The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-04-10
JUSTICE FIELD IS
SUMMONED To THE
SILENT MAJORITY
Continued from First Page.

Continued from rage.
very glad to hear it, for I have note
of my brothers, David Dudley Field,
here against YOU and he thereupon
fell, but he he had been cen blowing to such an
extent about making money that he
could not refuse 10 pay it. He looked
sharp a o tone Said ha ha y dsf m
and he thereupon paid the full amount
with interest.
Then Field entered into the practice Of
his profession. He was one of the found
ers of MarySville in this State, becom-
ing its first alcalde, and continuing as
such until the organization of the judi
ciary under the constitution Of the State.
At Marysville he had some of the most
thrilling experiences of a stirring career.
At one time Judge Turner swoIe he
would drive Field into the Yuba River.
Field was advised to buy shotgun and
kill Turner on sight. He replied that he
would not do that, and that he could
only act in self-defense. He bought, how
ever, a couple of reVolVerS and practiced
firing at mark by shooting through his
clothes. holding the pistol in his pocket.
He says that he soon acquired consider
able skill, and was able to hit a small
object across the street. He thinks he
could have hit a man easily, and could
have killed at almost every shot. He
then sent q warning to Turner, saying
that he would not avoid him nor would
he seek any collision with him, but that
in a threatening manner he would kill
him. Judge Turner, upon learning of Mr..
Fields skill with revolver, did not seek
to carry out his threats. He was Justice
of the court, however, and he disbarred
Field from practice.
Shortly after this Justice Field was
elected to the Legislature. Here he was
in such danger that he had to have his
pistols always at hand in the drawer of
his desk in the legislative hall. He also
practced in courts where every lawyer
~ led q piStO1 nj a hOWia knife and
once challenged by Judge to fight a
duel. He accepted the challenge, and as
he had the choice of weapons stated that
the fight should be held in room twenty
feet square, each man to have a Colts
revolver and bowie knife. The two
principals were 10 use the revolvers first
and then the bowie knives. To these
terms the challenged party would not
consent and the duel was off. He was
elected a member Of the first Legislature
held after the admission of California into
the Union, served on it's judiciary Com
mittee and secured the passage of laws
concerning the judiciary and regulating
civil and criminal procedure in all the
courts of the State. He was also the
author of the law that gives authority
to the regulations and customs of miners
in the settlement of controversies among
them, thus solving a perplexing problem.
At the close of that session he returned
to MarysVille, and during the ensuing six
years devoted himself TO his profession,
gaining an extensive practice.
IN lSDG i leu was elected JuOB6 u lHS
Supreme Court of California for six
years, beginning with January, 1858, but
on the occurrence of vacancy he was
appointed to fill that office in October
1867. On the resignation of Chief Justice
David S. Terry in September, 1859, Judge
Field succeeded him and continued in Of
flee till his appointment to the Supreme
bench of the United States by President
Lincoln in 1868.
In this regard it should be observed
that Judge Field was, with one exception
the latest surviving occupant of a Fed
eral bench who served under a commits
sion issued by President Lincoln The ex-
ception in this instance is Judge Henry
Clay Caldwell Of the United States Circuit
Court.
Among the prominent decisions in which
he has been concerned was the famous
test oath case, in which he gave the cast
ing vote and wrote the opinion of the
court annulling the. validity of the iron
the legal tender cases, in the confiscation
cases and in the New Orleans slaughter
house case, also attracted attention.
Judge Field was member of the Elec-
toral Commission in 1877. and voted with
the Democratic minority in the commits
sion on the Hayes-Tilden contest.
In 1880 Judge Field was candidate for
the Presidential nomination before the
Democratic National Convention at Gin
cinnatl, and he received on the first ballot
In 1873 he was appointed by the Cover
nor of this State one of commission to
examine the California code Of laws and
10 prepare djlUtHuIn0ulS lOI. iD6 SAIuc IOT
legislative action He received the de-
gree of LID. from Williams College in
1864, and in 1869 was appointed professor
of law in the University of California.
Special interest was lent to Judge
Fields career by his connection with the
circumsta nces which eliminated in the
death of ex-Judge Terry August IA, 1889.
Justice Fields direct connection with
Terry assumed tangible form when the
suit of Sarah Althea Hill was filed against
Senator Sharon for divorce and alimony
ffv,er
the plaintiffs counsel. A legal entangle-
ment took the case to the United States
Circuit Court During the litigation
Terry married the plaintiff His interest
in the case was thus intensified by per-
sonal influence. When Justice Field
rendered the decision defeating the plain
tiff's suit Terry manifested no little re-
Afterward It was reported that Terry
meditated personal violence toward the
Federal Judge. The United States Mar
to protect Justice Fields life against
what jeopardy It might be in. United
States Deputy Marshal Maggie was APP
pointed to accompany the Justice on his
trips through the circuit
At .Lathrop, while Justice Field was
seated At At a table, Terry and his wife en-
ed the Justice IN a nlenaciIig f ma Ga9H
Nagie shot and killed Terry. The state
but the Federal tribunals, by W.T. writ tot OF
habeas corpus, took him from the Gus
tody of the local authorities and he was
tried and acquitted Of the charge of
murder.
Judge Field has been one OF the most
He has been several times spoken Of for
the Presidency. end yet he held. to his
retirement with full pay because he
would not permit President Cleveland. |
also a Democrat, to have the appointment |
Of his successor. This feeling grew from |
Fields resentment at the thwarting by