contributed be-
tween 1870 and 1890 to the columns of
the Enquirer.
Along with the fascination that
attracts, there seems
to be some subtle influence peculiar to
the art of report-
ing that makes a man out of a boy more
quickly, and
Vol. XL--38.
594
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
with more completeness than almost any
other calling.
It was neither strange, nor long
therefore, notwith-
standing the select circle into which
he was admitted,
that the contributions of Fabius
(Meeker's pen name)
began to appear along with those of
George Alfred
Townsend, William C. McBride, S. E.
Johnson, William
A. Taylor, Allen 0. Myers and Harry
Weldon.
From the first, Meeker was attracted to
politics, and
he turned to advantage every
opportunity that the plans,
plots and purposes of the party leaders
of the State
afforded. He was on friendly terms with
Thurman,
Pendleton, Halstead and Sherman; with
Ewing and
Brice; Butterworth, Foster, Hoadly and
Foraker. From
his post in this city he reported from
day to day the
activities and ambitions of the great
and near great that
passed before him. These letters,
particularly those
having to do with the sessions of the
Legislature, might
well be likened to a moving picture of
the public men
and measures that engaged the attention
of the people
of the State at that time. His
political convictions were
strong, but his appraisals were honest
and sincere. His
judgments were generous, but frank and
fearless. His
processes were direct and his impulses
kind. His style
was lively, expressive and vigorous. He
could be criti-
cal without being caustic, and partisan
without indulg-
ing in personalities.
Most of the men of whom he wrote are
gone, and
but for the occasional research student
or some relative
"mindful of the unhonored
dead," no one is now inter-
ested either in what they did or what
he said. Jefferson
may have preferred "newspapers
without a government
to a government without
newspapers," but it must be
Claude Meeker 595
admitted that there is hardly anything
more ephemeral
than the copy that fills their columns.
With every re-
spect for the work and worth of our reporters,
is there
anyone here who has turned back to
reread any of the
contributions that have appeared in any
of our dailies
during the year that is hurrying to a
close?
The finest piece of reporting that ever
came from
the pen of Claude Meeker was inspired
by a political
attachment, and a personal affection
that is perhaps
without an equal in the history of the
State. Among
the aspirants for political honors that
came under his
observation during the years of his
apprenticeship, he
was attracted most strongly to a young
captain of De-
mocracy, whose brilliant and repeated
victories in an
adjoining county evidenced the highest
qualities of po-
litical leadership. In acquainting his
readers with the
merits and achievements of this man,
and his unusual
abilities as a campaigner, he asserted
over and over
again that if he were given the
nomination, he would be
the next Governor of Ohio. And so it
happened that
largely through the efforts of Claude
Meeker, James E.
Campbell was named by his party in the
fall of 1889 to
oppose Governor Joseph B. Foraker, who
was seeking
reelection.
Of the many campaigns that have engaged
the at-
tention of the voters of the State
since the Civil War,
none was more spirited, nor is
remembered with such
vividness as that waged by those two
able and distin-
guished men. With an enthusiasm and a
loyalty that
increased as the contest waged, Meeker
followed his
gallant leader about the State, and
described in glowing
terms the ovations that he everywhere
received. The
596
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
effectiveness of Campbell's speech
suffered at no time
from the resourcefulness of Meeker's
pen. All that he
had done to bring about his nomination
was common-
place to what he did towards insuring
his election. He
capitalized every incident that inured
to the benefit of
his candidate, and rejoiced in it all
like the proverbial
strong man. With the skill of a
Belasco, he staged
every scene, setting and appearance, to
the advantage
of the leading man. His copy fairly
blazed, yesterday
with wrath, invective and indignation
at the efforts of
the opposition, and today with delight
and exultation
at their discomfiture and defeat.
Nothing more expres-
sive or praiseworthy of his efforts in
this remarkable
contest can be said, than that he was
scarcely less re-
sourceful, effective, untiring and
successful than was
the man for whom he so valiantly
fought.
