Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1889-03-09
THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY.

THE SECRbTAhI VI Ihh NhVt'
Benjamin Franklin Tracy, now at the
head of the naval department, has been
eminent Mt the bar and in the public
service for many years, although his rep
utation has not extended to the far west,
except among those whose range Of OBJ
servation in political matters stretches
east of the Mississippi. Before the war
Mr.. Tracy was practicing lawyer in
central New York, living in Tioga county,
in which he still maintains fine rural
establishment. He was brave and hon
ored soldier in the union army, and be-
cause OF personal merit, rose to the rank
OF brigadier general in the volunteer serv-
ice. Hence the title general by which
he is Familiarity addressed in his own
ST .te. Soon after the war, he removed to
Brooklyn, in which city he has always
since resided. He took the first rank at
the Brooklyn bar, and was
a prominent counsel in all
!reat cases. Upon the creation of the
eastern district court, he was appointed
United States district attorney for that
district, and, in the discharge of his du-
ties as such, he was able, jealous and sue
cessful He made in his district the same
kind of war on the "whisky ring" which
Gen. Noble. now secretary of the interior,
made upon that formidable cabal of law
less plunderers in st. Louis. In the
famous Beecher-Tilton case, which oc-
cupied the attention of the city court of
Brooklyn for many months, and was one
of the most remarkable forensic contests
in the history of litigation, Mr.. Tracy
was associated for the defense with
Evarts, Porter, Sherman and Abbot, and
by his treless industry and his rare men,
tai acumen contributed to the defeat of
the notorious Tilton. In this trial Mr.
Tracy made the opening argument. A
great admirer Of Mr.. Beecher's genius,
Mr.. Tracy stood by his client in resisting
every hostile move, both within and with
out the church, and Mr.. Beecher's vindi-
cation was in great part due to these
faithful exertions.
Mr.. Tracy's professional reputation was
not confined to Brooklyn, but it extended
to New York city and throughout the
east. He was called in as counsel in in
Vulnerable cases of magnitude. Always
q pronounced Republican in politics, he
took prominent part in the party man
agement, and his wise and statesmanlike
advice was sought and followed in polit-
ical emergencies. In recognition Of his
great ability and learning as n lawyer and
Of his high social and political standing,
Mr.. Tracy was, in the year 1881, appoint
ed to the New York court of appeals as
one of the associate judges, and, in that
illustrious tribunal, he rendered upward
of a score OF decisions which place him
high on the roll OF jurists. Among his
recorded opinions is that in the leading
case Of Story vs. the New York Elevated
Railway Co., in which, after hearing the
arguments OF Evarts, Parsons, Choate,
David Dudley Field and others, the
court decided that the elevated road
corporation, notwithstanding the grant
by the state of hight of way through the
streets of New York city, must never
theless pay compensation to adjacent
owners for damages sustained, although
it had previously been held by the court
of appeals, and was generally understood
at the bar. that such damages were merely
consequential, and not the subject of legal
recovery. This decision was Of immense
importance to the citizens Of New York,
and was rendered against one of the
most powerful corporate combinations
ever made.
The Brooklyn navy yard, with its
slips and workshops, and maritime
paraphernalia, is a familiar place to Mr..
Tracy, and, with his residence on the
coast, has made the "Jack Tar" and salt
air and maritime affairs, familiar to his
understanding. We predict most sue
cessful administration of the naval depart
ment by the new secretary.