New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1886-04-14
OUKHIGHayT TRIBUNAL.
United asstessnnre1neC ourt-Its Person
mel, Manner OF Doing Business, and the
Great Increase.of Cases Before It.


United asstessnpre1ne Court-Its Person
Great Increase,of Cases Before It.
I One cfsthe, branches OF the United
States govern ment which has not ex
j tended its proportions to keep pace
with the growth. Ct the country is the
supreme court. The average number
OF new cases coming before this court
has increased from 20 per year in the
years from ls5O!tcs 1855 to 42s per
year mthe years LSSQto1SS5. There
are now upwards OF 300 eases on
! the calendar awaiting a hearing, and
as only abouts35oeas can be dis
posed OF annsallY, it will be seen that
| the court is four years behind its work,
and, as Puck lately remarked, unless
something is shortly dome to- relieve
this conditions OF things it will soon
come to pass shat judgments awarded
by the courts will be paid to the grand
children OF the.men bringing suit.
| For this state of things Congress is
TO blame, and the subject is pertinent
! at tins time because renewed efforts
are about to hs made to, secure the
| passage OF sofse measure Of relief The
| remedy, OF coETse; is. to, increase the
number OF judges. 1t is not idle talk
| to assert that; the present justices
are overworkea4that they are among
! the few public officials who really earn
| Their salaries, andia great deal more
accordingly as-legal ability and labor
Is usually compensated The $50
cases disposed OF yearly is nacre than
one for each working day, from which
1T will be seen that NO, buster naen than
these can. ber:annd within the realm of
the legal profession, and few outside of
That professionals aware. of the labor
entalled, even in some Of the ordinary
| cases, in winch there have been con.
f1lctlng opinaons, and in which, the law
Is required "a be, settled once for all.
The Suprame coaDt as now eonsti-
tuted consiats of a Chief Justice. with
a salary OF $40, 500. per year, and
eight associate justices, with salaries
OF $4,000. The justices are appoint
ed by the Rresid snt, to hold office for
lie, or 'during,good behavior" The
officers OF the court include 81 clerk and
deputy clerk, a marshal aGd report
! er. Nhenthe Court is in session the
justices sit IN a. row, the chief Justice
IN the mldtlle. Morrison r. Waite, of
ONO, the.present chief Justice, is now
within ha.at. a Year Of his three-score-
and-ten~, He aeas appointed by Pres.
Grant ms 1874, and haas, therefore.
served eleven years.
AT the rig hit of the chief Justice sils
the senior associate justice, Samuel
+. Miner, Of Iowa, who is said to be
the clevarest headed man of thenine
he Was appointed by Pres. Lincoln,
ma S62;. after several years service on
the ciranit bench in Iowa, where he
established a. reputation as a good
lawyer azd upright Judge that became
national long before MI. Lincoln be-
came President. Many stories are
sold OF the.way Judge Miller's nomi-
nation Was, first suggested to Mr..
Lincoln, but the fact that Mr.. Lincoln
knew him and of his qualifications for
the place disposes of them all.
at the left OF the chief Justice, and
next IN seniority Of appointments, sits
Stephen j. Field, OF California, who
was also appointed by Mr.. Lincoln in
1853, upon the demand OF the Pacific
coast that it should have a represen-
tative upon the Supreme bench. With
tins consideration, there was the
other, that growing out OF the peculiar
land system OF California, there had
accumulated vast amount of litiga-
ton, some Of which had found it's way
to the Supreme court, and no man
was more familiar with the legal ques-
tions involved than Judge Field. He
IS OF the slnged-cat order of men, and
though, quite old enough to 60 into
| retirement, will take his own time in
getting about it
Joseph 2. Bradley sits next to Judge
Miller at the right, and he, too, has
passed the SEVENTEEN mile-post. He
was appointed by Pres. Grant in
1870, and hailed from New Jersey.
That appointment is too recent to re-
mind the reader that it was charged
that 1T was made to reverse the de-
clslon OF the same court that in 1870
had declared the legal tender act un-
constitutional. The safety of the ma
ton may possibly have been involved
in this decision; anyhow that was the
prevailing view OF the matter at that
time.
At the. left again, and next to Justice
! field, is, John NJ. Harlan, OF Kentucky,
who is q true type OF the bluegrass
product. He was appointed in 1875
| by Mr.. Hayes, upon the earnest soho
ltation OF Judge Key and other
Southern gentlemen OF the bench and
bar. Justice Harlan's opinions are
written and delivered in a very terse
and direct style, but cannot be COM
mended for extreme beauty OF fiction,
any more than can those. Of William
b. Woods, OF Georgia. who is also an
appointee OF Mr.. Hayes. Justice
Woods is in the prime, ifnot the vigor,
OF manhood, is a good lawyer as the
world goes (down in Georgia) and so,
cially one OF the best fellows in the
particular social circle to which he be
longs i'll Washington. A,decent regard
/ for candor moves the writer to. say
/ that t he leoa fraternitv pepara llv does