(Thompson) Harper. His father was a farmer. The son received
his education in district schools and prior to entering the Univer-
sity of Michigan graduated from high school at Champion, Mich-
igan. Mr. Harper was married October 12, 1898, to Miss Mary
Angela Kennedy, of Ishpeming, Michigan. Their children are:
Francis A. Jr., Ellen and Mary Angela.
ALVIN H. CULVER, of the law firm of Culver, Andrews, King &
Cook, with offices in the New York Life Building, is a native Chi-
cagoan and has spent his entire professional career as a factor in
the busy life of the city. He was admitted to the bar in 1895.
Mr. Culver was born March 9, 1873, and is a son of Morton and
Eugenia M. (Taylor) Culver. Pis father, who served in the
Civil war as a member of Company A, One Hundred and Thirty-
fourth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, was a lawyer by
vocation, practiced at the Chicago bar for a period of thirty years,
and died in this city in 1900.
The public schools of Glencoe, to which suburb the family
moved when Alvin Culver was a small child, furnished him with
his early education, and after his attendance at the Evanston Pre-
paratory School, he became a student in Northwestern University,
graduating from the literary department in the class of 1893 with
the Bachelor of Arts degree. Following this he entered the law
school of the same institution and was graduated in 1895, with
the Bachelor of Laws degree. While at college Mr. Culver be-
came well known as an athlete, being on the Northwestern 'Varsity
football track team.
Mr. Culver commenced his practice in 1895 in the offices of
Paden & Gridley, the latter of whom is now a judge of the Appel-
late Court. In 1900, when Mr. Paden withdrew, the firm became
Gridley, Culver & King, and this style continued until Mr. Gridley's
election to the bench in 1910, when the firm name was changed
to Culver, Andrews & King. On May i, 1914, the name was again
changed, taking the form of Culver, Andrews, King & Cook, and
so it remains at this time. The offices of the firm are at 916 New
York Life Building.
Mr. Culver is a member of the Chicago and Illinois State Bar
associations and among his social affiliations are the Hamilton
Club, Skokie Country Club and the University Club. Politically
he is a republican.
On August 15, 1897, Mr. Culver married Miss Jean Gehan, of
Chicago. They have three children, Alvin S., born June u, 1908;
Jean, born August u, 1911; and Eleanor, born August 24, 1914.
The Culver home is in Wilmette.
EDWARD CHARLES KRAMER. In many respects the most distinc-
tive professional honor that can be accorded by members of the
608 COURTS AND LAWYERS OF ILLINOIS
Illinois bar to one of their number has been paid to Edward Charles
Kramer of East St. Louis in his election to the office of president of
the Illinois Bar Association, by which dignity he is known to all the
lawyers of the state.
Edward Charles Kramer is a lawyer with more than thirty years
of active practice in the state and is also a native Illinoisan. He was
born in Wabash County February i, 1857, a son of Henry and
Martha Kramer. His father was born at Saarbrucken, Germany,
and is now eighty-five years of age, and the mother was born in Bev-
erly, England, and is eighty-three years of age, their home being
near Fairfield in Wayne County, Illinois.
Mr. E. C. Kramer grew up on a farm, and received his educa-
tion in the public schools and in the Central Normal College of In-
diana. For three years he was employed as a teacher, and in 1882
was admitted to the Illinois bar and practiced at Fairfield from that
date until 1888. He has since practiced with offices in East St.
Louis, St. Clair County. Judge Kramer since admission to the bar
has been actively engaged in the practice of law, and has confined
his efforts to his professional duties, though a number of times he
has been honored and had had imposed upon him the responsibilities
of public affairs. He was elected county judge of Wayne County,
Illinois, in 1886, serving four years, and in 1893 was appointed com-
missioner for the Southern Illinois Penitentiary, to which office he
also gave four years. He was one of the leading spirits in the or-
ganization of the park district of East St. Louis, and his name and
influence have been associated with other movements calculated to
promote the general welfare. .
Judge Kramer is a democrat, a member of the American Bar
Association, and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church. In
Masonry he belongs to the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Knights Tem-
plar Commandery and is also affiliated with the Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks. He took an active part in the organiza-
tion of the St. Clair Country Club, and served as president of that
organization from the beginning until 1914, and is still a member.
