Boies Penrose
Encyclopedia
Boies Penrose was an American
lawyer and Republican
politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. He represented Pennsylvania
in the United States Senate
from 1897 until his death in 1921.
descent, he was brother to Richard Penrose and Spencer Penrose
, who in 1918 would build the elegant Broadmoor Hotel
at Colorado Springs, Colorado
. Boies Penrose graduated from Harvard Law School
in 1881, and was called to the Pennsylvania Bar in 1883. He took an interest in politics and began working for Matthew Quay
, a Pennsylvania political boss
. He was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
in 1884 and served until 1886 when he was elected to the State Senate
, where he served as president pro tempore from 1889 to 1891.
Penrose stepped down from his position as a State Senator in 1897 to take office as a United States Senator. Penrose was a dominant member of the Senate Finance Committee and supported high protective tariff
s. Penrose was elected the Republican leader of Pennsylvania upon Quay's death in 1904, and was re-elected to this position in 1908. As leader, Penrose acted as a power broker in the state, enabling figures like Richard J. Baldwin
to advance through loyalty to his organization.
In November 1915, Penrose accompanied the Liberty Bell
on its nationwide tour returning to Pennsylvania
from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition
in San Francisco; Penrose accompanied the bell to New Orleans and then to Philadelphia. The Liberty Bell will not be moved from Pennsylvania again.
Penrose died in Washington, D.C.
in 1921, and was buried in the Laurel Hill Cemetery
in Philadelphia.
Penrose was an avid outdoorsman and took pleasure in mountain exploration and big-game hunting. A mountain in Montana and another in the Dickson Range
in the Bridge River Country
in British Columbia
were climbed and named by him. The Senator was a large, heavy man and according to his hunting guide, W.G. (Bill) Manson, they had to shop all over the place to get a horse big enough to fit Penrose and his custom saddle. The horse was called "Senator", and was retired to the pasture because no standard saddle would fit him.
A statue of Penrose has been in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
's Capitol Park since September 1930.
"I believe in the division of labor. You send us to Congress; we pass laws under which you make money...and out of your profits, you further contribute to our campaign funds to send us back again to pass more laws to enable you to make more money." — Senator Boies Penrose (R-Pa.), 1896, citing the relationship between his politics and big business.
"All physical and economic tests that may be devised are worthless if the immigrant, through racial or other inherently antipathetic conditions, cannot be more or less readily assimilated..." — Boies Penrose, 1902, Chinese Exclusion and the Problem of Immigration
"Yes, but I'll preside over the ruins." — Boies Penrose's reply to a Republican Party reformer's accusation that Penrose was ruining the party's prospects for victory (and the reformer's chances for dominance over the party's apparatus) by putting up a slate of candidates who were stand-pat party hacks with no chance of winning.
"I would rather have seated beside me in this chamber a polygamist who doesn't polyg than a monogamist who doesn't monag." — Penrose speaking during hearings on whether to seat Utah-elected Senator Reed Smoot
, who was a member of the [then-polygamous] Mormon church, but who did not himself practice polygamy.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer and Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. He represented Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from 1897 until his death in 1921.
Biography
Born into a prominent Philadelphia family of CornishCornish people
The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
descent, he was brother to Richard Penrose and Spencer Penrose
Spencer Penrose
Spencer Penrose was a philanthropist in and around Colorado Springs at the turn of the 20th century. He was born into a prominent Philadelphia family of Cornish descent and was brother to Boies Penrose and Richard Penrose...
, who in 1918 would build the elegant Broadmoor Hotel
Broadmoor Hotel
The Broadmoor is a 5-star/5-diamond luxury hotel and resort, located in southwestern Colorado Springs, Colorado. Built in the early 20th century as the "Grand Dame of the Rockies", it was one of the finest resort destinations along the Rocky Mountains during the age of railroads. It continues to be...
at Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
. Boies Penrose graduated from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
in 1881, and was called to the Pennsylvania Bar in 1883. He took an interest in politics and began working for Matthew Quay
Matthew Quay
Matthew Stanley Quay was an immensely powerful Pennsylvania political boss; "kingmaker" . "Boss" Quay's political principles and actions stood in contrast to an unusually attractive personality...
