Ohio History Journal

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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:

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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-

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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

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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-

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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