Evening journal., 1901-02-04
BENCH And BAR DO HONOR TO
THE MEMORY Oh JOHN MARSHALL
Among AttOrneyCeneraI Wards First Official Acts Was
Presentation Of Minute on Life Of Great JurEt
to Which Chief Justice Responds

a wide reader OF the law. In the work
which he had to perform, mere prece-
dents were not of chief Importance. AS
a matter of fact, the path he trod had
few signposts, and in numerous cases
he trod a path which he himself mark
ed out for the first time in the history
of the law. His training at the bar,
comparatively limited though it must
have been-owing to his multifarious
other duties-was most appropriate to
fit him for his judicial duties. AS
practicing lawyer, as we'll as a judge,
he spent his professional life in Great
ing and formulating an American
jurisprudence His intellect was
analytical and constructive, rather
than technical, in its grasp of legal
ideas. His work as judge was of the
same class as that Of Mansfield and
Holt. and he ranks an equal with them
as a constructor of law, and a framer
Of a system of Jurisprudence.
! Considering the possibilities which a
narrow and restrictive construction of
the Constitution at this critical period
might have imposed upon the life OF
/ the nation, il must ever be a cause OF
national thanksgiving that Adams.
rather than Jefferson. had the appoint
ment of a chief justice at that stage of
our history. By this fortunate circum-
stance. a Federal rather than Jeffer-
sOnian Constitution. was given this
great grant of governmental powers.
This view is generally conceded to be
true. whatever may be the sentiments
OF anyone upon the abstract general
question of strict or liberal construc-
tion of the Constitution.
To the test Of Marshall's judicial
| touch-stone were first submitted many
essentially vital questions, which in
volved the mutual interdependence of
the different departments Of the gem
eral government, and Its relation with
the States.
He presided at the trial of Aaron
Burr, and in the issuance Of a subpoena
duces tecum to Pesident jefferson
again demonstrated the frmness Of his
will to do what he deemed legally
right even when he thereby provoked
the wrath of the chief executive.
While on the bench he found time, at
the solicitation Of Judge Bushrod
Washington, nephew of the first presi-
dent. to write his Life of Washing
ton" While possibly not OF high ar
tistic merit, considered as a literary
production, this work, from the access
of its author to original documents,
and his acquaintance with his subject,
will always be authoritative.
John Marshall died in Philadelphia
on the 9th day of July, 1885, in the S0th
year of his age His public life had
been so eminently useful and his .pri-
vate life so attractive. that his death
was universally lamented. The whole
nation did honor to his memory in nu-
merOus public and private ways. In
bronze at the national Capitol, and in
bronze at Richmond the two localities
in which the most of his active life
was spent, his face and form are COM
memOrated; but his heart and intellect
are SO moulded into the institutions Of
the American people that the nation
Itself is his most enduring monument
iCHIEF JUSTICE LORE RESPONDS.
Chief Justice Lore replied in the fol-
lowing language: Chief Justice Mar
| shall occupies a unique place in the
establishment of constitutional govern
ment. AS it came from the hands of
its trainers, the Constitution of the
United States, was only an enumera-
ton of the basal principles underlying
the life of a free self-governing peO-
pie. Wisely conceived, broadly
framed, and OF marvellous adaptability
to the changing conditions of human
development; still il was not self-exe.
cutting. The power to continue It's pro.
visions and adapt them to the needs
of cur national life was a vital one
and was wisely vested in the Supreme
Court Happily, in the critical anC
crucial period of its needful interpre
tatiOn, John Marshall was chief Jus
tice. His masterful mind disposed o
grave constitutional questions as thel
arose, with such prescience. breadth an,
wisdom as to command the admiration
and. best Of all the approval of all goo,
men, He laid the foundation upo1
! which our Federal system of jurisDru
denc0 rests. 1t is a foundation
broad and deep and strong. His worl
: is Just as vital to our well-being a
| that of Washington. We are never s.
safe as when following his lead. I
would seem that in the Divine econ
| omy, he was the man of the hour 70
I the place"
SKETCH OF JOHN MARSHALL.
/ A Virginian Of the old school, job
! Marshall was born in Fauquier county
! Virginia, September "a, 1855, the so
Of Colonel Thomas Marshall. VIII
later served with distinction in tn
: Revolution. Young Marshalls early ed
. ucation was far from perfect, and
r 1875, before attaining his majority, h
! too. cast his lot with the armies of tn
colonists then in the field. This SCI
u vice extended over a period Of fou
years. and his innate love for the Law
e as well as for country, is evidenced b
y his often having lent his advice
: courts-martial and acted as judge az
e vocate.
l. The fact that he was with the Color
y ial army in this State gives local il
terest to this brief history Of his lif
is He Joined a military company in h