Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1898-02-04
CUSIIMAN X. DAVIS.

CUSEIMAN X. DAVIS.
Omitted States Senator from Mnnesota)
The New York city lawyer had appar-
emily never heard of Cady before, and
Mr.. Hill quietly remarked: L know
something of that man Cady. When
you get through with him stop in my
Office and tell Inc what kind of a man he
is.' The city lawyer returned oneweek
later and informed Mr.. Hill that he
had just been defeated in an important
case by that man Cady, who was the
greatest lawyer he had ever met.
"Chief Justice Gibson, of Pennsyl
vania, was one of the greatest lawyers
ever produced by the keystone state.
He was also country lawyer who, be-
ing an omnivorous reader and blessed
with an excellent memory, became u
phenomenon of legal learning. He was
quiet, unpretentious man, who not
only absorbed all the erudition of his
profession, but he was thinker, and
consequently a constructionist. He
used to play fiddle, and carried the
| instrumertwith him wherever he went.
He told his friends that he solved many
knotty problem while scraping on the
strings extemporizing chords or meIo-
dies. He was truly great man, albeit
he was country lawyer from place
no more pretentious than Hominy Hill,
the home of Garland.
"There was Nicholas Hill, of Albany,
| to whom just referred. He originally
| lived at Little Falls, Herkimer county,
N. Y. AS country lawyer he was
| student, and when he branched out into
larger field his attainments COM.
manded immediate attention. ~
"These are enough instances to cite
to show you that the country lawyers
are really learned men, and not class
to be sneered at by careless gossipers."
1t is really no wonder that Senator
Davis Indignantly resented the sneer-
ing alluson to country lawyers. He
used to be one of that class himself.
He spent several years in his country
home in Wisconsin studying law, and
reading omnivorously, before he went
to Minnesota and settled at ST. Paul.
He was a young man, full of ambition to
shine in his profession, and his work
was done as master builder lays
strong foundation for great super
structure. In very short time after
he hung out his shingle in st. Paul he
made his mark. He was looked down
upon as a country lawyer, but the old
timers soon found that Davis had been
doing lots of quiet and effective pre-
paratory work in his county office.
He had not only studied law, but he had
become a classical scholar. He had
fitted himself for great affairs.
Ignatius Donnelly, the crratic genius
of Minnesota. who is very learned
man, once said to me: Senator Davis
first mastered the English language.
He had not only studied law, but he had
Very few men do it. The average
lawyer learns only enough of the
language to express his views in
some sort of a way; but Sem
ator Davis took the entire English
vocabulary and made it subservient to
the calls of his will. Very little words
sometimes express meanings vastly
different from their vernacular syn
onyms. Senator Davis has complete
command of his own language, and very
few men realize the Importance and
value OF that requirement"
Well, in time, the country lawyer,
Cushman X. Davis, attracted atten-
ton. Consequently he commanded
large fees. He became district attor-
ney. governor of his state and United
States senator. His years of study as
country lawyer made him an encyclo-
paedia of constitutional and interna-
tional law. He came into the senate as
quiet, unpretentious, modest man.
When he delivered speech eight
years ago on the Nicaraguan canal
| bill, the older senators at once real
lied that 10 ordinary man was speak
ing. They listened. They crowded
about him. They learned something.
He said: ITO issue bonds for this prof.
ect is like taking mortgage on an
earthquake" Senator Hoar, the dis
tinguished chairman of the committee
on the judiciary, said: "That man is
scholar and man of unusual virility."
This Minnesota statesman is now re-
| garded as the greatest authority in the
senate on international law. For that
reason he was made chairman of the
committee on foreign relations. And
yet, he was long country lawyer. His
own well-earned fame constitutes suffi-
Client reason for his resentment of the
sneers at country lawyers which are
sometimes uttered: SMITH D. F37.