If you would know Claude Meeker, the
correspond-
ent, at his best, turn back the pages
of the Enquirer and
read this stirring chapter of political
history as he re-
ported it.
Beautiful and intimate as was the
relationship that
existed for years between James E.
Campbell and Claude
Meeker, I do not believe I am presuming
upon the pro-
prieties in stating to the members of
this Club that I
should be surprised, as they wander
through the Elysian
Fields, and their thoughts revert to
the things of this
world (assuming that they do so), if
they did not regard
this experience as a bit more
pleasurable and delightful
than any in which they participated.
The crowning work of the inauguration
offered him
the opportunity of following and
furthering the for-
tunes of his chief. As the trusted
friend, counsellor
Claude Meeker 597
and confidante of Governor Campbell, he
contributed
gladly and generously each day of his
term to the suc-
cess of the administration, which is
remembered and
rated as one of the outstanding
administrations in the
history of the State. Their retirement
from the official
position which they had graced and
honored, was re-
gretted, perhaps, by none of their
immediate associates
more keenly than by the genial and
gifted gentleman
who, in validating the various documents
that came to
him for authentication from the
Executive Office, signed
the same, "Daniel J. Ryan,
Secretary of State."
Another presidential contest was at
hand. Meeker's
contacts and acquaintances with the
leaders and issues
of the party brought his comment and
copy again into
prominence through the columns of the
New York
World, St. Louis Republic, Chicago Tribune, Washing-
ton Post and the Times Star. He
advocated the re-
nomination, and predicted the election,
of Grover Cleve-
land, basing his opinion upon facts and
information ob-
tained by him from farmers, miners and
shopmen rather
than from the preferences of the
politicians. You will
recall, I am certain, that chapter of
unwritten history,
which he related to us one evening, of
the important part
that Governor Campbell had in bringing
about this re-
sult. It was a fitting and proper
acknowledgment on the
part of President Cleveland, therefore,
of the support
he had received at the hands of these
two admirers,
when he announced the appointment of
Claude Meeker
as consul at Bradford, England.
This Yorkshire town, surrounded by a
wealth of
historic associations, was the greatest
wool and woolen
manufacturing center in the world, and
at the time,
598
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
one of the largest of the American
consulates. During
the four years that he occupied this
position, Mr. Meeker
made a careful study of trade
conditions, tariffs, labor
problems, etc., and his reports and
opinions were widely
quoted and commented upon in both
countries.
But Meeker, the consul, was at the same
time
Meeker, the savant, and the reporter
throughout the
course of those four delightful years,
kept company
with the trade expert. With the rival
contenders of the
Houses of York and Lancaster, and with
Robin Hood
and his Merry Men, he tramped the
fields and fa-
miliarized himself with the scenes of
their encounters
and adventures. He visited the homes of
Wordsworth,
Coleridge and Ruskin, and reviewed his
studies of politi-
cal economy in the shires and among the
electorate that
answered to the powerful and persuasive
eloquence of
John Bright and Richard Cobden. He
lingered with
delight among the hills that Turner had
glorified with
his brush, and surveyed with
reverential awe the Cathe-
dral of York, as he reviewed the great
processions of
history that had passed that way. But
he was attracted
particularly to the village of Haworth
and the life-story
and 'the Home of the Brontes."
With characteristic
thoughtfulness and consideration, he
shared with us the
pleasure of this study, as interesting
and beautiful a
piece of composition as this Club has
known.
On his retiring from this service, one
of the leading
English papers, among other things,
said:
Never has Bradford had the advantages of
a better consul,
who has ingratiated himself into the
esteem and respect of all
with whom he has come in contact, and
has dealt with the im-
portant work of the consulate in a
masterly style. He has never
allowed the interests of the state to
suffer, and both in and out
Claude Meeker 599
of season, has kept his country in the
foreground, while he has
ever been ready to participate in any
movement which has had
for its object the cementing of the
brotherhood between the
English people and the American.
