The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-24
Charlas L. Jewett Samuel o. Pickens. wal
pole g. Colerick and John K. Thompson.
THE BAR BANQUET.
General Harrison POSTMASTER
Some Bright Speeches.

| ing was a brilliant affair. General Harri-
son presided as postmaster, and about
him were gathered $50 of the most dis
| tinguished lawyers and jurists of the State,
| including the judges of the United States
! courts and Of the State Supreme and APP
| pellate Courts.
| Three tables were spread the full length
| of the main dining room, and looked very
| inviting with their snowy linen, glistening
cut glass and silver and their tasteful gar
niture of ivy and cut flowers. An orchestra
discoursed excellent music during the dim
ner, and an elaborate menu, finely served,
kept the company pleasantly occupied from
| $50 until 10 o'clock. The card contained
cream of asparagus with sailed Almonds
petils bouches financiere; black bass,
with madeira sauce; sliced cucumbers
and duchesse potatoes; soft-shell
crabs with tartar sauce; Roman
punch broiled spring chicken on toast;
Italian salad; bisque ice cream with cake
| strawberry Charlotte Russo; Roquefort
cheese: coffee and cigars. The wines were
| Pontet-Canet and Mumm's extra dry, wa
| termelon creme de mentha
| When cigars were passed General Harri-
son arose at the head of the center table
| to thank the association for the honor it
| had conferred upon him by electing him
| president Of the organization for another
| term. He expressed the appreciation he
| felt at the good will and kindly spirit man
| ifested towards him. He said that he was
| glad that one of the functions of the Of
| flee was for him to preside as POSTMASTER
| On various other occasions of the sort he
had been expected to make an after-dlnner
speech. HI glad that in the capacity
| of POSTMASTER he would escape this ordeal.
For this purpose there were some appoint
| ed for the sacrifice regularly ana others
| who might be expected to voluntarily re-
sporrl General Harrison called upon John
| A. Finch, of this city, to discuss 'Oblter
dicta."
| Mr. Finch said that there were differences
| of opinion as to the real definition of the
| term "obiter dicta." For his own part he
| would define it as a passing opinion OF
| judge rendered without being asked for
| something foreign to the case, unnecessary
| and misleading. Because of the vast
| amount of ''Obiter'' in court reports law
yers who had fought their cases on courts
| decisions constantly found themselves in
the attitude of the man who had regularly
wound his clock every night Tor twenty
| an eight-day clock. Lawyers often dis
cover that the opinion upon which they
trusted was not the law, but purely and
simply an opinion. Mr.. Finch spoke of the
vast amount OF writing that is done every
| year in making up reports of decisions OF
| courts Of last resort. Already there are 100
| volumes OF Massachusetts decisions, $50
| hundreds and thousands of reports of other
| States to which every year 250 more re-
ports are being added. beside an average Of
| sixty textbooks
echoed the cry Of old. % that mine adyer7
sary would write a book. Lawyers find
| that books have been written, ana When
| they have to read them they conclude that
| the authors are their adversaries." There
| are decisions galore. he said Law will not
| trolled by the decisions, not because they
| are law, but simply because they are de-
| cisions.
THE THIRTEENTH JUROR.
| General Harrison said, in calling upon
| Charles L. Jewett to discuss THE Thir
teenth Juror" that the legal jury is COM
| posed of twelve men, but that lawyers
often find the thirteenth man interfering
| with their plans. AS an illustration, he
| cited an instance where he had just closed
| his argument and the jury had retired for
elaboration.
We'll Harrison" said the bluff old judge
who had heard the argument. he came
down from the bench, Il believe you are
beaten"
Mr. Jewett of New Albany, said that,
without stopping to decide where the GUS
tom of having twelve jurors, came from
whether from the twelve tribes of Israel,
the twelve apostles of Christ or the twelve
stones on which Jerusalem was said to be
builded. he would talk of that mysterious
supernumerary who transfers the jury into
a bakers dozen. He said he was constrained
to believe that the trial judge is the thir
teenth Juror, recalling the incident of the
bluff old federal judge who said, when
verdict was about to be returned by jury
in his court, 1T takes thirteen men, gentle
men, to steal farm in this court"
Mr.. Chairman" he continued, II was
| about to modernize that story by substitute
| ing for the farm a factory, a note a mort
| gage or a railroad, but l afraid that
| you would all agree that that would be too
| improbable"
He spoke of the things that go, to influ-
| ence the thirteenth juror. Not long ago,
man had to be taken to the Southern
| Prison, (which L understand Governor
| Mount has found all right" to escape the
| furry of public sentiment de was brought
back for trial subsequently and was found
not guilty, but public sentiment is still
| against him. Another element that had
| press. Lawyers, he said. all respect news
paper men, generally because they are
men capable and ingenious, too much so,
sometimes. In the old days it was custom
airy to try a man charged with murder
according to the law and the evidence. A
murder was just what newspapers adored,
and they have delicious way of setting
up man as guilty and then hunting up
| the evidence to prove him so. In strict
confidence. he said he wanted to declare,
! however, that he was in more fear of the
! Supreme Court and it's admirable and
Junior understudy, the Appellate Court.
The judges of both courts joined in the
laughter at this thrust. He said that the
Supreme Court has lately added the
miscroscope to it's machinery for weigh
ing evidence the purpose of the microscope
being TO discover the atom known as
some" evidence to sustain the verdict. He
said that they call it some" evidence on
about the same theory that Mark Twain
discovered a railroad sandwich to be called
a. ham" sandwich. Once he caused a
sandwich to be analysed and found that it
had 999 parts varnish and bread, one part
butter and of ham a trace. Yet it was
called ham" sandwich.
1--WE all know what is the matter with
the thirteenth juror" said the speaker
His head is all right, his heart is all
right, but the trouble is in his spine. He
suffers from a weak back of a very pro-
nounced and progressing type.
MR.. DUNCAN'S TOAST
How to Explain the Loss of a Case to
our Client" was the subject assigned to
John S. Duncan, of this city. In introduce
ing Mr. Duncan, General Harrison said
facetiously that without anticipating what
Mr. Duncan was about to say, he under
stood that his plan of answering this per-
picking question was to return to the client
the retainer he had received.
Mr.. Duncan did not explain the case in
that way He ventured that there was not
a lawyer who had not often had to fall
back on some of the stock eXcuses-the
jury was made up of men of no intelligence,
the Judge was an ass, the witnesses did not
stand by the statements made at the Of
flee got terribly tangled on cross-dXam-
nation. Mr.. Duncan told a number of
stories. one in which General Harrison and
John T. Dye figured as opposing counsel
Mr. Dyes client was on the stand. The
attorney asked him TO tell the facts in
the case in his own words.
We'll" he said, Il guess the facts are
inc oh oc Sto al