The times., 1899-01-12
HON. JOSEPH H. CHOATE.

No man" said the London Times.
speaking of Mr.. Choate, would represent
the United States better or be more well
come in England" This is great compli-
ment but there is no reason why it should
not prove to be justified Mr.. Choate has
never represented his country abroad but
he is natural diplomatist and assurcdly
one of the greatest lawyers in America.
His rank as leader of tie New York bar
has been conceded for the past ten years
If Rufus Choate his celebrated kinsman OF
an earlier generation, had never lived, Jo-
seph H. Choate would have made the name
immortal in the legal and political annals
of the country.
The place he fills as an advocate before
courts and iuries is indicated by the fact
that he has been found on one side or the
other of the majority of all the great trials
of the time.
In all the important will eases OF the last
twenty-five years. including the litigation
over the Vanderbilt. Tilden. Stewart. Hoyt,
Cruger, Drake and Hopkins wills. Mr..
Choate has appeared. He was counsel In
the great Huntington case, in which a
series of actions were brought against
Coils F. Huntington on account Of trans
actions il Central Pacific Railroad stock
Roscoe Conkling made his first appearance
in the State courts as Mr.. Huntington's
counsel. In the case of Richard N. Hunt
vs.. Mrs. Paran Stevens Mr. Choate was
counsel for the plaintiff. In the Maynard
election returns cases. involving charges of
fraud against Judge Maynard; in the court
martial trials of the FitZ-John Porter and
/ Captain McCalla cases; in the investigation
of the Valkyrie yacht contest be-
fore the New York Yacht Club in the suit
of Hutchinson Us. New York Stock ES-
change for reinstatement as a member OF
the exchange; in the suit of Loubat against
the Urion Club for reinstatement as a
. member. and in many others MIR. Choatc
gave potable exhibitions of his power.
In the United States supreme Court the
list of his notable appearances is a long
one, II includes the case Of Gebhard vs..
the Canada Southern Railway, the Kansas
prohibition case; the case of Neagle tine
United States marshal who shot Judge Ter
~ in defense of Mr.. Justice Field and
whom Mr.. ChOate successfully defended;
the Chinese exclusion cases; the Call
fornia irrigation cases; the Stanford
Z
ford University; the Bell telephone cases
the Behring Sea cases: the income tax
| cases; the Texas trust law case; the New
York Indian ease: the Berdan Arms case
and the Southern Pacific land grant cases
| involving the title to large areas of West
ern territory.
In the social and public life of New
York he has been as distinguished as at
the bar. He tool; the stump for Ere
. = l..
every important campaign since that time
on the Republican side He has never
sought or held office, unless his election
/ IS president of the convention that met
in 1891 to revise the constitution of the
State be regarded as an eNception-an
honor which came to him unsought and
on the principle of natural selection '
He was presiden, of the New England
Society from 1867 to 1871; president of the
Harvard Club from 1874 to ISIS and pres
ident OF the Union League Club from 1873
to 1871 His addresses before these va
rious bodies have been uniformly brilliant
efforts. models of eloquence. and abound
I ing, like his addresses in court. in Wit
/ and humOr
The Huntington tnsc.
! In the case of David Stewart against
| Coils T. Huntington. tried in 1851 for
/ the payment OF il large sum of money
| which Stewart claimed was due to him
| under an agreement with Huntington for
| the purchase of certain Central Pacific
stock. Mr.. Choate appeared for the plain
| tin. Roscoe COnkling was on the other
! side and he insisted that Huntington was
not responsible for what his associates
might have done on the Pacific Coast
! on this point MIR. Choate said to the jury:
| 1t reminds me, gentlemen, of an alih
! that introduced in another famous
case You remember when Mr.. Tony
! Weller was called in consultation about
! the defense of Mr.. PiclIwick in whose
| arms thu. fair widow who sued him had
| been found dissolving in tears. and he
said: Sammy. my advice TO YOU Is 10
! prove an alibi Some defendants when
! brought to trial, believe in character and
| some in an alibi. but | advise You to
/ stick to an alibi and let the charae ,"r
| go This double of Mr.. Huntington. uu-
| der whose cover he exists and Is in two
| places at the same timc--on the Atlantic
| and the Paciiic-my distinguished friend
| said it was romance-thc connection be
| tween him and Mark Hopkins thought
| gentlemen. OF that other romance. the
| story of My Double and How He Undid
| Me and ii seems that the defendant was
| then to undo him in this case-ths Mark
| Hopkins by whom he was represented ab-
solutely, completely, and without any linn
| itatiOu whatever, su that y0u might say
| that when Mr.. Huntington took snutt on
the Atlantic coast MIR. Hopkins sneezed on
| the Pacific.
That courage Is among Mr.. "hoaie's
| qualities has been shown on many mem
| cradle occasions. lie was once addressing
bench on which Judge Van Brunt MAS
sitting, ard the judge wheeled his chair
around and began to talk with one of his
| associates paying no heed to MIR Choate
| Judges have been known to do such things
| before and since. and usually lawyers ac-
| cept the situation without protest. fearing
| to offend the bench. Mr.. Choate. however
stopped short in his speech folded his
| arms and looked straight at the judges.
| His face was study OF welI-controlled re
| sentiment. The court-room was hushed
| and the stillSess was so marked that
| Judge Van Brunt turned to the silent law
| yer with an inquirng gesture.
| Your honor" said Mr.. Choatc. Il have
| just forty minutes in which TO make my
! final argument. 1 shall not only need