The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-09-08
A Mere Glance.
Wilmington Messenger.)

The Wilmington Messenger says of Mr.
Badger: He was a great man-a genius
He was the greatest advocate that ever
appeared at the North Carolina bar" In
that opinion, DR.. Kingsbury will be sec
onded by the best thought of the State.~
Raleigh News and Observer.
In the last quarter of century if all
we have written of Mr. Badger was gath
cred it would probably make pamphlet
OF fifty pages. We have not undertaken
to discuss his great merits afresh. The
leading lawyers who practiced in the
courts Mr.. Badger attended-say between
1910 and 1S60--held without variation, we
believe, the opinion Of his supremacy. We
knew personally many of these and We
never heard an adverse opinion. The late
Mr.. Justice Edwin G. Reade, in old age,
said that the greatest political speech
he ever heard was the first hour OF Mr..
Badgers speech before the State Whig
convention in 1916. We heard it, and UP
to his interruption by the late Hon. Loua
D. Henry, of Raleigh it was of incompar-
able excellence. 1t was wonderfully
dramatic and amusing. Judge Reade
served in the Congress and was himself
a speaker of much resource and eff
fectiveness. A lawyer still living once
told us of "A speech he heard from Mr..
Badger before the United States Supreme
Court. We do not recall it perfectly and
SO will not state the case. A great law
yer from Ohio, we think it was. made
most logical and elaborate argument. He
told us that as he listened he felt sor-
ry for Mr.. Badger who was to reply He
saw nothing to build on so complete so
convincing was the argument of the law
yer for the prosecution. But he said Bad
ger had not spoken half hour before
he wondered at his own stupidity and in
an hour he had completely demolished the
legal structure reared by the able lawyer
from the West Mr.. Badger won the case.
When Senator John j. Crittenden, of
Kentucky, left the Senate to become Gov
ernor Of Kentucky he gave all of his
large practice in the Supreme Court to
Mr.. Badger. When Rufus Choate had an
important maritime case before the Su-
preme Court which he could not attend
to, he sought Hon. Robert c.. Winthrop
for advice as to whom he might employ
to take the case. Mr.. Winthrop said Get
Badger. But" said Choate, what does he
know about maritime law? He never had
a case Of that kind probably in all his
life" Winthrop then said: "Give him the
case and step in when he argues it, and
you will think he never did anything else
in his life, but practice in maritime
courts" This writer is the only living
witness to the conversation between three
Raleigh gentlemen and Mr. Webster in
1916. We have given it at length long
before. When asked as to the letter Mr..
Webster gave to Mr.. Badger introducing
him to Judge Story, the old statesman
asked what was the rumor. He was told
that he had written: Judge Story: This
will introduce to you George E. Bad
ger, of North Carolina, your equal and
my superior. Very truly, etc." We heard
the reply: We'll, it was something like
that" Not long ago we saw this mis-
stated, changing the whole thing We
know whereof we affirm, for we were
present and heard the conversation. The
three Raleigh gentlemen were, Weston r.
Gales, Charles l.. Hinton and John H.
Manly, and it occurred at the residence
OF Senator w. H. Haywood. Then take
Senator Hamlins statement given the
other day that Badger deserved to rank
with the foremost men in the Senate. We
heard gentleman of accomplishments,
Col. l.. c. Edwards, of Oxford, say that
Badgers speech in the Secession Conven-
ton opposing afternoon sessions was be-
yond question the very best finland
speech he ever heard-witty, classical, ad-
mjrable. But we must STOP