Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1888-03-30
DEATH OF CHIEF JUSTICE WAITE.
The Event Game with Startling sud-
denneAs last Friday.

The country was shocked last Friday to
learn of the death of Hon. Morrison r.
Waite, Chief Justice of the United States.
His illness was so sudden that even the
Washington papers had no mention of it
on Friday morning. The cause of death
was acute pneumonia, though Mr.. Waite
had not been well for some time. The Sat
urday night before he suffered a chill and
remained in bed Sunday, but went down
to the Capitol Monday morning and attend
ed the session Of the supreme court, as us
ual, though he did not himself read the
opinion in the telephone case which he had
prepared and which was his last official
work A day of two of vague indisposi
ton followed, and Wednesday circumscrib
ed pneumonia appeared.
His daughter, Miss Mary F. Waite, and
his son, Mr. G. c. Waite, president of
Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad,
were with him when he died. His wife
had gone to southern California only the
week before He leaves another son, Ed
win T., of Toledo, Ohio.
Morrison Renwick Waite was born in
Lyme, Conn, November 30, 1916. He en-
tered Yale college at the age of II, and
graduated in 1887, in class which includ-
ed w. NJ Evarts, Edward Pierrepont, Pro
fessor Silliman and others who have be-
come distinguished men. He then began
the study of law in his fathers Office at
Lyme but finished his studies in the office
of S. II, Young, then prominent attorney
in Maumee City Ohio. In 1889 his precep-
tor took him into partnership, and in 1850
the firm of Young & Waite removed to
Toledo, Ohio, where they began what proved
to be a large and successful practice. In
/ lS49 Mr.. Waite was elected TO the Ohio leg
| islature as a Wing In 1862 he was reluct-
. (. L., g.. TN.,,,. l.,t Il,
feated by f. NJ. Phelps Mr. Waite was a
conspicuous member Of the Geneva tribun-
| al, as one of the United States counsel At
the conclusion of his duties in Geneva he
returned to Toledo and resumed practice,
and in 1873 was chosen president of the
! Ohio state constitutional convention. Up
ON the death of Chief Justice Chase in
! 1874, after the successive nominations of
| q. H. Williams and Caleb Gushing and the
withdrawal of their names, President Grant
selected Mr.. Waite, whose appointment was
confirmed by the unanimous vote of the
Senate. The appointment was more or less
criticised at the time, but it proved to be
an eminently wise and satisfactory one.
Two or three years ago Judge Waite was
i'll from overwork and suffered a stroke of
paralysis, from which, however, he fully re-
covered. Since then he had carefully guard
ed his health, taking each year long va
cation outing, once to Europe and once to
Alaska. Although in his seventy second
year, one who had met the Chief Justice in
the street recently would have ventured
the prediction that he would live many
years to grace the bench He was of me
dium height, with broad shoulders and
sturdy figure. Everything about his ap-
pearance indicated splendid physique,
He stood straight and was dignifed in car
riage His large head was crowned with a
thick growth of iron gray hair, His fore
head was broad and full, the eyebrows
dark and heavy, The mouth and nose
large and full of character He wore a
beard about his face, but his upper lip was
clean shaven. His figure was familiar
one ON the streets, as he almost invariably
walked to and from his house to the su-
preme court chamber in the Capitol.