At Grayville, Illinois, September 15, 1880, Judge Kramer mar-
ried Laura J. Ellis, daughter of John and Mary Ellis. Mrs. Kramer
takes an active interest in woman's club affairs, believes in wo-
man suffrage, and since the extension of the voting privilege to
women in Illinois has expressed her sentiments concerning public
policy uncontrolled by her husband or anyone else. Mr. and Mrs.
Kramer have two children: Kenneth Edward Kramer, aged twen-
ty-two; and Pauline Ida Kramer, aged twenty.
THOMAS J. GRAYDON has practiced law in Chicago continuously
for seventeen years and his position in the bar is one of unques-
tioned ability and he enjoys a high class practice. He has been
content to rest his reputation as a hard-working lawyer and was
never a candidate for any public office until he allowed his name to
COURTS AND LAWYERS OF ILLINOIS 609
be placed before the people as a candidate for Judge of the Circuit
Court of Cook County in 1915. In the election he lacked about
3,000 votes of the number necessary for a choice.
Born in Norfolk County, Ontario, forty-seven years ago, of
Scotch and English ancestry, Thomas J. Graydon was educated in
the public schools and in a collegiate institute in Canada, and for
three years was a teacher at Sand Beach, Michigan. For a year
and a half he worked on the Evening Press of Grand Rapids, and
later while employed in the law offices of Taggart, Wolcott & Gan-
son of Grand Rapids studied law. Coming to Chicago, he entered
the Kent College of Law with the class of 1898, was graduated and
admitted to the bar on November 21, 1898, after taking an examina-
tion before the State Board of Bar Examiners, then recently
created.
During his practice in Chicago Mr. Graydon has been attorney
in many important cases which have reached the highest courts of
the states and of the United States. He is and for many years has
been an active member of the Chicago Bar Association, the Illinois
State Bar Association and the Chicago Law Institute. He is a
member of the Hamilton Club, the City Club of Chicago and the
Edgewater Golf Club. He is also an Odd Fellow, a member of
Covenant Masonic Lodge, Oriental Consistory and Medinah Temple.
ROBERT J. FRANK. A member of the Chicago bar for the past
eighteen years, Mr. Frank is best known as a specialist in the field
of business organization and corporate management. He is author
of the work "Science of Organization and Business Development,"
which was first published in 1907, and has gone through four edi-
tions and six reprints, and is probably the most popular and the
pioneer work of reference covering this important, field. The sale
of many thousand copies since the work was first published is per-
haps the best comment on its popularity and usefulness. The book
has elicited many favorable comments from different reviewers,
among them the Green Bag, a legal publication, which said :
"This work, which has reached a third edition as an indication
of its usefulness, deals chiefly with the organization and financing
of business corporations, and is addressed chiefly to business men,
to whom it gives many excellent suggestions regarding those mat-
ters of which the officer of a corporation should have at least a
general knowledge, and in which he is likely to require the assist-
ance of an attorney. The book is also useful to lawyers interested
in corporation practice, because of the light which it throws on
many details of business organization and management."
Mr. Frank was born at Ravenna, Ohio, September u, 1865, a
son of George W. and Anna (Cope) Frank. His father was a
farmer and is still living at Ravenna. Mr. Frank was educated
in the Ohio public schools, attended a private preparatory school
in his native county, and spent several years thereafter as a travel-
610 COURTS AND LAWYERS OF ILLINOIS
ing salesman. Coming to Chicago in 1891, in 1894 he entered the
Kent College of Law, and graduated therefrom with the degree of
LL. B. Admitted to the bar the same year, he began practice
alone, but subsequently became a member of the firm of Young,
Makeel, Bradley & Frank until the dissolution of the partnership
at the time of the death of Mr. Young. Since then Mr. Frank
has practiced alone and has given nearly all his time to his specialty
work, and he is now one of the very few lawyers in the West who
confine their attention to the branch of legal practice indicated in
the title of his book.
Mr. Frank is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, the Illi-
nois State Bar Association and the American Bar Association.
He has no affiliations with clubs or fraternities, devoting all his
time to his profession. His home is in the Windermere Hotel, and
his office is in the First National Bank Building.
CHARLES P. MOLTHROP, born Knoxville, Illinois, September n,
1873, son f David O. and Esther L. (Britain) Molthrop. At-
tended Woodhull (Illinois) High School. Graduated from Chi-
cago Law School, 1902, and was admitted to Illinois bar same year.
