The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-09-09

story:
Judge Abraham S. Humphreys race
of half around the globe to vindicate
himself in the eyes of his associates in
Hawaii has been Interrupted in Chicago.
He is now lying in a hospital preparing
FOR an operation which. the physicians
say, will probably result fatally, and
may never reach the land of his adop-
ton to prove TO the members of the
legal profession there that his actions
have been such as to receive the Off
cial approval of the Attorney General
of the United States.
The judge is the man who reformed
the judicial practice in Honolulu and
thereby aroused much enmity. AT the
instigation of members of the Hawaiian
bar. though broken in health, he@start-
ed at once for the United States To-
day his case is before Attorney General
Knox. He succeeded in convincing
that official that the complaints of the
island lawyers were unfounded
One week, ago Judge Humphreys was
reappointed to his position. The strain
of his several months of worry had told
on him and he was informed by his
physicians that he must go to hos
pital to recuperate. 1t was the only
means of saving his life, he was told.
Though he knew that he was prob
ably dying and that the trip would
probably hasten his demise, the judge
insisted on starting. He was very weak
when he left the capital and by the time
Chicago was reached he had broken
down completely. He was carried to
a private hospital, where he was told
that by a delicate operation there is
one chance in ten of saving his life. If
he is not benefited by the operation
death will result at once
The jurist did not hesitate a minute.
He knew that his life might drag on
for weeks without the operation and
that it may be snuffed out at once UNI
der the surgeons knife, but he decided
on the operation as his only chance of
getting back to Honolulu.
SO the most skillful surgeons will
make a supreme effort this week to
save the life of the judge. The name
of the hospital where the operation is
to be performed is being kept closely
guarded secret.
From the time that Judge Humphreys
first came into prominence as a south
ern republican his career has been a
picturesque one. When but % years of
age he angered his friends and neigh
bors by espousing the cause of General
Chalmers, republican candidate for the
position of governor of Mississippi.
This was in 1888, when to be a repub-
lican in Mississippi was to be disgrace
of the young planter. He was ostracis-
ed politically and socially and finally
driven from the state.
FIGHTS DUELS IN ARIZONA
Travelling through the southwest he
finally reached Phoenix, Ari., where he
settled for a time. While at Phoenix
he became involved Z: several shooting
scrapes owing to his high sense of
honor.
Six years ago he left the United States
and went to Hawaii, then an absolute
monarchy After residing in Hawaii
for some time he married one If the
daughters of a Chinese millionaire.
His wife was one of the twelve sisters
that have become famous throughout
the islands and the Pacific states. All
of the girls have contracted alliances
with prominent men, army and naval
officers, lawyers and jurists being in
eluded in the list of husbands.
Judge Humphreys took a prominent
part in the Hawaiian revolution, which
resulted in the deposal of the dusky
queen, the formation of the, Hawaiian
republic and the ultimate annexation OF
the islands. When the senatorial COM
mission annexed the islands it did not
forget the young southerner who had
not feared to be a republican In Missis-
sippi. His name was mentioned to
President Mckinley and he was ap
pointed federal judge for the district
of Honolulu.
WORKS WONDERS AS A JURIST.
Once seated on the bench the young
man revolutionized the legal practices
in the island and made the native at
torneys conform to the practices of the
United States courts. 1t was this ac-
ton that induced the Hawaiian lawyers
to protest gainst his retention in Of
flee Then followed the hurried trip to
Washington and the physical break
down.
The labors which Judge Humphreys
performed in the unhealthy climate of
Hawaii and the trouble oecasioned by
the preferment of charges against him
are responsible for his present condi-
ton. Great care is being taken to pre-
vent his exact whereabouts becoming
known. as his condition is such that
any excitement would result fatally.
Even the warmest friends of the Ha-
waiian jurist have been prohibited from
visiting him and none know where he
is at the present time.