An American always, in the sense that
would have
gladdened the heart of Webster, this
experience and
acquaintance, during these four years
abroad, impressed
him deeply with the desirability and
necessity of a close,
permanent union between the
English-speaking peoples
of the world. As with Tennyson, it was
with him a
case of "all hands round,"
and in that day of storm and
stress when "war's rude blast
again had blown" and our
broadsides roared with those of the
mother country
against the tyrant powers, no one
evidenced more clearly
than he, his faith in the ultimate
triumph of the prin-
ciples of free government for which the
Anglo-Saxon
has ever battled.
Claude Meeker possessed and enjoyed an
abundance
of the things of this world, but his
richest possessions
were not listed on the Board. His
interest in the market
was always subordinate to his concern
for his fellow-
man. His sympathies were as democratic
as his manner,
and his sense of social obligation, as
acute as his honor
was bright.
He helped other people at all times
without regard
to place, rank, color or creed. Of his
contributions to
the many civic, social and welfare
agencies of the city,
the members of all such organizations
well know.
Of the larger and finer contributions
that found ex-
pression in personal service, as quiet
and unostentatious
as they were generous and helpful, only
the beneficiaries
of his thoughtfulness and his God can
ever know.
600
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
He was community-minded. He was proud
of his
city. He loved his neighbor. He was
devoted to his
friends. "He was so unselfish,
gracious, thoughtful and
kind," as Governor Cox said,
"that he exalted the thing
we too casually call
friendship." He found good in
everything and was always of good
cheer,--a kind-
hearted, courteous, high-minded,
cultured gentleman, the
like of which we shall not look upon
again soon.
CLAUDE MEEKER
AS MEMBER OF THE KIT-KAT CLUB, AND THE
OHIO STATE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
BY C. B. GALBREATH
Claude Meeker became a member of the
Kit-Kat
Club in 1914. He was then approaching
the close of his
fifty-third year in good health in the
full possession of
his powers, physical and intellectual.
Richly dowered
by nature and developed by arduous but
pleasant and
profitable experience, he had attained
an enviable sta-
tion in the social and business world.
Happily married
and the father of one son and two
daughters, he could
look forward with assurance to the
years stretching
peacefully into the future. A long and
active service
in the field of journalism--a
profession which sharpens
the wits, leads to facility in
expression and continually
invites to contact with the world's
substantial literature--
he represented at this time, in
personality and attain-
ments, the qualities that made him a
delightful asso-
ciate and an ideal member of this
organization.
Claude Meeker 601
I need scarcely say that he found here
a goodly num-
ber of congenial spirits with whom he
could feel much
at home. Emilius O. Randall, Daniel J.
Ryan, Lowry F.
Sater, and Governor James E. Campbell,
he had known
intimately for years. With other
members he was cor-
dially acquainted. He entered with
evident satisfaction
and genuine pleasure upon his
contribution to the ac-
tivities of the Kit-Kat Club.
Modest and somewhat retiring by nature,
with a
wealth of knowledge acquired by wide
reading and
contact with men in the field of
government and politics,
he was not a frequent participant in
the spirited discus-
sions that at rare intervals have
enlivened the meetings
of this club. He followed these,
however, with keen
interest and sometimes with a merry
twinkle of the eye
which seemed to say: "If I cared
to be heard I could
add something on that point." He
was so thoroughly
familiar with the political issues
raised in Ohio during
the years of his journalistic career,
that if called upon
he could make an accurate "check
up" of a paper or
statement of a fellow member of this
club, relating to
that period.
Many of you will recall the remarks
that followed
the reading of a paper on the
"Public Services of George
H. Pendleton." The discussion
turned on the defeat of
Pendleton by Henry B. Payne. In
speaking of the use
of money in the caucus, Governor
Campbell stated, that
it was reported in some newspaper that
cash was so
recklessly expended in Payne's behalf
that empty pay
envelopes accumulated "to the
depth of two feet" on the
floor.
