I wanted to add one or two things that space did not allow you to include. The phrase about the man who wore so many hats came from Governor John Bricker’s eulogy of Senator Dick in 1945, when he died in the status of the oldest living US Senator. John Bricker noted that Charles Dick had been a leading lawyer, businessman, investor, Republican leader, military officer, member of Congress and Presidential advisor.

In appearance, he was formidable—six feet tall, trim, with a shock of white hair. He sat a horse ramrod straight, even in his 80s. His profile was eagle-sharp. His most prominent features were his penetrating eyes, which were a bright silver gray. Douglas MacArthur said they looked right through you.

General Dick's political power, which was considerable, though usually exercised behind the scenes, stemmed from his position as head of the Ohio Republican organization. His formal title, from 1892 to 1920, was Chairman of the Republican State Central Committee of Ohio. Originally appointed by McKinley, he led the party through more than 30 elections, with an overwhelming won-lost record against the Democrats. (It was said of him that he never met a man he didn’t like, unless it was a Democrat!).

Charles Dick’s financial power stemmed from his early investment in Akron businesses. At one point before he gained public office, he was partner in a department store (Dick and Miles), partner in a law firm (Dick, Doyle, and Bryan), and partner in the startup of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co, in 1896. He was in on the ground floor of Goodyear through his boyhood friendship with Frank Seiberling, Goodyear’s CEO. CD was a founding director, and stayed on the Board until the Co. was taken over by Cyrus Eaton in 1921. He was the second largest shareholder after the Seiberlings. There was a provision in the corporate charter that no director could live more than 20 miles from the Goodyear headquarters on South Main in Akron, a rule that was stretched a bit when the Congress was in session.

Using the Goodyear shares as collateral, CD became a wide-ranging venture capitalist. At the height of his fortune in 1920, he owned the Vitagraph movie studio, the Lyraphone Record company, the Akron Mining Co. in Colorado and a ranch in Montana, five hotels, in NY, DC, and Atlantic City, apartment houses, and many companies he set up for his sons to run. At the end of WWI he was worth $100 million in 1918 dollars. Almost all of that was lost in the Depression, but not without an honorable record of paying all his debts and refusing to use bankruptcy to avoid any of his responsibilities.

His military career you know about. Anne Armstrong at NGAUS tells me that he had the distinction of joining the Ohio Militia in 1880 as a private and being such a likely-looking cadet that he was promoted to lt. On the same day!

He achieved a record 65 years with the Guard. As Col. of the 8th Ohio in the SAW, he missed combat on the ground at Santiago. His important role in Cuba was as man-on-the-spot for President McKinley. He was on deck with Admiral Sampson and Commodore Schley when they decided over tea, CD advising, to commence the bombardment of the city. Perhaps his most important moment came when he personally advised the President to withdraw combat troops after the victory, because tropical diseases were killing more soldiers than had been lost in battle.

As a military advisor to McKinley, Roosevelt, and Taft, he had a number of special assignments. He chaired the commission on hazing at West Point, and incidentally saved the career of young Douglas MacArthur. He was one of the investigators of the Brownsville raid. He was so trusted by the regular services that he was the only person I know of to serve on the boards of West Point and the Naval Academy at the same time.

Of course the most significant achievement of his life was the creation of the modern structure of the National Guard. He was in a unique position, as a lifelong militiaman who was trusted at the White House, in the Congress, and by the regular officer corps. He personally knew every Governor of every state, having been in national politics since 1888. So he pulled together a bipartisan coalition, of a kind rarely seen in Washington today. It was a big task. In letters home to his wife he talks about going home to his hotel exhausted night after night of day after day of fashioning compromises. But his work led to an enduring success.

Have you ever read the Dick militia bill? It is only a few pages long. In those times a great deal was entrusted to concision and common sense. When the measure finally passed after two years of labor, it was seen by everyone as an ideal balancing of state and federal power. CD did not push himself forward for recognition, but everyone knew who had crafted the result. (Reminds me of the motto on President Reagan’s desk: “There is no limit to what a man might do if he doesn’t care who gets the credit”)

Even Theodore Roosevelt (who normally took the spotlight for everything—his daughter said he wanted to be the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral) offered the praise to Congressman Dick. Later President Taft called him his leading advisor on militia matters. After a day’s work on Capitol Hill CD would often stop at the White House on his way home to report on military issues (and “Talk a little politics” as Taft used to say. CD was said to know more on military matters and electoral districts than anyone else in Washington.

Dan , I could go on and on, but instead I am going to send you by mail, if you’ll give me a postal address, an article I wrote up a few years ago on the totality of CD’s congressional career, as well as a year-by-year chronology of his life that was compiled by his daughter after his death. They don’t exist in digital form, hence my wish to mail them to you.

Your article was masterly, and I hope these few notes added to your file will add a bit to the background.

PS— a last word about Theodore Roosevelt. You had the reference to how long CD knew him a bit off. They met certainly by the GOP convention of 1880, and probably at the convention of 1876 that nominated Rutherford Hayes. They were both born in 1858, both had boyhood memories of Lincoln, both were Republican leaders in their respective states all their adult lives. Charles Dick met with TR at Sagamore Hill the day before the President died in 1919. They were “talking a little politics”. Roosevelt wanted to know if Ohio would support him for the Presidential race in 1920, and CD said they would. If only Roosevelt had lived longer...