The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-10-02
A TRIBUTE FROM
SUFFOLK COUNTY
By Judge E. C. Bumpus


l happened to be very closely asso-
ciated with Mr.. Goulding during the
latter years of his life, perhaps quite
as much as any other lawyer, and
hope to be able to give faithful ac-
count of my intimacy and association
! with this most manly man. He came
into my office in Boston some five years
since bringing with him as a client,
Mr.. e. d. Jordan of Boston, a man in
some ways quite as remarkable as him
self. Mr.. Jordan had risen from the
simplest condition to be one of the
great merchants of the United States.
He was one of the most original men
that l have ever met, and having the
instinct of what could or could not be
done, drove to his conclusions with I'M
erring force. The discussion between
these two men was exceedingly inter-
esting; the client, a small, nervous,
drastic man, absorbing the legal opin-
ion offered by our friend upon the in
slant, who discussed in his energetic
way the questions involved. The prop
osition was original and required the
adoption of theories for which there
was no precedent Then and there
heard one of the most brilliant dis
| QUESTIONS upon citizens rights when
opposed to public action. While the
client impatiently waited for the con-
clusion, Brother Goulding went for
ward, thinking out loud, and quarry
ing from his intellect the processes that
rendered his conclusions infallible.
AS l recall him in that hours dis
cussion, and noted how his thoughts
played over his face and found lodg-
ment upon his fine brow, and express
sion through his concise method of put
ting things, it seemed to me that l
was treating with the ideal lawyer,
and 1t left an Interchangeable impression
upon me. Later 1 noticed the same eff
! feet upon all others who came in con-
tact with him for the first time. 1t
was the unconscious action of great
intellect upon everyone around him.
When the Jordan case was tried the
chairman of the commission was ex-
Governor Greenhalge. The other gem
| tlemen upon the commission were
practical and capable men, Mr.. Could
ing did not make any special effort
until his argument. 1t was a case
| tried by everyone concerned with a
view to getting at the facts in the
simplest way. When, however, he came
to his argument, 1 could only think OF
him as one whose thoughts were lift
ed starwards, far above the ordinary
plodding, painstaking lawyer, and as
gracing a place where only the loftiest
| intellect could be found / could not
but notice the effect of his argument
upon the governor, himself a poet and
dreamer, but withal having the judg-
ment to deal with things as they were,
and as my brother took UP the ques-
lions involved and called to his aid all
the force of his keen logic, with that
great power of quotation and the APP
plication of every thought that was
apt to the subject, I could see how the
one man admired the other, and how
each of these fine intellects was alb
sorbed in the other. There were many
passages worthy of quotation and
study, but I am certain the argument
never was even revised by him, and a
copy may not be extant.
shall never forget however, his dis
Icussion upon one of the recent decisions
of the United States Supreme Court
upon the question of eminent domain.
What had already been stated by one
of the brightest intellects upon that
bench was rendered still more lumin-
Gus and eloquent by his legal mind.
In many ways afterwards l saw him,
but nothing Of any moment until we
came to the Blackstone River cases, in
mission and found him representing
the mill owners, opposed to men like
Senator Hoar, Colonel Hopkins and Mr..
| Rugg. When that case was tried he
| was not at all we'll He was keenly
alive to that, and often expressed his
| apprehension that he was not serving
his clients to the extent that he might
under better conditions. No lawyer
that ever lived was more faithful to
his clients or sensitive as to their
rights. Let him suspect that some
thing was being done that in any way
affected detrimentally their interests
and there was no court, nor lawyer,
nor any man that he would let stand
in his way in their defense, and no
one could misunderstood the sound Of
| his voice. or his conduct, until what
he deemed unrighteous should be right
ed He was, indeed, in the truest sense
the clients lawyer, and in the Wor-
| cester cases he felt very nervous due
in a measure as / have already stated
to his health, but he felt that he had
very troublesome opposition and par
ticularly apprehended that Senator
Hoar, with whom he had been law
student and for whom he always had
the keenest respect, might prevail
against him. He said to me early in
these cases: 81 hope 1 shall not have
an unkind word with the senator, for
he has always been more than kind to
me- / believe him to be the greatest
intellect in the United States Senate.
He has a mind that puts me to the
blush If he had left office alone and
remained at the bar, there would have
been but little place for me, and even
now without having much legal ex-
perience, in later days he is man to
be feared"
Despite his apprehension, everyone
who heard him try these cases appre-
ciated his great power and force. He
left an impression upon every witness
that he cross examined and there were
many. They were an exceedingly in
telligent body Of men, but one after
the other acted, while in his hands, as
. If his will were dominating their, and
: men well qualified with lifelong knowl-
edge upon a subject, would halt and
stammer under his mastery.
These cases brought out wildly a
comparison between himself and his
lifelong friend, Colonel Hopkins. OF
all the friendships between lawyers
never have seen anything the equal of
that between these two men. There
seemed to be upon the face such a
marked difference in their tone and
temper A closer examination, how
ever, disclosed great similarities in
the higher characteristics Each was
honest, sincere, practising his profess
sion for the great love he had for it,
with intellectual keenness to see the
world about them correctly, and to
know their power and limitations. Each
enjoyed literature, INDUCED in intel
lectual pursuits outside their profess
sions-and also their days in court and
their nights at home Both had the