"That statement," said
Governor Campbell, "I think
602
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
was a little extravagant, but there was
evidence that
money flowed somewhat freely. A sturdy
old senator
from the southern part of the State had
been instructed
to vote for Durbin Ward. When he
reached Columbus
he was asked to conduct thirsty members
of the General
Assembly to the bar at the Neil House
in the interest
of Senator George H. Pendleton. Every
candidate for
the senate in those good old times was
expected to have
a bar tender. This state senator, as
requested, served
in that capacity, but when it came to
voting, behold his
vote was cast for Payne. In other words
he was pledged
to Ward, he kept bar for Pendleton and
he voted for
Payne."
This bit of political history, told in
Governor Camp-
bell's inimitably humorous vein,
brought down the house
--not the club alone but the house, for
a large number
of guests were present. Turning to
Claude Meeker,
who was sitting near, I said, "I
presume that is authen-
tic." "Oh, yes," he said
with a quiet laugh. In answer
to a question he gave me the name of
the state senator
who so generously distributed his
favors. This is sim-
ply an illustration of Mr. Meeker's
thorough familiarity
with the men and events that made up
the political his-
tory of the Buckeye State prior to the
second election
of Grover Cleveland to the presidency
of the United
States.
As you already know, after having that
fact ably
revived in mind this evening, Mr.
Meeker was appointed
consul to Bradford, England, early in
the second admin-
istration of Grover Cleveland. This
appointment meant
much to him, not so much financially,
although it was
one of the best paying British posts
within the gift of
Claude Meeker 603
the President, but it afforded him
opportunity to become
better acquainted with the government,
the industries
and the people of Great Britain; to
explore, from central
vantage ground, the literature and
history of that vast
empire. Service in this important consulate made a
deep and lasting impression on his
mind. It is scarcely
too much to say that it was the
crowning cultural touch
to his character.
Soon after becoming a member of the
Kit-Kat Club
he was asked to prepare a paper. He
chose as his sub-
ject--"The Home of the
Brontes." At Thornton, in the
parish of Bradford, all the children of
the famous
Bronte family were born; in Haworth,
the same parish,
they all died and are buried.
As an example of Mr. Meeker's style in
the last
fifteen years of his life, permit me to
quote briefly from
his first contribution to this club.
Here is the first para-
graph of the foreword:
When I was notified that I had been
appointed consul to
Bradford I naturally was interested to
know what manner of
place it was. If I had ever heard of it
at all, it was but dimly
or vaguely as a town somewhere in
England. I could find but
little about it in books. At the state
department in Washington
I was told that commercially it was one
of the most important
consulates under our government, and
second only to Liverpool
amongst the towns that did not boast a
consul general.
Here is his statement of what gave to
Bradford its
peculiar importance:
It did not take long after arrival to
find that it was the wool
and woolen manufacturing center of the
world. There the
wools of the universe seemed to be
gathered together. . . . From
North and South America, Mexico and
Australia, the countries
of Europe and Asia and even the isles of
the sea, go to Bradford,
wools of every length and of every color
and description, and
Asia Minor and Africa add to the
collection by sending enormous
604 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
amounts of the fleece of the Angora
goat, which is made up into
that beautiful and lustrous fabric known
as mohair.
And at this distant port he was
reminded, as he told
us, of one of the products of his
native State:
I was gratified to learn that one of the
varieties of wool held
in high esteem for certain purposes, its
price being quoted daily
in London and Bradford newspapers, was
that odoriferous and
oleaginous staple known as Ohio
merino. Everything revolved
about and had its well-being in wool.
You could see it, smell it,
taste it and hear it The people of
Bradford and vicinity wash it,
comb it, sort it, card it, dye it, spin
it, and weave it into cloth,
ship to the outposts of the world, and
still not satisfied, they
buy it back as rags from the junk-shops
and ash-barrels of the
universe, rend it into shoddy and send
it forth once again to
clothe gay and careless humanity.
On arrival in Bradford he resolved to
make an in-
tensive study of the subject of wool.
This he did, but
a few months later found him under the
spell of York-
shire. He was impressed with the
historic lore asso-
ciated with the county. In it were
located both Brad-
ford and Haworth. Even more, however,
was he moved
by the artistic and literary
associations of the region
that invested with a peculiar lure
these Yorkshire hills.
