El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-05-27
RESOLUTION SPEECHES.
Continued from third page

character of Major Davis was such that
all who knew him must feel and know
that tbey are the better off for having
had the benefit of mis- example and the
benefit of his acquaintance. To look
upon his Life and his character is a
lesson that we all should learn, and
from the perusal of that character and
that lesson we must conclude that
there is much for US to do in order that
we mi ght approximate the character
which he has shown us. We all must
feel the better off for his having lived
amongst us and the lesson wnich he
has left by his departure from us
ought to BE- as la: ting as lmm ortaliiy
itseif. Major Davis. as has been saiu,
was especially kind to the young men
and to the stranger. When | came
first to FL Paso he was the first one
who gave me helping hand, who gave
me encouragement, and L have ever
felt grateful to him.
There is another thing which seems
to me to be remarkable in this day OF
money getting ard of character de-
structiOn, and that is that during the
whole time that L have known Major
Davis, some thirteen years, | have
noVer heard a memb Der of the bar, L
have never heard citizen of the COM
munlty, or any man or woman, say
anything that was not commendatory
of the man, his character, and his life
Those who knew hun we'll and knew
his past history, his past character,
are the ones who most revere him, and
say that when Major Davis departed
from this life he left deathless les
son.
MIR. W. H. burgess
spoke as follows:
y { I afo hn
closes [ should like to say few words
and pay my tribute of respect to the
memory OF the best of men. | believe
Major Davis was the purest minded,
tfuest and bravest man | ever knew.
Before | came to Ell PaSO [ knew Major
Davis reputation as one of the leading
lawyers of this state, and acquaintance
and association with him for about
eight years have heightened my ADM
ration for the lawyer, and. [ may say,
have CeyelOped reverence for the man.
He was one of the very best of lawyers.
L do not b-lieve that any man could sit
in the court room while Major Davis
tried Il case and not profit by 1t. A few
of The arguments he has made in this
court room, and which we all remem-
Der and will remember as long as We
remember anything, were models of
their kind. Real estate law was a
pre-eminen ly his own. and in it I
think he was unsurpassed. In the diff
ficult ti5ld of statutory construction L
don't think | ever knew his equal.
He was good ia all branches of the
law. He was an advocate of far more
han ordinary ability. While be did
not lay claim to any of the arts or
- aces of oratory, he presented his
arguments with such force, such clear
n a NJ a
who heard were convinced, even
az ainst their will in many instances
While he never, so far as | know, in
dulged in flights of oratory, yet in the
repartee of the court room he had few
equals. Major Davis was a man who
had read a great deal, but did not put
that reading into every speech he
quoted from Shakespeare, ord tnarily
MS thoughts were his owa AID the
language was his own, clear, terse,
simple ana forcible. We ell admired
he lawyer. bat as much as we think
today of the grca, intellect that day
before yeste rday rested from its mani
fold labors, We think more OF the great
h art that bore it company. l believe
he a5 the jIstest man | ever knew.
quite greed with Col. Sexton when he
said that Major Davis never did an in
territorial wrong to any human being
don't think | ever met a person on
whose judgment as to what was just to
other people you could rely with such
all -olute certainty. 1t was my fortune
to be as oci ated with him, though on
the oppC sing side, in one Of the most
important cases of his later life.
was thrown with him almost every
day, and sometimes many times day,
for nearly two years, and | row bear
witness hat during that time | never
knew Major Davis to do one thing or
express one sentiment that any man