, a Pennsylvania political boss
Political boss
A boss, in politics, is a person who wields the power over a particular political region or constituency. Bosses may dictate voting patterns, control appointments, and wield considerable influence in other political processes. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves...
. He was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two year terms from single member districts....
in 1884 and served until 1886 when he was elected to the State Senate
Pennsylvania State Senate
The Pennsylvania State Senate has been meeting since 1791. It is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such...
, where he served as president pro tempore from 1889 to 1891.
Penrose stepped down from his position as a State Senator in 1897 to take office as a United States Senator. Penrose was a dominant member of the Senate Finance Committee and supported high protective tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
s. Penrose was elected the Republican leader of Pennsylvania upon Quay's death in 1904, and was re-elected to this position in 1908. As leader, Penrose acted as a power broker in the state, enabling figures like Richard J. Baldwin
Richard J. Baldwin
Richard J. Baldwin was the Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1917 to 1918. He was elected to that position after twenty years of service in the house by the Republican organization of Boies Penrose. He later served a term in the state senate.He was born March 1, 1853, in...
to advance through loyalty to his organization.
In November 1915, Penrose accompanied the Liberty Bell
Liberty Bell
The Liberty Bell is an iconic symbol of American Independence, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formerly placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House , the bell was commissioned from the London firm of Lester and Pack in 1752, and was cast with the lettering "Proclaim LIBERTY...
on its nationwide tour returning to Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition
Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915)
The Panama-Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California between February 20 and December 4 in 1915. Its ostensible purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely seen in the city as an opportunity to showcase its recovery...
in San Francisco; Penrose accompanied the bell to New Orleans and then to Philadelphia. The Liberty Bell will not be moved from Pennsylvania again.
Penrose died in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in 1921, and was buried in the Laurel Hill Cemetery
Laurel Hill Cemetery
Laurel Hill Cemetery, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the second major garden or rural cemetery in the United States. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998, one of only a few cemeteries to receive the distinction....
in Philadelphia.
Penrose was an avid outdoorsman and took pleasure in mountain exploration and big-game hunting. A mountain in Montana and another in the Dickson Range
Dickson Range
The Dickson Range is a subrange of the Chilcotin Ranges subset of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwest-central British Columbia. It is located just west of the town of Gold Bridge between the valley of Slim Creek to the north and Downton Lake Reservoir to the south...
in the Bridge River Country
Bridge River
The Bridge River is, or was, a major tributary of British Columbia's Fraser River, entering that stream about six miles upstream from the town of Lillooet.-Name:Its name in the Lillooet language is Xwisten , sometimes spelled Nxwisten or Nxo-isten)...
in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
were climbed and named by him. The Senator was a large, heavy man and according to his hunting guide, W.G. (Bill) Manson, they had to shop all over the place to get a horse big enough to fit Penrose and his custom saddle. The horse was called "Senator", and was retired to the pasture because no standard saddle would fit him.
A statue of Penrose has been in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
's Capitol Park since September 1930.
Quotes
"Public office is the last refuge of a scoundrel." — Boies Penrose"I believe in the division of labor. You send us to Congress; we pass laws under which you make money...and out of your profits, you further contribute to our campaign funds to send us back again to pass more laws to enable you to make more money." — Senator Boies Penrose (R-Pa.), 1896, citing the relationship between his politics and big business.
"All physical and economic tests that may be devised are worthless if the immigrant, through racial or other inherently antipathetic conditions, cannot be more or less readily assimilated..." — Boies Penrose, 1902, Chinese Exclusion and the Problem of Immigration
"Yes, but I'll preside over the ruins." — Boies Penrose's reply to a Republican Party reformer's accusation that Penrose was ruining the party's prospects for victory (and the reformer's chances for dominance over the party's apparatus) by putting up a slate of candidates who were stand-pat party hacks with no chance of winning.
"I would rather have seated beside me in this chamber a polygamist who doesn't polyg than a monogamist who doesn't monag." — Penrose speaking during hearings on whether to seat Utah-elected Senator Reed Smoot
Smoot Hearings
The Reed Smoot hearings were a series of Congressional hearings on whether the United States Senate should seat U.S. Senator Reed Smoot, who was elected by the Utah legislature in 1903...
, who was a member of the [then-polygamous] Mormon church, but who did not himself practice polygamy.