"The very atmosphere," said
he, "seemed laden with
great messages from the past, of
historic battles, Scot-
tish border raids, of great figures
that appeared from
time to time on the horizon, in turn to
be swept away by
the on-rush of time. But the story of
the Brontes inter-
ested me more than all others."
His visit to the birth-
place of the four Bronte children at
Thornton and their
home and burial-place at Haworth he
described in care-
fully wrought and delightful phrase
which will be re-
membered by those who heard his paper
before this club
exactly fifteen years ago tonight.
Claude Meeker 605
This contribution which is preserved to
us in printed
form he concluded substantially as
follows:
My friends, after a few years in this
storied land and a
return to the money-grubbers and the
hard realities of a work-a-
day life, you can imagine the
unrequited longing, the smothered
aspirations and the intellectual
perplexities of one who found his
soul aroused and tried to look a little
over the wall of external
things.
But sometime, in the language of the
Hoosier poet, "Some-
time I'm goin' visitin' back
again," and when I do, gentlemen,
I intend asking you all to go with me
on a little journey to
Haworth, the home of the Brontes.
Verily, the lure of the Yorkshire hills
remained with
our friend and often, very often, he turned
aside from
the burdens and excitements of his
workaday world to
the magic spell of old England and the
shrines and
haunts of literary genius where the
lamp of lustrous
achievement still burns and "the
light of immortality
still shines."
In the Kit Kat for January,
1920, was published a
contribution by Mr. Meeker entitled,
"The British Em-
pire--A Century's March Toward
Democracy." In this
his literary style appears at its best.
The entire contri-
bution, which covers twenty-six pages,
is a comprehen-
sive survey of the government of Great
Britain from
the beginning to the date of the
contribution. It is a
classic and unusually interesting. It
should be published
in separate form for a wide reading by
those who have
not had an opportunity to view in brief
and readable
form a comprehensive contribution on
this subject and
for the use of those acquainted with
the history of Great
Britain who wish at times to make a
brief survey of the
entire field. As an illustration of Mr.
Meeker's style we
quote here two of the introductory
paragraphs:
606 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
To the American the study of the British
Empire is fas-
cinating and instructive. The English government has been
for centuries and is to-day one of the
most remarkable that the
world has ever known. When we take into
consideration its
period of existence, the general absence
of internal violence, the
domination of law and order, the normal
prosperity and content-
ment of the British people, and the
extent of the influence of
their government on the institutions and
political thought of
other lands, we are confronted with a
governmental structure
that is at once awe-inspiring and
practical. It holds magnificent
sway over nearly 440,000,000 people
inhabiting almost one-fourth
of the earth's surface. Its far-flung
line of Empire embraces
all forms of civilization and all races
of mankind. Daniel Web-
ster in one of his great speeches
referred to it with dramatic
eloquence as "a power which has
dotted the surface of the whole
globe with her possessions and military
posts, whose morning-
drum beat, following the sun, and
keeping company with the
hours, circles the earth with one
continuous and unbroken strain
of the martial airs of England.
For more than three hundred years the
British people have
stood at the forefront of the world in
opposing one great enemy
of law and order after another, and
bringing to the dust the am-
bitions of one would-be master of Europe
after another--Philip
II, of Spain in the sixteenth century;
Louis XIV, of France, in
the seventeenth century, the Imperial
Napoleon in the nineteenth
century--and British entrance into the
Great War of the twentieth
century made certain the destruction of
Hohenzollern dynasty.
Mr. Meeker then presents in regular
order the prog-
ress of the British Empire and
concludes as follows:
It becomes apparent from this review
that the development of
democracy in England has been a long and
painful struggle; it
has been a Via Dolorosa for the British
people. It has been a
way of suffering and tears and fire and
blood. The execution of
a King, Cabinet assassinations,
massacres of the people, reigns of
mobs, and civil warfare are its
milestones. Out of all this has
grown a political organism that has not
been witnessed on earth
since the days of the ancient Roman
Empire. In her long history
she has displayed every phase of
wickedness and goodness; she
has been greedy and generous; cruel and
just; she has spread the
vices of humanity and the ennobling
traits of an enlightened
Christianity. Yet she has been the
bulwark of civilization, the
mistress of literature, and the generous
spirit of her jurispru-
Claude Meeker 607
dence has planted the seeds of justice
wherever her influence has
been felt. No wonder that her poet
Cowper wrote:
"England, with all thy faults, I
love thee still--
My country!"