Immediately upon his admission he opened a law office in Chicago
where he has practiced his profession continuously since that time.
In 1905, he became associated with George E. Q. Johnson under
the firm name of Johnson & Molthrop. In 1912 the firm arrange-
ments were changed and enlarged to Smietanka, Johnson, Mol-
throp & Polkey. Mr. Polkey has since retired from the firm.
Mr. Molthrop is a past master of Columbian Lodge A. F. &
A. M., a member of Oriental Consistory, Medinah Temple and
Prairie Council Royal Arcanum. He is a member of the Chicago
Bar Association and Chicago Law Institute.
He was married in 1899 to Myrtle Goodman and resides at
2317 Millard Avenue. He has two daughters, Charlotte P. and
Jean Ellen Molthrop. ,
JULIUS F. SMIETANKA has been a member of the Chicago bar
twenty years. He has been active in his profession, in public
affairs, and was a member of the Chicago Board of Education until
he resigned to accept the office of collector of internal revenue in
the First Illinois District. Mr. Smietanka is senior member of
the law firm of Smietanka, Johnson & Molthrop.
Born in Chicago, May 31, 1872, he -is a son of Frank and Jo-
hanna Smietanka, and represents one of the oldest families of
Polish settlers in Chicago. In his work as a lawyer Mr. Smiet-
anka has served as legal adviser to the Polish National Alliance.
He attended the public schools in Chicago, and received his de-
gree LL. B. from the Kent College of Law in 1894. In the same
year he was admitted to the bar and has since been in practice.
He has been attorney to several large industrial enterprises, and
COURTS AND LAWYERS OF ILLINOIS 611
is one of the directors and vice presidents of the Northwestern Trust
& Savings Bank.
Mr. Smietanka- in 1905 was democratic nominee for judge of
the Superior Court, but was defeated with the other names on that
ticket. In July, 1909, Mayor Busse appointed him a member of
the Board of Education, and he was reappointed by Mayor Harri-
son in 1912, and served until his present honors were accorded him
by President Wilson on May 27, 1914.
Mr. Smietanka is a member of the Chicago Bar Association
and the Illinois State Bar Association, and of the City, Iroquois and
several other clubs and fraternities. He was married February
18, 1901, to Mary Barzynski, of Chicago.
OLAF A. OLSON. Among men of professional ability, who has
won a place for himself and aims still higher, is Olaf A. Olson, who
maintains his office at 1114, No. 69 West Washington Street.
Olaf A. Olson was born in the City of Chicago, November i,
1884, and is a son of Michael and Enokine (Hanson) Olson. They
were born in Norway and from there came to Chicago in 1879.
The father is a contractor and builder and is well known in the
section of the city in which he located 'and where he has carried
on his industries for a quarter of a century.
In the excellent public schools of his native city, Olaf A. Olson
secured his preliminary educational training and from the high
school entered the Association College, which is the educational
department of the Young Men's Christian Association, following
which he entered Northwestern University and in 1908 was grad-
uated from its law department. In the same year he was admitted
to the Illinois bar. Prior to entering the law school, for about ten
years he was associated with the firm of Mason Brothers, one of
the oldest law firms in Chicago, thereby having an excellent train-
ing in the law before entering the university. Mr. Olson practices
alone and makes a specialty of real estate and corporation law.
He is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and is past chan-
cellor of the Delta Theta Phi, now consolidated, formerly the Alpha
Kappa Phi, a college law fraternity. He belongs also to the Illi-
nois Athletic Club and the Park Ridge Country Club, his recreations
bringing him into association with a pleasant and congenial circle.
Unmarried, Mr. Olson resides at No. 4125 North Harding Avenue,
Chicago.
