Father Pays Last Tribute

More than 500 persons, many of them men prominent in financial, business and political circles of the country attended the funeral Sunday afternoon of Rufus Fearing Dawes, only son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Dawes, Greenwood boulevard and Sheridan Road, Evanston, who was drowned late Thursday afternoon in Lake Geneva. The massive home was not large enough to accomodate the friends of the popular boy and many stood on the beautiful lawn while the service was being read. A most remarkable tribute, touching in its tenderness a characterization of a son written by a father, was read by the Rev. William T. McElveen, pastor of the First Congregational church of which the boy was an ardent member. It was a touching, kindly expression of the father's grief, but it carried with it all the pride in which the father held him for the work he had done during his twenty-one years of life.

Prominent Men Present
At the services were former Vice-President Charles Warren Fairbanks, George B. Cartelyou, former secretary of Commerce and Labor; C.A. Hanna, national bank examiner of New York; and many other men prominent in political life at Washington who were intimate with Mr. Dawes during his residence in that city as comptroller of the currency.
Bankers, railway men and persons closely connected with Mr. Dawes in business were present. The floral tributes were many and beautiful and proved the love the boy's friends held for him.
In the tribute written by the father the grief of the parent shows plainly through every line, but he takes a philosophical view of his son's death.

Says He "Won Out"
"My boy lived long enough to win out," he says. "Whatever the years would have added would have been only material. In a man's character is his real career."
In describing the writing of his son's life he said it was "one last high and solemn duty" which he owed to him.
Dr. McElveen was in charge of the service. He eulogized the life of the young man and spoke of him as a close, personal friend.
The tribute of Mr. Dawes to his son was as follows: "The most of those here assembled are the personal friends and acquaintances of my dear son. So far as the outer world is concerned, his promising life, cut off so early, must ever be wrapped in obscurity. But I, his father, owe him one last and solemn duty to protect the high leson of his life, as far as lies within my power, by using this last assemblage of his friends when their minds and grieving hearts will the more indelibly receive the final impressions of his memory.

Start of Business Career.
"Rufus' business career covered his last four summer vacations, dedicated voluntarily by him to preparations for his life's work. Passionately fond of sports and social recreation, to which the college work of the bal- [page 2]
ance of the year legitimately entitled him, he gave them up and spent in the comparative solitude of a small engineering corps in western South Dakota his summer vacation of four years ago. Here he lived uncomplainingly a life of terrible hardship without my knowledge until it was over.
"Every man in the corps went down with malignant typhoid fever. Rufus was the last man up, and for days, while suffering with the fever himself, took charge of and ministered to the balance of the camp, finally succeeding in moving them to a place of comparative comfort. He then temporarily collapsed, only to pull himself together again, alone and sorely stricken, to set out on the long journey home. It is hard to speak of the sufferings of the fifty-mile wagon rip to the railroad station, of his long wait there, of the terrible railroad trip home when he was u nable to sleep and eat, and of his final arrival, which was our first knowledge of his trouble.
"For weeks without a word of complaint he fought the fight of life and death, and then when relief and apparent convalescence came it was only to usher in a relapse for as long and severe a second attack. Gaunt and haggard, yet happy and cheerful, he finally left the sickroom. He saved out of his compensation for his surveying work over and above his expenses the sum of $60.

First Earnings Given Poor
"Of his own initiative and without suggetion, he devoted this money to the following purposes: He made a close contract with his friends in the wholesale department of Jevne & Co., for twenty baskets of provisions at $1 each, which on Christmas day he personally delivered at the houses of the poor. OF the remaining $40 he expended $20 on a Christmas present for his sister and kept $20 for his personal use.
"The next summer with his dear friend; Melvin Ericson, he went to Seattle and tok a position in the gas company in which my brothers and I are interested. The superintendent, who is one of our personal friends, endeavored to persuade the lads to accept salaries large enough to enable them to live at the best hotel, but Rufus and Melvin declined upon the score that their services would not fairly command the sum offered, took a lesser one, and secured board and lodging elsewhere for 425 per month each. The next summer vacation Rufus spent in the wholesale plumbing establishment of his close friends, Donald Raymond. With his characteristic masterfulness he announced to Donald that he would fix his own salary at $60 per month, which he believed he would earn in the sales department. In this place each month he turned profits into the firm amounting to two or three times his own salary.