To this interest in the history and
literature of Eng-
land, the Club and this city are
indebted for other con-
tributions than the delightful and
informing papers on
"The Home of the Brontes,"
and "The British Empire."
The local branch of the English-Speaking
Union, which
Mr. Meeker organized and of which he
was the first
president, is probably due to this
influence.
His growing interest in literature
brought him into
contact with prominent writers of our
own time. His
long and intimate friendship with Edwin
Markham, the
acknowledged dean of American poets, is
well known.
To this friendship the members of this
Club are indebted
for the best address on modern American
Poetry to
which it has been our pleasure to
listen. He was instru-
mental in bringing to us Mr. Charles
Finger, to whom
we are under obligations for two
pleasing addresses and
who subsequently proved his title to
the high literary
rank that Mr. Meeker was one of the
very first to accord
him.
The other formal contributions of our
friend to this
club were papers on--"The Dollar
and the Man," Janu-
ary 27, 1925; "Famous Women and
Their Influence on
History," February 21, 1928; a
memorial tribute to Dr.
Rogers as "Man and Friend,"
April 25, 1929. These
were all of high order. I do not have
access to these
papers, and simply quoting the title
must suffice to revive
them in the memory of those who were so
fortunate as
608
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
to hear them. He was president of the
Club for the year
1920-1921.
Permit me to digress a moment with a
suggestion.
I believe that it would be well to
collect, as they are pre-
sented, the papers read before our Club
and bind them
as a permanent supplemental record.
This would be an
incentive to added interest and effort
and in time create
a storehouse of information for
tributes such as are ex-
pected on memorial occasions, like the
present.
I have been asked to say something in
regard to Mr.
Meeker's membership in the Ohio State
Archaeological
and Historical Society. This began
later, to be exact,
on November 8, 1919. He was therefore a
member of
that organization a little over ten
years. He was a
trustee for the entire period of his
membership. Here
again he found genial companionship and
an opportunity
for helpful service which he promptly
improved. He
signalized his entrance into the
Society by purchasing
and presenting to its library, a rare
collection of Ohio-
ana, valued at $5,000--the most
appropriate and valu-
able gift that the library had then
received. And his
gifts did not cease here. Within the
past ten years fixed
appropriations did not always afford
means adequate to
conduct explorations or acquire rare
additions to the
library and other property of the
Society. It sometimes
became necessary to solicit from
friends funds to meet
the emergency. On such occasions Mr.
Meeker always
responded liberally and cheerfully,
often with something
like the following remark, "Yes,
certainly, how much do
you need?" The amount named was
always given freely,
not as an obligation but as a pleasant
privilege.
When he entered the Society he found in
its presi-
Claude Meeker 609
dential chair his former political and
official associate
and devoted friend, Governor James E.
Campbell. He
found there also Daniel J. Ryan and
other congenial
spirits whom he had known as
fellow-members of the
Kit-Kat Club. Of course he was very
much at home in
the Society as he had been in this
Club. I think he shared
something of the feeling expressed by
Governor Camp-
bell on a certain occasion after the
appropriation for the
north wing of the Society's building
had been assured
and the future was rather rosy. By the
way, we had a
rather close call on that appropriation
and largely
through the influence of one State
Senator the situation
was saved for us. On this particular
occasion, Governor
Campbell said to me, "Galbreath,
you may not quite
see how this should be so, but really I
am getting more
satisfaction out of the presidency of
this Society than
I did out of the governorship."
Of course, the happiest years in the
life of Mr.
Meeker were in the consulship at
Bradford, England.
