Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1872-04-30
"BOUNCINGvsA LAWYER.
nlinois ON Mr.. Justice paws.

L Ouiteu olhlcb, rthluiuk ~ 2ulncygs AL
but until Of late. a resident OF Bloom
ington, the Illinois home Of David Da
Wis This lawyer was r. X. Turner
and he had just returned from Washing
ton. la atia atly aa 1853
Mr.. Turner" said the Herald repre-
sentative, gliding to business like |
pearl diver to the bottom, what is thu
sentiment of your State among Repub
licans on the nomination at Cincin
nat? ....rt
am for Grant, sir. There is som'
insurrection, however. In our town the
most conspicuous citizen is 'N'N
Ex.sEoRETARY BROWNING,
formerly at the head of the Interior De
partment He is now about seventy
years old, and is the best head. perhaps
in our district, for law and affairs. ii,
is dead set against Grant, and, / think
sympathiEes with the Cincinnati move
ment
Would the Illinois people like to Sc,
David Davis PresidentT &t.
| would, for one reason; i have some
cases in the Supreme Court which h'
decided against me below, and / nigh
be willing to give him the Presidency tc
get him out of the way up above. Davis
is popular man, in certain sense, il
our State. He has many warm friends
and no bitter enemies.
DAVIS oUEERNEss.
"The people like him because he il
easy going, peculiar, fast in his friend
ships, and never much inclined to press
Judgment against debtors. Nobody
wants to pay, and he continues cases
over from term to term, so that we law
yers have to advise our clients to
strengthen the securities Of their debtors
and wait. The lawyers are all starving
to death in Davis district He is won
derfully queer man. He often attends to
his private affairs. correspondence, etc,
until after the hour for court to begin,
when he strides up there in a hurry and
finds the lawyers all waiting. The course
of justice proceeds without much system
or order, until Davis suddenly recollects
some engagement or other, when he says,
without pausing minute: Adjourn
eourtl He is, worth from 81 900, 900 to
81, ,000,O GEO. He never sells anything, and
lets his property improve by contact with
that of more enterprising folks. He owns
one thousand acres of fine land just out
Of the fourishing city of Bloomington.
His property is largely in wild lands in
Iowa and toward the Mississippi river.
His Chicago property he did not want,
but took II for debt of 5000, and now
it is worth 100000. Mr.. Lincoln used
to say, with mixture of admiration and
humor, Here Davis has made more in
land than all Of us together in law Yet
Lincoln said, with evident belief, that il
his administration had done no other act
than to put David Davis on the Supreme
bench, it would have been a success for
that"
ligqgte DAVIS AND LINCOLN. Z
What was the bond between them
Lincoln and Davis? Were they in any
thing alike" 'JiH
Davis is not hard man, but he is
more selfish and cautious than Lincoln
The latter cared nothing for money, al
though perfectly frugal and thrifty.
He gave half the first $1,000 he ever
earned to Billy Herndon, his part
ner, against the protests of his friends
and without any contract to do so, out
of sympathy and exuberance of feeling.
He put the other $500, in imitation Of
Davis, in wild land; kept it there two or
three years.. got ten per cent. for it, and
then withdrew it. Lincoln was a man
who had desire, overruling all things,
to find out the truth of even matters at
law Davis has like will and resolve
to do justice, but he is more worldly and
prudent, and nothing of the poet that
Lincoln was. He would make a safe
and profitable President, ruling by equi-
ty, but he would never be out in the ad-
vance of the age or the party. He is q
perfect conservative, and was many
months making up his mind to vote for
Mr.. Lincoln. Everything in Davis goes
through a process Of consideration, ex-
cept his legal decisions, which are made
from sort of horse intuition. You may
cry in vain, This is the law, but the old
fellow will put down his hand and say,
This is the right, Probably no judge
exists who is so decisive; fearless and
direct in his Office, and yet on worldly
and personal matters so slow and hesi-
tating. he has got rich by hesi-
tating and eminent by his decisions.
DAVIS AS A CHARACTER.
There is lawyer named Holmes out
in our parts who cannot be scared off
his line of argument by the Judge
Some time ago Holmes was proceeding
with a speech-Davis on the bench
when Davis said, in his emphatic voice
which gets squeaky and suppressed
when he is in earnest, as il afraid of its
own volume: .-r..
: - Mr.. Holmes, that is not the law,
sirl'
uneasy. rI..r .rlaf ..n
Mr.. Holmes, l say that is not the
law that you are stating.
Holmes persisted, and finally Davis,
very uneasy-for he has a quaint kind
of imperial will-broke cut
80 Mr.. Holmes, ] say that is not the
law; but if you think il is, I'd like to bet
youl
Judge Davis is alse strange in his
friendships and in his observation-disclosures.
He takes fancy TO young men some
times, and proposes TO direct their for
tunes, but they must do precisely as be
tells them or il is all off Some time
ago he went to a lawyer in one Of our
good-sized towns and said;
ss" l want you to take young =. into
your firm. I.rl.ao'sl
% We can't; We are full. There is no
roomiM -HFa-lLaU. .E. ny
Now, Tn doing this, said Davis,
You take him. you must; ! told him
you would. I'll find the business to
make it pay G -N' -'t b ~
SO the young man went into the firm,
and Davis turned over plenty OF eddi-