Worked in Gas Plant
"The present summer he spent in the gas works at Chicago Heights under the tutelage of his friends, Walter E. Booth and Verne Cutler. During the hot summer days, with at temperature of 110 degrees Fahrenheight in the gashouse, Rufus Fearing learned to make gas. He also mastered gas analysis, and in the last week of his work was given charge of the entire plant.
The last two weeks of this present vacation, which proved to be the last two of his life, he gave up to recreation with the great nervous energy with which he did everything.
"But I pass now to the more important things. My boy was only in the beginning of his business career, while the career of which I am to speak is complete. The Lord gave him ample time to fully and wholly complete it. The truly great character must unite unusual strength and determination with great gentleness. My boy was imperious. He recognized no superior on earth, and yet was the tender and intimate friend of the weak and humble. I have taken him with me among the greatest in the nation and looked in vain for any evidence in him of awe or even curiosity. He has taken me, asking me to help them, among the poor and lowly of earth.

Loved his friends
"He loved his friends and but recently told his mother that our house was all through the coming years to be the stopping place for his college friends passing through the city. How grateful our lonely hearts will be to them now if they will only accept this invitation and sleep in his room and fill for a little time the empty chair. "He commenced early in life to set himself against the crowd, for no man rises to real prestige who follows it. Of his own initiative he joined the church. For a long time he taught a Bible class of boys a Bethesda Mission. He did not smoke, nor swear, nor drink. He was absolutely clean. Yet in his stern opposition to the drift he mingled tolerance in just that quality which contributed to real power to be used in opposition, and for that purpose alone. He organized systematically rescue squads for weaker boys at college who were wavering before strong but evil leadership. Against the boy who sought to lead astray the weaker he set his face like steel. "Like every born leader he has his many warm friends; but if Rufus Fearing ever had a bitter enemy, I have yet to hear of him. His kindness, sincerity and good humor disarmed hatred. I never saw him angry. In twenty years he never gave me just cause for serious reproach. Refused to Accept Handicap. "He was absolutely natural in any environment, great or humble. He was extremely ambitious. He was extremely proud. Upon one occasion, years ago, when I mistakenly reproached him, he patiently explained my mistake and then peremptorily demanded and received an apology from me. "I have noticed that one of the characteristics of the thoroughbred is the refusal to accept or recognize a handicap which he always regards as a self-confession of inferiority. The man who accepts a handicap is beaten before the race commences. In any matter to which Rufus Fearing set himself seriously he saw no possible measure of his full abilities or efforts except in the leading contestant. He recognized no victory in a second or third prize. " It was not altogether modesty which kept him so silent about his marked achievements, but because a high average of proficiency which left the field far behind only brought him into closer self-comparison with the few winners. The natural leader in life, while he keeps his head, keeps his eyes only on the runners in front and not on the multitudes behind. This is why the tryly great are so often humble. Silent on his Achievements "His mother and I never knew until we read it in the year book of Rufus' athletic successes at Lawrenceville or that he was captain of the fencing team at Princeton or that he had this or that distinction. He never talked about his achievement in any line of work, study or recreation for the reason that he himself never regarded them as important or worth while. But with almost intrepid recklessness he sought in his friendly conflicts a contact with any exceptional individual he could find. "In the fact that this contact "In the fact that this contact meant comparison he saw only the opportunity for taking his own full measurement, even though it might prove disappointing or defeat prove bitter. "But under these continuing and often disappointing contests, moral, physical and mental, there worked out under the inexorable laws of human nature a splendid and complete young Christian gentleman. And the lesson of this complete life is that this can be done by a young man without his being a prig, without his failing to be a good fellow, without his bending to debasing environment. Lived to "Win Out" "My boy lived long enough to "win out." Whatever the years would have added would be only material. In a man's character, in his real career. He died suddenly in the midst of happiness. He died with his high ideals unlowered. He died with all the noble illusions of high-minded youth undisturbed and undispelled. He died without having lost ambition, wit his eyes fixed on the high mountains of life, where beyond any question he would have climbed had he lived. "But, dear young friends of my boy, he had already climbed the high and rough ways which lead up the steep mountain of character. He stood there firmly at the top. Mistake not. It was no easy victory. Material achievement may be both, but no moral victory is ever easy or ever accidental. "But yesterday, strong and joyous in the full might and swing of buoyant youth, surrounded by loving friends, the sun of his happiness high in the sky, Rufus Fearing was mercifully spared the sight of grim death, whose unseen hand was even