Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-10-05


presses you with the conviction that
he makes no attempt to bride his
tongue or to control his natural feel
ings in his intercourse with his friends
or acquaintances. This Is because Of
his natural good sense and freedom
from guile. He is one of the most
approachable of men. There is an in
nate but quiet dignity, with not tho
slightest suggestion of loftiness In his
manner, for he appears to have little
personal vanity, but proper apprecia-
tion of himself
In a famous local damage case, In
which he represented a well known
railroad, he surprised the attorney for
the plaintiff by the latitude which he
allowed him in examining the Witness
es. He allowed them to press the most
surprising amount of damages, and the
court was puzzled to account for the
singular want of caution displayed to
minimize the amount of loss shown.
He was. however, careful in some ap-
parently unimportant question as to
the locality where the accident had
occurred. The witness swore with
great particularly.
Before the case was given to the
! jury Mr.. Mestrezat had the court visit
the scene of the accident, when II be-
| came apparent at a glance that the
! story of the occurrence itself was false.
| He had allowed the witnesses to swear
| too much for their own case.
A characteristic incident occurred on
| the train upon which he rode from
Philadelphia on the evening of the ad-
| journment of the convention. At Har-
risburg it happened that his sleeper
was htched on to the train contain
ing coaches in which were some of
his home friends who had been "boost-
ing his boom" at the capital. The
| judge was invited in to see them, and
he readily did so.
Among the delegates was one very
| old gentleman, who had failed to get
berth and had promise of passing an
uncomfortable night. The judge said:
Boys, | guess | will go along with
you and the old gentleman shall have
my BERTH and ne insisted upon this
arrangement, landing at home in the
midst of throng of enthusiastic fol
| lowers, who escorted him in triumph
to his hotel.
TRIBUTE TO GREAT DEMOCRATS.
Accepting the nomination from the
lOllutdllOn COluullllce dI WlllldLuS-
port, Judge Mestrezat said:
''If it shall be ratified by the peo-
| Pile at the polls in November l shall
not fail to realize the great respon-
sibility 1t imposes, and shall devote
my time and best thought to the per-
formance of the duties Of the office,
and this responsibility Is doubly en-
phasized by the fact that the party,
since the judiciary system for the state
became elective. has named for the
same position Woodward, a Black, a
Thompson, Sharswood, a Turnkey,
a Clark and a McCullum. For bril-
liancy Of intellect, for integrity of pur-
pose, for legal learning and judicial
fairness, | may be pardoned in saying
that their superiors have sat upon the
bench of no state in the Union. These
names are indelibly written in the his
| tory of our jurisprudence, and the
party which gave to the state the SER
vices of such men need not, in this
respect, fear the record of it's past. 1t
at least is secure
REPUBLICAN AND INDEPENDENT
PRAISE.
Some of the commendation bestowed
by Philadelphia Republican and inde-
pendent newspapers upon Judge Mes
treats nomination follows:
THE nomination Judge Mestre-
Zat's) is thoroughly good one, ac-
ceptable to all the people in every sec
tion of the commonwealth The can
didate's career. as outlined in our news
| columns, has been as creditable as 1t
has been successful. and his reputation
as fearless, upright and able Judge
is sufficient guarantee that he will
| be useful and honored member of the
court to which his nomination neces-
sarily elevates him. ."-Phila. Evening
Telegraph Rep.
HAD A HOST OF COMPETITORS.
"The nomination of Judge Mestrezat
of Fayette county for justice Of the
supreme court is, of course, equivalent
to an election. What is known of him
here Is favorable to his reputation on
the bench. His nomination was brought
about after an unusually long and stub
born contest. with a host of competi-
tors, but it has been accomplished
without any strife or friction which
has left the Democratic party the worse
for it."-Phila. Eve. Bulletin, Rep.
HE is WELL QUALIFIED.
"The Democratic nominee Judge
MestrezaD is in the prime of life, and
in the natural course of events can
hope to serve out the 21 years term to
which he will be elected. He has had
judicial experience that well qualities
him for the promotion. ."-Phila. Press,
Rep.
STATE TO BE CONGRATULATED.
"The state is to be congratulated on
the fact that the nominee Judge Mes
trezaD has good reputation to start
with. He has had 25 years practice in
the law, and has held his present judi
cial position since 1893, with credit to
himself and honor to his district OF
his Democracy there is no question,
and there appears to be none of his
judicial acumen and personal integ-
rity. ."-Phila. Public Ledger, Ind. Rep
A MOST HONORED JURIST.
"The candidate for the supreme
court, Judge S. l.. MestreZat, is one of
the most honored of those who sit on
the bench in western Pennsylvania
He remained away from the convention