Читать книгу Memoirs of Milwaukee County, Volume 2 - Josiah Seymour Currey - Страница 14

Charles Quarles was not only a lawyer of eminent ability but was a thorough student of the great industrial, economic, political and sociological problems of the day and at all times kept abreast with the best thinking men of the age. He delved deep into every matter which claimed his attention, and his opinions were never of a superficial character but showed a thorough investigation which brought him comprehensive and accurate knowledge. The analytical mind of the lawyer enabled him to solve other questions outside the strict path of his profession, and thus it was that his opinions came to be an influencing force upon many matters which had to do with the progress of Wisconsin.

Mr. Quarles was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, February 13, 1846, his parents being Joseph Very and Caroline (Bullen) Quarles. The father, a descendant of sturdy colonial stock, came to Wisconsin in 1838. The maternal grandfather, John Bullen, was one of the first settlers of Kenosha, which was then known as Southport. Their son, Joseph Very Quarles, Jr., became prominent in politics and represented Wisconsin in the United States senate. The father. Joseph Very Quarles, Sr., was actively connected with the industrial development of Kenosha as the founder and promoter of a large wagon factory in that city.

Charles Quarles obtained his early education in Kenosha and in 1863 became a student in the University of Michigan, where he pursued a classical course. Going to Chicago in 1868 he there became identified with the Home Fire Insurance Company of New York, spending five years in that connection, after which he returned to his native city and entered upon the study of law in 1873 in the office of Head & Quarles, well known and prominent attorneys of the city. He was admitted to practice in 1875 and entered upon his professional career in his native city.

In 1888 Charles Quarles came to Milwaukee and was one of the organizers of the firm of Quarles, Spence & Quarles, the senior partner being his brother. Senator Quarles, and the second member of the firm Thomas W. Spence. From the outset the professional career of Charles Quarles was one of steady advancement. He studied most carefully every case which came under his direction and displayed great strength in the presentation of his cause, while his deductions were at all times clear and logical. A contemporary writer has said of him: "He was a ruthless cross-examiner, persistent in following out a line of inquiry and dogged in his efforts to obtain the result he desired. The purity of his diction, the rhetorical charm of his sentences and the clearness of his thought made argument on the most commonplace subject a delight to the ear. His Jury addresses were masterful and characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the evidence, and a profound knowledge of human nature. So great was his acumen and ability as a lawyer, that he rarely suffered defeat in a case, and his record of successful work in the supreme court stands as a monument to his industry and high ability as an advocate. In the celebrated Schandein will case he successfully resisted the efforts of a son and daughter of Wisconsin's wealthiest woman to break that document. In 1905 he was special counsel for the government in the suit against the General Paper Company for violation of the Sherman law, which resulted in the dissolution of the concern, and later in the government's suit against the Milwaukee Refrigerator Transit Company and several railroads, for alleged rebating, and in which he was successful. One of his most brilliant achievements was his prosecution of the libel suit of Charles F. Pfister against the Milwaukee Free Press, in which, after one of the most bitterly contested battles that ever took place in Wisconsin, his client was awarded a heavy verdict. The successful outcome of the libel suit of Emanuel L. Philipp, now governor of Wisconsin, against McClure's Magazine, which was tried in New York city in 1908, was likewise largely due to his ability. An earlier case in which he was prominent was that of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, in which he appeared as attorney for the striking railroad men. Subsequently he was attorney for the receivers of that road. In proceedings before the supreme court in 1908 which resulted in the release of Fred C. Schultz, confined in the house of correction after a conviction for bribery, he wrote the reply brief for Schultz, in which he demonstrated to the court conclusively that the law of conspiracy had not been properly laid down in the proceedings in the municipal court. Among the instances of his sagacity may be cited the Milwaukee street car franchise fight of 1900, when he advised the city council to pass a certain franchise regardless of the injunction by which opponents of the measure sought to prevent its passage; the supreme court sustained the action of the council in passing the ordinance and of the mayor in signing it."

On the 10th of November, 1881, Mr. Quarles was married to Miss Emma W. Thiers, a daughter of David B. Thiers, of Kenosha, and they became parents of four children: Louis and Charles B., lawyers; Henry C, in the bond business; and Ethel, the wife of L, O. French.

The family circle was broken by the hand of death when Mr. Quarles passed away in Milwaukee, April 8, 1908. There were many reasons that caused his death to be regarded as a calamity to the city in which he had long made his home. He had greatly influenced public thought and action, and his efforts and influence were always on the side of progress and improvement. In politics he was ever a stalwart republican and from time to time was active in the campaign. In 1897 he was chosen a school director and later was unanimously elected president of the board. His genial nature and kindly spirit made him a most popular member of the Milwaukee, Deutscher, Country, University and Milwaukee Yacht Clubs, and he belonged also to the Wisconsin Humane Society, in which connection he did great good. He was a lover of scientific research and gathered a most valuable and interesting collection of mineralogical and archaeological specimens.

A contemporary writer said of him: "By his death Milwaukee loses its most brilliant legal practitioner and a man who for several years has been unanimously accorded the foremost position at the Wisconsin bar. His fame was not confined to his city and state but among attorneys all over the country. He was well known and recognized as a lawyer of ability and strength. Mr. Quarles added to his great ability as a lawyer a profound scholarship and a wide knowledge of current affairs, which made him remarkable outside his professional work, to which the greater portion of his time was devoted. The labor question was one in which he was deeply interested, as in many other economical and political subjects and at various times he has addressed different civic societies and other gatherings on phases of the industrial problem. His views were well defined and logical on these matters and his utterances were always regarded as those of one who thoroughly understood his subjects. Personally, Mr. Quarles was one of the most genial and lovable of men and he numbered as his friends all who were brought in contact with him. He had a keen, incisive wit, a kindly humor and a suave and affable manner which won the hearts of his associates and many young lawyers are indebted to him for wise advice and counsel on difficult points. Even in the midst of the important litigation which engaged his time, he was never too busy to receive a visitor with cordiality and the newspaper man who went to him for information was always treated considerately, frankly and with a genial kindness that was wonderfully pleasant. In court Mr. Quarles was always courteous and his keen wit found frequent expression even in the dullest of cases. He was always ready for an encounter of wits and few of his brother lawyers cared to engage him in a tilt of that kind. In physical appearance Mr. Quarles corresponded to his intellectual make-up. Frail of physique he was nevertheless possessed of a nervous energy which enabled him to perform an almost miraculous amount of work and in the court room his restlessness was one of his marked peculiarities. His keenly intellectual face and his brilliant eyes made him a man who would be observed even by a stranger in the court room even before he spoke."

The life and character of Charles Quarles were as clear as the sunrise. No man came in contact with him but speedily appreciated him at his true worth and knew he was a man who not only cherished the high ideal of duty but who lived up to it. He constantly labored for the right, and from his earliest youth he devoted a large portion of his time to the service of others. He was not an idle sentimentalist but a worker. He was at the head of an extensive law practice, which he managed successfully, yet it was his rule to set apart some time each day for the labors of love to which he was so devoted. His friends will miss him, but the memory of his great and beautiful life, of his sincerity and simplicity, will not be forgotten.