Here he came into pleasing contact with
the British
Empire, its art, its literature and its
history extending
back into the centuries before our
Republic was pro-
claimed. Here were spent the early
years of his mar-
ried life and here all three of his
children were born;
but in our Archaeological and
Historical Society, in as-
sociation with his old friend Governor
Campbell, like the
Governor himself, he found a genuine
pleasure. If the
friendship of these two could be fully
told it would as-
suredly be a delightful contribution,
with few parallels
to the annals of the time in which they
lived.
Our friend did not contribute to the
pages of the
publications of the Society. I thought
at one time,
Vol. XL--39.
610
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
after hearing some remarks from him at
a Kit-Kat Club
meeting, of asking him to write a paper
on a topic on
which he was prepared to speak, as few
then living, in
the light of experience. Daniel J. Ryan
contributed to
our Quarterly an illuminating
monograph entitled "Lin-
coln and Ohio." Claude Meeker
could have written a
valuable and interesting paper on
"Cleveland and Ohio,"
which would have included some very readable
history,
much of which must now remain
unwritten.
The World War found Claude Meeker in
hearty
support of the allied cause and the
national administra-
tion. He contributed freely to every
call. He gave of
his means and his time to raise funds
for the vigorous
prosecution of the war. He proudly gave
his promising
son to the legions that were marshaling
to the colors at
the call of country. At the conclusion
of that struggle
that shook the continents and ushered
in a new order
in the world, he rejoiced to see that
son return with the
virtuous hosts.
At the close of the war and under the
genial sun-
shine of the early months of peace,
Claude Meeker
reached the heights of a remarkably
successful career.
But--
The sun may beam as ever
And never a cloud be curled
And the air may be flowery odors
But death is in the world.
Out of the deeps of sunshine
The invisible bolt is hurled;
There is life in the summer blossoms
But death is in the world.
The brave and manly son was stricken
and the
sorrow-burdened father followed him to
the grave.
Claude Meeker 611
Few things that I have read in recent
years are more
poetically poignant than the little
volume of tributes
gathered by the father and presented to
his personal
friends. It includes the beautiful and
consoling memo-
rial by Edwin Markham and the touching
poems by the
sister of this worthy son. I will
repeat the last of these
which reveals a disconsolate heart
striving to find con-
solation in the thought that the loved
and lost is to live
in memory as when he went away, in the
beauty and
strength of youth. Here are the
delicately wrought
lines of poetic woe:
When I am old and you are young
Who died so long ago,
I'll say "A fool I was to
mourn,"
But how was I to know?
A fool I was to mourn, my dear,
The fortune that you had;
Now here am I grown gray, while you
Will always be a lad.
When I am old the things I say
Perhaps will then be true,
Since fire and faith of me today
Lie young and lost with you.
Mr. Meeker was too good a philosopher
to be crushed
by this blow. Prosperity had not
exalted him and ad-
versity could not overwhelm him.
As I sat beside him in a carriage as we
were follow-
ing the mortal remains of one of our
fellow-members to
their last resting-place in beautiful
Green Lawn, our
friend remarked, after naming a number
of acquaint-
ances who had recently died,
"Funerals are occurring
somewhat frequently. Our associates are
passing away.
612
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
This is the order of nature; it must be
for the best." I
remembered this when we were called to
his obsequies.
Worthy fellow-man, public-spirited,
upright citizen,
generous, faithful friend, beloved
fellow-member, we
honor ourselves by placing this modest
wreath at the
shrine of his memory.
CLAUDE MEEKER
AS A YOUNG REPORTER
BY HAROLD G. SIMPSON
I think it probable that my intimate acquaintance
with Claude Meeker began earlier, and
therefore ex-
tended through a greater number of
years, than that of
any other man here present.
