Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1898-01-15

quiet literary den, and the distin
guished lawyer and statesman said
THAT is untrue and it is the language
of nonsense. In the first place Senator
Garland is one of the ablest constitu-
tional lawyers which this country has
produced in generation. He was one
of the greatest of the southern sena-
tors and he was great attorney-gener-
nl, too. l have no patience with any
such sneers as that at the country law
yer. AS matter of fact, many city
lawyer who is supposed by his clients,
and by the general public, as well as by
himself, to be very great lawyer, has
gone into the country districts of his
state to try a case, where he would have
country lawyer pitted against him,
and has learned sometimes to his dis
gust, as well as to his surprise, that the
country lawyer was n great deal more
than a match for him upon every point.
II have had some experience Of that
sort, as city lawyer, going out to
meet with country lawyers, and know
what l am talking about when l say
that some of the ablest legal lights of
this country have come from obscure
country towns. Of course it is true
that in smaller towns where business is
less favorable the lawyers do not re-
ceive large fees, because they are not
retained in great cases, involving large
amounts of money, but they are none
the less studious and interested in their
own advancement. Very often it hap
pens that : lawyer who does not make
more than 1000 to s., 900 per annum is
busily engaged all the time in the study
| of law and becomes so thoroughly
| posted upon every branch of law, so
| thoroughly versed in his reading of
great precedents, that he is much bet
ter equipped for the management of
| important cases than city lawyer who
is always engaged in practice, and does
not have sufficient amount of time to
| devote to reading.
| For example, one of the greatest
| jurists the present generation has pro-
| duced was the late Associate Justice
Samuel F. Miller, who, when he was
appointed to his position upon the su-
preme court by President Lincoln in
1862, was a practicing attorney in the
little town of Keokul, Ia, at the foot
of the Des Moines rapids of the Missis-
sippi river. That is by no means an i'm
portant city and was as small town
then as it is now.
During his first administration,
President Cleveland appointed Bart
lett Tripp to be chief justice of the su-
preme court of the territory of Dakota.
know Mr. Trip intimately, and am
related to him, and have no hesitancy
in saying that he is one of the ablest
lawyers in this country. He was
splendidly educated in New England,
and had spent number of years in
Yankton, N. D., and had become very
learned in law.
Moreover, l can tell you as a matter
of fact, that some of the greatest law
yers which bave been produced by the
eastern states have come from countI y
towns. Pennsylvania and New York
have had in their country towns great
many lawyers of superior ability who
would very readily and very easily out
class some of the more pretentious law
yers of the cities of New York and Phil
adelphia. The same may be said OF
Massachusetts, Connecticut and other
New England states. l can tell you nj
random, and from memory, the names
of some of these great country lawyers
and you will readily recognize their
names and realize the truth of the
statement which | have made. | want
to repeat, however, that it makes me
indignant to near such reflection us
that which you have quoted upon the
name of the late Attorney-General Gar.
land. He is splendid lawyer and in
every sense II superior man.
Zone of tine greatest country lawyers
ever knew was u man named Carpen.
ter, who practiced many years ago in
the little town of Beloit, Wis. He after.
words lyecame famous as lawyer and
stf SrniFNn, but lie laid the foundation
for ms greatness and eminence while
he was an obscure practitioner in an
obscure town. Very soon after ht
moved to Milwaukee and was retained
in some important cases, the name Oi
Matt Carpenter being we'll known
throughout the entire state OF Wiscon