The Saint Paul globe., 1897-09-26
Z Justice Field
and His Successor

Copyrighted. 1897, by Frank G. Carpenter)
WASHINGTON, D. c., Sept. 70
The session of the supreme court
which begins next week will probaply
he the last in which Justice StepheE
7. Field will sit upon the bench. Judge
Field will be eighty-one years old on
the 4th of November. His health has
been very poor for several years. he
is exceedingly nervous, and he no.;
seldom goes about without a servant.
Mentally, however, he appears to be
as strong as ever, but he feels that
the work Of the court is telling upon
him. and that he ought to retire. L
called by appointment upon him one
morning during the last days of Presl-
dent CIevelandS administration, and
had a chat with him about himself IN
regard to an interview. He received
me at o'clock in the morning. he
had risen at ESQ, and he was still peg
cing away at his work. He was clad
in dressing gown and slippers, the
gown having been put on over his pa
iamas. During my call he furnishes
me with a large amount of material
other things, leaning me a volume ne
had written concerning his early llfe
which is intended entirely for private
circulation, and which has never been
sold in book stores. He told me that
he intended to retire very soon, but
gave me to understand that he did
not propose to allow President Cleve-
land to have the pleasure of appoint
ing his successor if he could help it,
Every one knows that Judge Field has
been one of the most noted Democrats
of the United States. He has been seT-
eral times spoken of as a possible CALI
didate for the presidency, and tie
statement that he did not want
Democratic president to fill his place
bv appointment will seem strange. Il
is not strange to those who under
stand the inside history Of matters
The truth is that Justice Field was
very badly treated by President Cleve-
land When Chief Justice Waite died.
petitions came in from the lawyers
from all parts of the country asking
that Judge Field be made Waite's sue
cessor. Many Of the legal organiza-
tions passed resolutions to this effect,
and chose Melville n. Fuller, Chi
eago lawyer, who has as yet hardly
achieved a national reputation. This
was q very bitter pill to Justice Fields
friends, and you can easily see why he
was not anxious to oblige the presi-
dent. During my call upon Judge
Field 1 asked why he thought Cleve-
land had chosen Fuller. He replied
that he had no personal knowledge
6o Il ind 10 ~
but that he had understood from q
number of reliable sources that CIeve-
land at that time was very anxious for
a second nomination. In order to Sc
cure this, he had to build up his
strength in the Northwest and in the
region about Chicago. A new chief
justice was to be appointed, and the
appointment was used to this end. vi
las, who was then in the cabinet ad-
vised Cleveland that Fuller had many
friends, and that he could be of great
service to the administration and
Judge Field was told that it was for
this reason chiefly that the appoint
ment was made.
Another reason Judge Field has not
retired is his desire to be the Oldest
justice the supreme court of the United
States has ever had in point of service.
By the end of November he will have
been thirty-four years and six months
on the bench, and will have sat there
longer than any other supreme justice
since the organization of the court He
told me this term had already exceeded
that of Justice Story who was su-
preme judge thirty-three years and
five months, and that he might proba-
bly, retire after having passed the term
of Justice Marshall, who served thirty
four years and five months. Accord
ing to law a supreme judge having
served ten years has the right to retire
at the age of seventy and his salary
is continued for the remainder of his