Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-06-18
WAS A GREAT SURPRISE
judge Waterman's Retirement
Not Expected and His Motive
Little Understood.
Judge Towner Will Undoubtedly
Seek the PlaCe-Appointment
May Be Deferred.
Ketchum Said to Be Very
Strong in the Eighth
District.
to Times-Renublican.

= LES, MolteS, June 1o.@-A lS GIL
;, nouncement of the resignation Of JUS
tice Charles Nj. Waterman, of the su-
preme court, came as surprise to
. nearly everyone yesterday and in the
afternoon many We're asking what it
meant and how it came about The
judge had not given any intimation of
his intentions. save to Gov. Cunmins
and a few others, to whom he had con-
! fided that he was about to make ar
rangements that would be more profit
able to him than to remain on the su
preme bench. One Of the first sug
gestions was that he had encountered
something in his work on the bench
that mad discouraged or disgusted him
with his work. 1t is known that the
work is very hard and considering the
present compensation is more than most
lawyers care to endure even for the
very great honor OF position on the
bench of the supreme court. Justice
Waterman has been faithful and hard
worker. The past two or three years
large number of cases have been re-
viewed by him. Two cases of recent
consideration in which he wrote the
opinions We're those of the state against
Margaret Hossaclt and Sarah Kuhn.
Both Of these now celebrated murder
cases were turned over to Waterman
for review and in both cases he gave
them careful consideration. In the
Aossack case he found that there We're
errors in the trial which made it prop
err that new trial should be granted
In the Kuhn case he reviewed the evil
Idence and reached the conclusion that
the defendant is guilty and properly
| punished by life sentence in the peni-
tentiaIy But in the Kuhn case. while
Watcrmans opinion was that of the
ma ority of the court, Justice Weaver
wrote dissenting opinion which was
4 in many respects one Of the most re-
markaple dissenting opinions ever re-
! corded 1t was written after Water
man's opinion had been prepared and
Weaver went after. the majority opinion
/ in Il savage manner. IT fact he itte'
| ally tore it to shreds and there is but
little left of what Waterman said after
| Weaver gets thru. Inasmuch as the
questions are not law questions but
merely those relating to the character
| cf evidence and the conclusions to be
drawn from certain statements, it was
remarked by all the attorneys at the
time of the decision that the presen-
tation of the two decisions was some
thing unique. Both go together in
the record. one standing against the
otl.er 1t is possible that a state o.
affairs like this may have had some |
thing to do with fastening Justice
waterman's decision to retire from the
bench,
Justice Waterman would have be- !
come chief justice next year if he had |
remained on the bench and there is
little doubt that he would have also
been continued for another term. In
fact, there was a prospect ahead, as
some of the aspirants had already I
noted. for supreme bench without
any changes for a number of years to
come. Most of the able lawyers who
had hoped to go on the bench had |
put their ambitions away for the pres
ent How they will be brought out and
FURNISHED up for use this year. AT the
state house it was agreed by everyone
that Judge Horace NJ. Towner, of Corn
ing, would certainly become a can
didate again. II he could have in
duced his district to have played fair
last year in the matter of the governor
ship he might have been nominated.
He was as popular as Judge Weaver
and the race between them was regard
ed as a close one. What settled it II
was the fact that Towner's delegates
were not doing the right thing on gov ;
ernor and WeaVerS friends were. 1t
is said that Judge Blanchard, of Os- !
kaloosa, would like to go on the SUI {
preme bench. He is just concluding (
a long service in the state legislature
where he won distinction for himself. '
He could have the Sixth district pref (;
ty we'll back of him, and possibly the
First district. Last year Judge Dewey
was a candidate, but his county re-
fused to support him for denomination {
to the district bench and that ends
his career. 1t is supposed that neither
Burnham, nor Fee nor Church would {
care to enter the race now. In the '
Eleventh district there has been a de- !
sire a long time to have Craig Wright c
placed on the supreme bench, but as a
will be accorded Chief
Justice Ladd without question, this
shuts out any other candidate from l
the northwestern corner of the state. c
Judge Bishop, Of this city. who re- q
signed from the district bench last c
winter to enter the practice of law {
again will be a candidate. 1t is trua 1
that Polk county has candidate for [
state office, but that will not stand
in the way, he will have the advan- i
tase of being on the bench. Gov. Cum q
minis will certainly appoint him. 1t is
regarded as probable that some one Il
from the eastern part of the state may 7
also be candidate. Gov. Cummins v
will probably do in this case as he did I
in naming a successor to Judge Bishop,
wait for the convention to make the
nominee and then appoint the nominee S
for the uneXpired term. There will be
no term of court until long after the I.h
meets. C
The fact that the state convention "
viii have to nominate two judges of b
The supreme court may complicate t