St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-09-17
The Address of the Day De-
livered by Senator c. X.
Davis.
Brief Remarks Also Made by
Hon. Thomas Wilson and
Others.
The Building an Attractive
Structure Which Cost
Over 100000.

Special to the Globe.
WINONA, Sept. 16.-The magnificent
new Winona county court house, just
completed at a cost of s1O3. 900, was ded-
icated with elaborate ceremonies to-day.
The morning was devoted to farewell
by the bar to the old court house. Sen
atOr G. K. Davis and wife arrived at
1890 a. m, and were the guests of Gov.
and Mrs. w. IL. Yale. They were met
at the depot by committee and es-
cOrted up town by the Guards and a
band. The exercises at the court house
opened at II o'clock with few words
by Judge Start. He said he had been
notified by the commissioners that the
new building was completed and ready
for occupation. Before entering upon
the business of the term, it seemed best
to take possession of the new court
room. The court is about to vacate this
building, where for thirty years it has
had local ha0itation and home, and
to take possession of that magnificent
new building that has been erected by
the citizens of WinOna for the use of
the court and the county. In the
EVOLUTION OF CIVILIZATION,
the court house has always been an OBJ
ject of deepest veneration TO the people.
A well-built court house can never fail
to possess deep interest for all the peo-
pie. The removal of the court from
this old room to the new one, is an
event of more than passing interest,
and it seems very appropriate that the
occasion should not pass without fitting
recognition. While the present building
is not as comfortable or convenient as
the new one, yet let us all speak
kindly of it. for it has served well its
purpose. If its dull and inanimate
walls could speak, what strangely in
teresting stories could they tell, how
full of struggles and triumphs, of sue
cesses and failures, of joys and sorrows.
For myself, ! shall have only pleasant
recollections of this room, for your gen.
tie courtesy, your kind assistance and
unfailing sympathy have made my la
borS pleasure" B.A. Nov, Esq, then
presented a series of resolutions pre-
pared by the bar.
JUDGE THOMAS WILSON
was called upon by Judge Start, as the
one who first occupied this bench.
Judge Wilson said he understood these
were the preliminary steps in the dedI-
cation of the new court house. ut is a
novel ceremony. / have often heard of
the dedication of churches, where the
ministers gather and dedicate the editice
to their work. This afternoon there is
a minister of the government to be pres
ent, WHO will utter appropriate and elo-
quent words. The dedication of a court
house by lawyers, l have no doubt,
is considered by many here more
farcial than otherwise. l have
no doubt that many people always doubt
lawyers honesty. l can remember
hearing it discussed sOberly as to
whether a lawyer could be honest. To
this day you often hear that solemn
question, and your honor will admit
that of all the eulogies pronounced on
lawyers, the lawyer is usually the eulO-
giSt. | candidly admit that we don't
deserve the eulogies. We have, and
always have had, among US certain
class of men who bring upon US the
reprobation of the outside world. l am
proud to say we have among US men
who are
A SHINING HONOR
to the profession and to the world, but
am ashamed to say we have the others,
too. In these initial ceremonies as
profitable course as we could pursue
would be to resolve to crush out every
man in our profession who brings re-
prOach upon US by stirring up litigation
for his own ends. The first duty of a
lawyer is to prevent litigation and keep
his client out of court. A lawyer who
will stir up litigation is a nuisance and
pest. Any man who will take ad.
vantage OF weak or ignorant
or poor should be driven from
the profession. Any man who will hunt
up defective titles and rob the ignorant
or the poor of their own, should be eX-
posed and exterminated. If there ever
does come among US such an one, let us
see that he be arrested and driven out"
Addresses were also made by Judge
Barber, Maj. o. B. Gould. Hon. A. H.
Swan and Gen. W. II. Yale. In the
afternoon the exercises were held in the
new court house. Architect Mayberry
described its construction, and w. J.
Whipple gave long and interesting
historical sketch of the society.
SENATOR c. K. DAVIS
then delivered the address of the day.
Among other things he said:
at was surely with fitness in the use
of words that this ceremony was an
nOunced as dedication. The divineSt
function that fallible men can perform
is the administration Of justice. The
only stainless, humane regulations are
those of the great judges who have from
time to time sat in the seat of judg- |
ment, ,SeQuestered from ambition and its |
lures. from all the temptations of politi- |
cal life. and who have constructed codes |
of practical and business morality out |
of the facts of the cases that they have |
adjudicated. The great soldier may |
conquer, or he may save state. His |
achievements, being averaged, may |
show, as a result, that he is, upon the |
whole, entitled to the gratitude of his |
fellow men. But to come to this con-
cluSiOn how much must be allowed for? |
Ravaged countries, burned cities. |
count. The best that can be said of |
the end he fought for was just; that hu-
manity has
GAINED BY HIS VICTORIES
but often humane judgment, bewildered |
by the human agony that he has in
flicted. blindly identifies him with
Providence as its agency, knowing that |
God, in His inscrutable purposes, often
works out His benefcence by de-
structive processes. So that a battle
field was never dedicated. The great |
statesman, too, may play a part for
which the historian will justly applaud
him. A few salutary statutes or few
successful treaties, or a beneficial eX-
ecutive policy constitute the sum of his
laborS. To attain these ends the craft
and arts of the politician have been en-
ployed. The means have been held to
justify them. All along through his
public course, and side by side with it,
he has been compelled to make himself
successful; to control his
party: to preserve the aSceDdencV of !