E. C. WESTWOOD. When the door of opportunity not only
stands wide open but when money and influence make easy the
path of education, even the reluctant and slothful have some in-
ducement to become studious, and there are many, doubtless, who,
without great personal effort acquire the knowledge that enables
them to pursue successfully the various callings to which their
inclinations lead them. All over the country, however, in towns,
612 COURTS AND LAWYERS OF ILLINOIS
villages, hamlets and in remote sections, on quiet farms, in moun-
tain fastnesses and in mining regions, there are hundreds of youths
who have, practically, no advantages and few opportunities for the
pursuit of special study, their environment or occupation completely
shutting the path of progress no matter what may be their ambi-
tion or readiness for self denial. They see their youth passing and
with it passes youth's enthusiasm and as hope goes they adopt
modes of life entirely uncongenial and the outside world seems
to move selfishly and remorselessly on. It is for the relief of this
surprisingly numerous class that, in recent years, the method of
teaching by means of correspondence has been adopted and schools
have been founded which provide instruction in almost every line
of study. One of the best known institutions of this kind is the
Chicago Correspondence School of Law, which was founded in
1892, of which E. C. Westwood, an experienced and well known
attorney at law in this city, is president.
E. C. Westwood was born at Rock Island, Illinois, March 12,
1866, and is a son of Joseph and Phoebe (Meese) Westwood. The
mother survives but the father died at Streator, Illinois. In boyhood
E. C. Westwood attended the country schools, later the city night
schools and afterward was' a student for one year in the Wesleyan
University, following which he turned his attention to the law and
in 1901 was graduated with his degree of LL. B. from the Union
College of Law, Chicago. In the same year he was admitted to the
Illinois bar and entered into practice, continuing alone f?r some
time and then becoming a member of the law firm of Westwood,
Barrickman & Whitaker, which shortly afterward became West-
wood & Whitaker and continued two years, since which time Mr.
Westwood has engaged in individual practice, mainly in civil law.
For some years Mr. Westwood realized, before entering into his
present educational enterprise, the useful medium that such a
school would be and by 1892 had so perfected his plans that he
was able to establish the Chicago Correspondence School of Law,
associating with him Col. James H. Davidson as vice president and
Charles F. Westwood, as secretary. The perfected methods through
which this school is carried on have appealed to those interested
and a very hearty response has been given, the school roster show-
ing that there are interested students all over the country. Its pros-
pects for the future are bright.
Mr. Westwood was married November 24, 1907, to Miss Mil-
dred E. Robb, of Chicago, and they have one daughter, Mary E.
The family resides at Oak Park, of which village Mr. Westwood
was a trustee for four years, and he maintains his office in the
Reaper Block, Chicago. He is a member of the Chicago Bar Asso-
ciation, and is a Knight Templar Mason, belonging to Siloam Com-
mandery at Oak Park.
COURTS AND LAWYERS OF ILLINOIS 613
ALFRED A. NORTON. Successfully engaged in the practice of
law at Chicago since 1902, Alfred A, Norton is a graduate in law
from the University of Minnesota, and has the distinction of being
the only alumnus of that institution actively identified with the
Chicago bar. Mr. Norton is well known in local republican politics,
being secretary of the Swedish-American Republican League of
Illinois and president of the Cook County Club. He is a member
of the Chicago Bar Association, the Hamilton Club, and is a mem-
ber and past master of King Oscar Lodge, No. 855, A. F. & A. M.,
as well as of Oriental Consistory of the Scottish Rite and of Me-
dinah Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is unmarried, resides at
1653 East 55th Street, and has his offices in the Title & Trust
Building.
ARTHUR L. BALLAS. Among the promising younger genera-
tion of Chicago lawyers, one who is acquiring reputation and the
emoluments that go with high position in the profession is Arthur
L. Ballas, a general practitioner with offices in the Hartford Build-
ing. Although engaged in practice only since 1908, and at the head
of a business of his own for but a little more than three years, he
has gained a place in his profession that entitles him to the esteem
and regard of his fellow-practitioners and the public at large.
Mr. Ballas is a product of the farm, having been born on his
father's homestead in the vicinity of Bloomfield, Wisconsin, June
15, 1882, a son of Peter A. and Ida (Hoffman) Ballas. Arthur L.
Ballas received his early education in the public schools of his na-
tive locality and grew up on the homestead farm. He was not
content, however, to remain a tiller of the soil, and after some prep-
aration entered the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where
for one year he pursued a collegiate course, then spending one year
in the law department of the same institution. Coming to Chicago,
Mr. Ballas completed his education in the John Marshall College
of Law, from which he was graduated in June, 1908, and in Novem-
ber of the same year was admitted to the bar. Succeeding this Mr.
