University of Virginia - Corks and Curls Yearbook (Charlottesville, VA)

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. W'W'V .V': v r . o T'Ww 41'0717'4-1! w- E E; E k . E .. v 1 14 .: 'erer . x .- ..- William Henry White-American life that is still in the making, to estimate the sum of its achievements before those achievements are done, to Visualize its scope before there can be had a sufficient perspective of its more or less co-ordinated activities. A11 ig- norant treatment of such a subject would be an impertinence; an unsympathetic view, an offe11ce;a critical consideIation, manifestly absurd. And eulogies have gone out of fashion. IT is a difficult thing, almost an impossible one, adequately to tell the story of a WMW :7 But it may happen that 1 I concrete certain abstractions which may thereby be made more real for us, and corre- spondingly more helpful. Mental attitudes, tendencies of the times, national charac- teristics-efor each of these there may be, in the daily life about us, its separate embodi- ment. We look for manifestations of the artistic temperament beneath the- sunny skies of Italy; we are accustomed to think of Teutonic sturdiness and thoroughness; we associ- ate with the great republic of Western Europe a notable keenness and precision Of in- tellectual processes; and in the Mother Country we hnd a 114.311.15.141 magnihcently intelligent con- servatismi capable of witheta11ding the storm and shock of a social unrest that would have wrecked any foundation less stable. We attribute to each of these nations some distinguishing national characteristic which, while not exclusive of others, yet springs unbidden to the mind at the mere mention of their names. - How different the case with America! It is the Great Composite. The one great nation with no- distinctive ethnic history, and, therefore, no distinctive 3 such a life exhibits in the Ma. S V 1 1'! -1 1-,1 a' ; . 7,314.3 'th; . 1

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. v 'vw;-v'g f5 3E racial characteristic. Peeuliarities we have; distinctive qualities, perhaps; but it is rather from a combination of these than from any one of them, that a concep- tion of the American is derived. The conception is not clear; it connotes much, but denotes no single thing; and yet most of us, while we cannot define, can still describe what we mean when we speak of the Spirit of America; And it is as an incarnation of that spirit that we shall View our subject. A chronicle of a life so full of affairs would be impossible within reasonable limits; we set down only the salient facts. ' Born in 1847 in Norfolk County, Virginia, son of Dr. William White and Hen- rietta Kemp tTurneQ W hite, William H. White spent his boyhood on a farm in that county. His education was interrupted by the Civil War, and after attend- ing several institutions, he found himself in 111863 at the Virginia Military In- stitute. He came of hghting stock; his father served throughout the Civil War, being Colonel of the 14th Virginia Regiment, and his grandfather had fought in the War of 1812; and while at the Institute he participated in the Newmarket fight, that glorious Victory of beardless boys over trained veterans. $fter the war he took a law course at the University of Virginia, and came to the bar in 1868. The next year he became Commonwealth's Attorney for Norfolk County; and in 1871, having removed to Norfolk City, was elected Commonwealth's At- torney there. An active practice, which became one of the- largest and most im- portant in Norfolk, ensued. In 1896 he was appointed by Mr. ClevelandlUnited States District Attorney, and, though a Democrat, continued in that office, at Mr. McKinleyis request, until well into the lattei's administration. In the latter part of 1906, a somewhat acrimonious dispute having arisen between the State of Virginia, as part owner, and the railroads which controlled the Richmond, Fred- erieksburg 8x Potomac and Washington Southern Railroads, Mr. White was se- lected as a candidate for the presidency ofthose companies acceptable to all the interests concerned. He still holds that office. 8He had had the advantage of nee, having served on boards of directors of numerous eor- large business experie and the experience thus porations, in addition to his legal representation of them; gained was of inestimable value. - Mr. XVhite has been on the Boards of Visitors of his two alnzac matres, the Virginia Military Institute and the University of Virginia, and has been partieti- larly active on the latter. being one of those who urged the creation of the presi- deney and the election of Dr. Alderman, Such is the bare record. XVhat are some of the lessons it teaches, the Charac- teristics it reveals? Mr. Bryce, with his extraordinary divniation of the American character, re- marks in his HAmerican Connnonwealth that in America a smart man tusmg lsmartf of course. in no invidious sensel is expected to do anything that he turns his hand to. This versatility is one of the most notable possessions of Mr. VVhlte. As a lawver, he had no 8speeialtyp He prosecuted criminal cases and defended 4 - Y ' es xq MT .H wi V . i .i htNi