Fifty years ago, during the summer
vacation of the
High School, I held the lowly position
of cub reporter
on the Ohio Statesman, which was
published at the
northeast corner of Broad and High
streets. A small
room on the ground floor was then
occupied jointly as
the counting-room of the Statesman and
as the office of
Dr. Hawkes' stage-coach line, and the
daily arrival and
departure of the stage-coaches was a
very familiar sight
at that point. The room shared by the
editor, the city
editor and the cub reporter, which
three constituted the
entire force of those who wrote copy
for the Statesman,
was just over the counting-room, and on
the top floor
of the building was the large room
occupied as editorial
and composing-room of the Sunday
Capital, owned by a
man of very peculiar character whose
name was Arnold
Claude Meeker 613
Isler. Claude Meeker was the local man
for the Capital,
so we naturally saw a great deal of
each other and be-
came very well acquainted.
I think he had had some previous
experience as a
news-writer, but he was still just a
boy. He was tall,
thin, very active and industrious, and
he took a great
joy in his work. Those of you who knew
him only in
later years would have difficulty in
picturing him as he
was at that time, for he had no more of
the serenity and
dignity of manner and speech which so
characterized
him in after years than any other boy
who wrote for a
newspaper, got about town a great deal,
and did not
much care what people might think of
his behavior.
That was the way of even the older men
in newspaper
work in those days. I do not mean that
they were all
hard drinkers or that they were all
profligate. Claude
Meeker was not of that kind, but many
others were.
All newspaper men made it their
business to become
acquainted with everybody possible, in
every walk of
life, especially policemen and police
characters, and on
up to railroad officials, heads of big
business concerns
and bank presidents. Claude acquired an
unusually wide
acquaintance. His father had been mayor
of the city
some years before, and I think this
fact helped Claude
in getting acquainted with the
politicians of the city.
There were so few newspaper men in
Columbus at
that time that all of them knew one
another very well.
Those were the days of Allen 0. Myers,
famous, erratic,
political correspondent of the
Cincinnati Enquirer; of
Dan Bowersmith, city editor of the State
Journal, and
William G. (Bill) Thoman, my own city
editor, both of
whom later served as Enquirer correspondents;
of Sam-
614
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
uel J. Flickinger, then the news
correspondent of the
Enquirer; and of some others of consequence, notably
Morrow and Frank Carpenter, both
representatives of
Cleveland papers and both in after
times very noted in
their profession. Claude Meeker knew
all of these men
and no doubt he was fired with the
enthusiasm of a hope
that some day he, too, might become
connected with a
paper much greater than the Sunday
Capital--prefer-
ably the Cincinnati Enquirer. It
was the most natural
thing in the world that ambitious
reporters here should
long to be connected with the Enquirer
because of the
ascendancy of Enquirer representatives
here among the
newspaper writers, and it was not to be
wondered at
that Mr. Meeker became an Enquirer man
as soon as
the opportunity offered. He worked for
that paper as
a local reporter in Cincinnati. He
became an outstand-
ing member of the staff as a political
writer, and this
led to his preferment by President
Cleveland, who at
the request of Governor James E.
Campbell appointed
him United States consul at Bradford,
England.
I think that it may be truly said that
of all men work-
ing on newspapers of Columbus in the
days of which I
have been speaking, certainly no one
would have pre-
dicted then the successful career of
Claude Meeker.
The happy-go-lucky, improvident young
fellow about
town gave no promise of ever becoming
the staid, im-
pressive, substantial stock-broker,
moving in the inti-
mate companionship of many men who
occupied great
political, official and financial
positions throughout the
United States.
CLAUDE MEEKER
1861-1929
IN MEMORIAM
Addresses Delivered at a Special Meeting
of the Kit-Kat Club
of Columbus, Ohio, December 2, 1930
Interesting remarks were also made on
this occa-
sion by Mr. Osman C. Hooper who brought
a message
from Professor French and with it a
copy of Mr.
Meeker's book-plate which Professor
French had made
for him.
Mr. Arthur C. Johnson, Sr., spoke of
Mr. Meeker's
never failing interest in newspaper
work and stated
that he had prepared a number of articles
the last year
of his life for the Columbus Dispatch
which were printed
anonymously.
Mr. A. E. McKee, editor of the Ohio
State Journal,
paid interesting tribute to Mr. Meeker
as a citizen and
newspaper man.
Others who were present spoke briefly.
(590)