The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-06-06

erals office necessarily covers a much
wider field of legal subjects than that
in The Office of a judge-advocate of a
military department, and educated
and trained lawyers of wide expert
ence are required: and this, it is said,
was the cause of the president going
outside of the army for his appoint
ment to fill the place given to Maj.
Morrison. And Maj. Morrison. for
this reason. will probably be kept on
duty at Washington during the whole
OF his term of active service. His eX-
tcnsive experiences in the courts, add
ed to the long term he has had in the
judgc-advucate-geuerai's Office, constr
tutes an advantage which other mem
bers Of the corps have not had the
benefit OF.
His pay and cash allowances as a
major at the beginning are S3.016 a
year. and will be increased TO S3,sG6 Il
wear when he becomes Il lieutenant
colonel. and has had five years in h
army: and to S4.51O when he becomes
a colonel. Ten per ccntum is added to
the salary at the end of each period of
five years service for the first 20 years
service.
Mai. Morrison is well known to the
newspaper fraternity of Missouri, be-
ing at ont time %cOnpected with the
Greenville (Wavnc county, Journal.
He was born at the Morrison Old
Homestead" the Otter Creek valley,
in Wayne county, Mo. March II,
1S49. His boyhooG covered the war
period and the devastations of
the war brought many hardships
and privations upon him, his
father (who. while in comfortable cir
cumstances before the war. was never
4 wealthy mani. losing everything he
had except his lands by the war. The
father and mother dying soon after the
close of the war. and without having
recovered from the effects of it, young
Morrison was left with six younger
brothers and sisters On mis- hands to
take care of. and but little with which
to 20 it. He. however. accepted the
responsibility cheerfuiiy, and at a cost
to him ~ Il good many thousand dol
lars. and considerable care and atten-
ton during many of the best years OF
his life. he reared and ed Icated them
c~rcGitabiy while making his own way
in the world. lie was educated
principally in the common schools OF
WAYNE county and the Fruitland
normal institute at Pleasant Hill. in
Cape Girardeau county. After leaving
school he studied law five years while
teaching. and was admitted to tine bar
in April. $50. He was elected in
iH12 as the superintendent of public
schools % Wavne county. and As pros
ecGting attorney II Wayne county in
IS.G. and ISIS. and i'll I>SO. While
serving as prosecuting attorney Of
WAYNE county hc WIS binding up a
good general practice in that and the
ncighhuring counties of Butler. Stod-
dard, Ripley and others. lis practice
became as cXten ,ivc. and probably as
lucrative as that o. any other lawyer
Of that part of the state. and mis- stand
ing IN the profession there Was in the
very foremost rank. He. however,
after having practicel nearly Ii years,
believed that mis- clients were no
being properly treated in the courcSi in
which the principal portion % his
practice 1as. and vigorously resented
the supposed injustice 10 them. This
resulted IN ugly and unpleasant differ
ences between him and the judge,
which led finally TO his abandoning his
practice there in March. 1sss, and ac-
cep:iur the chief clerkship of the Of
flee Of the judge-advUcatc-gcneral Of
the ARMY in the war department at
Washington. In this new position he
almost Immediately took high rank as
a lawyer. which he has maintained to
the present time with such entire salts
~facs;un to his superiors in office that
he was not only retained in the posi-
ton through changes of administra-
ton. but was also heartily supported
in mis- application for tie position
to which he has recently been
appointed by the Judge advO-
cate general and the present
secretary Of wal and all the ex-secre-
tarics OF war under whom he had
He has for a number Of years
stood high as q member IF the bar il
Washington.