Los Angeles herald., 1892-12-29

Holman is an economist, but no such econ
Dmist as old blue Jeans" Williams used
to be. He was an economist with very
large E. A story told of him to this day is
that when he came to congress and became
chairman of the committee on accounts he
had an Investigation made of the number
Of towels used in the committee rooms
The laundry bills were SO large that he
was looking for some way in which to cut
them down. When he found that five
towels per day were issued to one commit
tee room "Blue Jeans' lifted his hands in
holy horror and exclaimed:
"The idea of those fellows having five
towels day down in that committee room
Out in Indiana we would think man
crazy who threw money away like that.
Why, my whole family gets along week
with only one towel among 'eml"
Though threescore and ten, Judge Hol-
man keeps up his work as if he were in his
prime. He works all day at the Capitol,
bent over great masses of figures and scrib-
bling away with stub of a lead pencil.
Every one Of the almost countless figures
which appear in the book of estimates and
the great appropriation bills is as familiar
to his eyes as his own fingers. Some one
has said that Holman has rubbed these fig
ures for q quarter of century till they
have become round shouldered and gray,
like himself, or like old type that has worn
out and is only fit for the melting pot.
But just the same he has saved the gov
ernment good many millions of dollars in
bis time, and will live to save it many
more.
He has never fallen into the modern and
somewhat luxurious habit Of debating
letters and other matters which have to go
on paper to stenographer. He believes
in the old fashioned style of writing every
thing out with a pen or pencil. When he
goes home from the Capitol he takes a lot
Of work along with him, and even pores
over columns of figures on the street cars.
At home he spends his evenings writing
letters and fixing up his bills. He rarely
goes to the theater, never accepts invita-
tions to dinner, and his only dissipation
Is soda water, which he consumes in mod
crate quantities. How hecan go on year
after year working like this, month in and
month out, and at seventy look and act
like man. of twoscore is a mystery to me.
Another remarkable old man in our Cap
itol Is Justice Stephen j. Field. He has
Just written an opinion of the supreme
court which will go down to history as one
Of the greatest decisions ever promulgated
by that body. 1t was the Lake Front case,
in which the city of Chicago and the Illi-
nois Central railroad were fighting for
ownership Of Thousand acres of partly
submerged land right in the heart of the
western metropolis-land worth 5000, 600 or
$500, 900 an acre, and perhaps half nillioni
After the court had taken vote on the
case the chief justice assigned the work of
writing the opinion of the majority to JUS
tice Field. He did not shrink from the
task.
S Though seventy-six years old, and
though the case was one involving not
only millions Of dollars, but complex and
difficult principles of law. the old man
tackled it with the ardor of a law student.
He ransackcd hundreds of English and
American reports, waded through reams
of briefs and cords of printed arguments,
and sat down and wrote in q style phe-
nomenally clear and strong an opinion of
1900 words In length which will delight
the soul of every lawyer who reads it. Not
In many year has such magnificent
opinion come from the supreme court, and
this document will become sort of classic
In the courts and law offices, Of the entire
world, for it involves not only American
but English law and practice and the
highest principles Of government, riparian
rights, public trust and popular rights in
all countries A man gho can do a job Of