Ballas was associated with the firm of Horton & Miller for one
year and with Horton, Wichert, Miller & Meier for a like period,
and in January, 1911, opened an office at No. 1218 Hartford Build-
ing, and since that time has practiced alone. Mr. Ballas' practice
is general in character. He represents, in a legal way, many
prominent business firms and corporations, and in addition has a
large and rapidly increasing general practice. He is of an intensely
studious nature, and passes much of his time in his law library, also
keeping abreast of the various advancements being constantly made
in his calling by retaining membership in the Chicago Bar Associa-
tion. Mr. Ballas is well known in fraternal life, being a valued
and popular member of the North American Union and the Order
of the Moose, in both of which he has numerous friends. A stanch
republican, his party has always received his ardent support, but
614 COURTS AND LAWYERS OF ILLINOIS
the pressing duties of his practice have precluded the idea of his
being more than an outside influence in politics.
Mr. Ballas was married, August 15, 1913, to Miss May Erie,
a resident of Chicago.
HON. JOHN STELK. In twenty years devoted to active law prac-
tice in Chicago John Stelk became so well established among the
members of his profession and in so definite and substantial a man-
ner that on the 3d of November, 1914, he was elected associate
judge of the Municipal Court of Chicago, receiving practically the
united support of the bar. At present he is presiding over that
branch which deals exclusively with all attachments, garnishment
and replevin suits brought into the Municipal Court of Chicago, a
highly technical branch of the law. He had a representative prac-
tice in the city, and close attention to his work, combined with a
goodly measure of professional ability had prior to his election,
brought him undeniable material rewards.
John Stelk was born in Chicago, September 10, 1875, a son of
William and Mary (Kraase) Stelk, both natives of Germany. They
made their home in their native land up to the time of marriage,
when they immigrated to America, arriving in 1871, the year of the
great Chicago conflagration. Their son received his early education
in a German parochial school in the city, and later he attended
evening sessions of the public schools and a business college. He
was ambitious from boyhood and planned his studies with a view
to the future which led to his entrance in the law department of
Lake Forest University, known as the Chicago Law School. In
June, 1896, he was graduated with the B. L. degree, and his admis-
sion to the bar of the state followed immediately. From that year
until November, 1914, he was engaged in the active practice of law
in Chicago.
The first association of the young lawyer was with the late John
C. King, and from 1889 to 1899 he was with the law firm of King
& Gross, composed of John C. King and Alfred H. Gross. From
1899 he conducted an independent law business, and his advance-
ment in his profession has been sure and certain.
From December, 1910, to December, 1914, Mr. Stelk was the
attorney for the sheriff of Cook County, and from December, 1912,
to December, 1914, was the attorney for the bailiff of the Municipal
Court. He is a member of the Chicago, Illinois and American Bar
associations and of the Chicago Law Institute. His social member-
ships are with the Chesterfield Country Club and the German Club
of Chicago. Mr. Stelk is a democrat of definite and well balanced
convictions, and he has taken an active part in the party ranks in
Chicago and Cook County. As a campaign speaker he has done
excellent work, and served as president of the Twelfth Ward Demo-
cratic Organization for five years prior to his election to the bench.
On April 29, 1899, Mr. Stelk was married to Miss Emma Rent-
615
ner, of Chicago, and they live at 2711 West Twenty-third Street.
They have six children. George, the eldest, was born February
22, 1900, and was named in honor of George Washington. Viola
was the second born. Lincoln was born on the birthday anniversary
of Abraham Lincoln, and was named accordingly. Mildred and
Milton are twins, and Winston was born on June I4th, a day that
has in recent years been celebrated as Flag Day.
DELBERT A. CLITHERO' s relations to the Chicago bar have been
maintained with growing professional success and reputation for
twenty years. Like many successful lawyers, he spent his youth in
the country and comes of solid American stock.
Mr. Clithero was born on a farm in Grundy County, Illinois, on
November n, 1870, a son of Edward S. and Eliza N. (Scott)
Clithero, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Illinois.
The Clithero family was founded in America in the colonial epoch
of our national history, the original representatives of the name
coming from Lancastershire, England, and establishing a residence
in Virginia, whence members in a later generation followed the
tide of emigration to the West and became pioneers of Ohio. In
the Civil war, representatives of this family were found as soldiers
in both the Union and Confederate armies. Edward S. Clithero was
reared and educated in Ohio and was one of its volunteers in the
Civil war. He was a member of the One Hundred and Sixteenth