RICHARD OLNEY, one of the most prominent members of the bar in the Eastern States, filled the offices of Attorney-General and Secretary of State in the second Cabinet of President Cleveland-1893 to 1897. Secretary of State Walter Q. Gresham, Mr. Cleveland's first choice, died within a year, and Mr. Olney was his successor. Although he had no diplomatic experience whatever he soon demonstrated rare ability and acumen, his long training in the highest courts of the land standing him in good stead. Secretary Olney was not long in becoming familiar with the details of his Department, and, therefore, when the trouble with England arose over the disputed Venezuela boundary line, he was prepared to conduct the necessary negotiations. A commission was appointed and the dispute amicably settled. Secretary Olney is a native of Massachusetts, born in 1835. (116)

GEORGE PEABODY, a philanthropist who gave millions of dollars to the cause of education in the United States, gathered the greater part of his fortune in London. He began his business career in Massachusetts, his native state, but the field was not exactly to his liking, so he went to Baltimore, engaging in banking and the importation of European goods of all kinds. In 1837 he went to London, having previously established a branch there, and made that city his home. He gave $3,000,000 to build homes for the poor in the English capital; $3,000,000 to the Southern Education Fund in this country; $1,500,000 to the Peabody Institute at Baltimore; and, with gifts to various institutions, gave away $8,470,000 in all. Mr. Peabody died in London in 1869, aged seventy-four. He was one of the most generous of the early millionaires. (117)

OLIVER HAZARD PERRY was like Caesar-he reported his victories in few words. After the fight on Lake Erie, September 10th, 1813, he wrote General William Henry Harrison: "We have met the enemy and they are ours." Perry was but twenty-seven years of age, but had seen rough service. He made his profession the object of the hardest study, and his incessant training of his crews and practice of manoeuvres by his ships brought the vessels he commanded up to the highest degree of efficiency. Congress voted its thanks to Perry after the Lake Erie fight, and bestowed a medal upon him. He died of yellow fever in the West Indies in 1819, and was born in Rhode Island in 1785. (118)

WENDELL PHILLIPS was an impassioned orator of power, force and influence, sentiment entering largely into his forensic efforts. His imagination was vivid, and he could paint the most beautiful pictures in words. Phillips never held office, his idea being that he could be of more service to the country and to humanity at large when unfettered by official cares or obligations. He advocated to the fullest extent of his powers the freedom of the slaves, and in consequence suffered indignities innumerable at the hands of Boston mobs. Mr. Phillips was a humanitarian in the broadest sense of the term, and a thorough believer in universal education. He was born in Massachusetts in 1811, and died in 1884; he was a man of lofty ideals, and lived to see many of them realized. In every way was he a humanitarian. (119)

FRANKLIN PIERCE, elected to the Presidency of the United States in 1852, was made a person of national importance when he secured the appointment to a BrigadierGeneralship at the time this country became involved in war with her sister Republic, Mexico. General Pierce accompanied General Winfield Scott, Commander of the United States forces, throughout the continuance of hostilities. General Scott was a candidate for the Presidency in 1852, but General Pierce, who was the compromise candidate against him, was elected. In the course of the campaign Pierce defended slavery and indorsed the fugitive slave law. The Missouri Compromise was repealed during his administration. He was born in New Hampshire in 1804 and died in 1869. (120)