HUGHES, CHARLES EVANS (1862— ), American lawyer and statesman, was born at Glens Falls, New York, on April 11, 1862. He attended Madison (now Colgate) university (1876-78), whence he proceeded to Brown university where he was awarded the Dunn Premiums for excellence in English litera ture and general excellence (B.A., 1881; M.A. 1884). He then taught at Delhi, N.Y., studying law in his leisure. In 1882 he entered the Columbia Law school, taking his LL.B. degree in 1884 and obtaining a prize fellowship of three years' duration. In the same year he was admitted to the New York bar and engaged in practice until his appointment in 1891 as professor of law at Cornell university, a position which he resigned in 1893 in order to resume practice. He continued, however, to maintain his connection with Cornell in the capacity of special lecturer, and was a special lecturer at the New York Law school from 1893 to 1900. In 1905 he was counsel for the Stevens Gas and Electric Lighting Commission appointed by the State legislature to investi gate the cost of gas. In the same and following year he acted as counsel for the Armstrong Life Insurance Commission which investigated the affairs of the life insurance companies operating under State charters. In 1906 he was retained by the Federal Government to investigate alleged violation of the Sherman law by the coal-carrying roads. In the same year, as nominee of the Republican Party for governor of the State of New York, he was elected by 57,897 votes over William Randolph Hearst, being the only successful candidate on the Republican ticket, and was re-elected in 1908. His regime as governor was distinguished by the initiation of far-reaching reforms both legal and administra tive, including the formation of a Public Service commission, legislation protecting women and children in factories and stricter election laws. By his efforts also pool-selling and book-making on race tracks were placed in the same category as other forms of gambling. He resigned on Oct. 6, 1910, being appointed associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by President Taft.
He remained on the Supreme Court bench for six years. His contributions on constitutional questions were always masterly. particularly those which he rendered in the "State Rate Cases," which involved the line of division of State and Federal sover eignty in the field of railway regulation. (See Minnesota Rate Cases, 23o U.S.R. 352.) In 1912 he had refused to be a candidate for the presidency, but on his nomination, June io, 1916, by the Republican national convention in Chicago, he accepted and resigned from the Supreme Court. President Woodrow Wilson was renominated by the Democrats. The electoral vote was 277 for Wilson against 254 for Hughes. The popular vote was 9,129,606 for Wilson against 8,538,221 for Hughes. The following year he again entered upon the practice of law in New York city. In 1917 he was appointed chairman of the Draft Appeals board of New York city, and in 1918 he acted as special assistant to the U.S. attorney general in charge of the investigation of alleged waste and delay in the construction of aircraft.
On the inauguration of President Harding, on March 4, 1921, he became the secretary of State. The Soviet Government approached him in his first month of office asking that the United States should resume trade relations with Russia, but he promptly rejected the Soviet proposals. Later on M. Chicherin communi cated with him with a view to recognition by the United States of the Soviet republic, but this also was refused on Dec. 19, 1923. In 1921 Hughes, under authorization by President Harding, sent out invitations suggesting a conference on the limitation of arma ments. The conference was held—Hughes being chief U.S. dele gate and chairman—with the result that seven treaties were negotiated relating to limitation of naval armaments, the fortifi cation of islands in the Pacific and relations between China and other Powers. (See WASHINGTON CONFERENCE.) In a speech at New Haven in Dec. 1922 Hughes dealt with the matter of German reparations, and unofficially suggested a committee of experts to investigate. This was the genesis of the committee which ultimately prepared what is known as the Dawes Plan. (See REPARATIONS.) The Tacna-Arica dispute afforded another instance of his intervention on behalf of peace. (See