then upon his shoulder. But had this happy boy turned and seen him beckoning him away from the dear ones--from home--from his parents and his sister--from the great battlefield of life with its fine victories to be won, you know and I know that, without complaint, clear-eyed, unafraid, in simple, unquestioning faith, with hope and trust in his Lord, my dear son would quietly have followed into the darkenss of the shadow." The services were simple. There was no music--nothing but the eulogy and a brief prayer by the Rev. Arthur G. Beach of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. McElveen, who conducted the services, said: "The greatest and best thing in the world is a fine, full, rich, radiant character. It is the holiness and wholeness of His character which makes God who He is. It is the perfectness and completeness of the character of the Man of Nazareth that makes Him the beloved spiritual leader of millions of devoted followers. Character is power. It speaks when we are silent; it sometimes silences us when we speak. You recall Emerson's statement: "What you are, speaks so loudly that I can't hear what you say." "Life has two modes--being and doing. The superior mode is being. Martha served, Mary assimilated the spirit of her Master and became like Him. She chose the better part. Character is not what we say or do, it is what we really are. It is the quality of our personality. It is the temper of our individuality. It is the fiber of our being. It is not transferable. It is not a ready made article. You can make a wooden bowl on a lathe in a few moments. If you would make a golden bowl you must beat and burnish the metal many hours. We gain a character by the slow process of steadily becoming better. We acquire a fine character by the laborous process of slow accretions of virtue and grace. Emphasized Character. "Now I thus emphasize character because I want to speak to you briefly about a very rare character. The youth whose sudden and tragic death brings us to this beautiful home today was a very unique personality. If you would describe his life in terms of time, you would say that he lived twenty-one years. But we love "not in years; not in figures on a dial"; we live in thoughts, in feelings, in aspirations and in determinations. And Rufus Fearing Dawes thought great emotions and breathed out great aspirations and was animated by great determinations. "True living is something that cannot be measured by quantity; it is something which much be measured by quality. And it is in the quality of this lad's life that I want you to think of for a little while. His life was brief, but it was deep and high. It was a life full of promise. His Sunday school teacher, a man of wide and varied experiences, declared that he was the most promising young man he ever knew. But he was more than a youth of promise; he was a youth who had accomplished much in the task of self realization. He had already transformed many of the possibilities of life into splendid actualities. There was much in him that was prophesy, but there was also much in him that was real attainment. Had Fine principles "His was a paradoxical nature. He combined traits most difficult of combination. Many seemingly contradictory excellencies mingled in his well rounded life. He was gentle and yet he was strong. His gentleness never became weakness and his strength never became roughness. He was ever the courteous yet vigorous Christian gentleman. He was amiable and kindly yet he was a youth of mental virility and moral robustness. His mental and moral sturdiness never degenerated into intolerant narrowness, neither did his amiability every become compromise with evil. He was a youth of high and fine principles, and yet he was a catholic-minded. He felt himself bond to all others, and yet he felt that he was an end in himself. He was brotherly and fraternal yet he ever sought to make the best and most of himself. He was ever true to his own self. "He had a presentiment that he was getting ready for a large and useful life and he prepared himself thoroughly. He got ready well. He was an aristocrat and yet he was a democrat. He was well born; splendid blood flowed in his veins; he was proud of his fine ancestry, and so he ever held himself in self-respect. He freely mingled with his fellows; he would be the helpful brother to every man. Over on Hinman avenue yesterday a tired postman threw his mail bag on the porch and sat down and wept. When he was asked why he wept he said, "Rufus Dawes was the best friend I ever had. Last summer when it was so excessively hot he carried me about in his machine that I might the more easily distribute the mail. In hundreds of other ways he helped me." Yes, Rufus Dawes freely mingled with men, and yet there was about him a reserve that made one feel that he possessed resources out of the ordinary. And he did. "We were great friends. I shall miss him sorely. Many, many will miss him. But we have this thought to comfort us,--character makes for destiny; yes, character is destiny in the making. There was a quality about the character of Rufus Fearing Dawes that you can't think of as being dead. Truth we say is eternal; the immortal years of God are his. this youth not only conformed to the truth, but he tried to be the incarnation of the truth. Love, we say, abideth forever. This lovable, yet strong, this thoughful yet energetic youth is not dead. He abides with God in whom he had such childlike and implicit faith and whom he sought to serve in so many ways." The pallbearers were William Morris, Mincie, Indiana; Rawleigh Warner, Chicago; Chester Erickson, Emery Wilder, L awrence Wilder, Augustus Knight, Andrew Aldrich and Donald Raymond of this city. Iterment was at Rosehill.