The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-12-06
4 Remarkable speech by Mr.. Justice
Holmes.

Holmes.
On Monday night the Middlesex bar
gave a farewell dinner at Boston to
the new Associate Justice II the SUI
preme Court Of the United States. Judge
HOLMES responded to the compliment
in a speech which Is in some respects
mystifying.
In the course Of his not very long ad-
dress the new Associate Justice assumed
three entirely distinct manners. Ii was
IA if he desired TO present himself to his
friends and entertainers. first. as the
man of sent ment. wit and literary imagi-
nat ion, the son Of DR.. OLIVER WENDELL
HOLMES; secondly, "a the philosophical
juriSt, discussing the principles Of juris-
prudence in the light of twenty years
experience on the Massachusetts bench;
and, thirdly, as the public servant about
to enter upon new series Of judicial
duties.
This was n perfectly legitimate and
artistic oratorical scheme for such an
occasion 1t is the details that are
puzzling.
What, for example, did Judge HOLMES
mean. what humorous or imaginative
idea was in his mind, when. speaking
in his first or inherited manner, he said?
/ had one glimpse OF the supreme Court whca
I wen, on TO argue case before It, which Is al.
ready sncien, history. remember thinking that 1t
needed only black boy With gold bangles. holding
leash OF greyhounds at end OF the bench. to be
living picture by P.uL VFRoSvsE, The capital
I with It's asphalt pavements. Is not quite unknown
to me. But my notion OF Washington sun IS the
notion OF Washington OF war times. where mule
teams sank TO their knees IN mud, where at every
otacr door one saw SIGNS bearing the words fm-
balr,ins OF the Dead with occasional alienation
IN the form Of Sample r ,om IN the Rear
Equally mysterious, and much more
, important. is the question of the real
significance Of the theory Of judicature
| which Judge HOLMES. in his second
manner. announced as the result Of
/ his personal observation of the Judicial
system during the past score Of years;
81 have studied tradition in order that might
understand how It came TO be what IS and to cNu-
mate rs worth with regard To our pre'eni needs.
and my references TO the yearbooks often have had
| n s.cp'Iral end. I have considered the present
tendencies and desires OF society and have ired to
realize that 1t, different portions want different
! things and that my business was TO express not
m personal wish but the resultant, as nearly rs I
! @ md guess Of the pressure OF the past and the
c,nll,tins wills - the present. have considered
| the social and economic poStulstss on which We
ga ne the conception OF our needs anu | have tried
4 SEQ them In a dry light"
This would seem to be theory ~
legislation rather than Of adjudication.
! Does the new Justice Of the Supreme
Court mean that in his opinion il is to
! be his business on the Federal bench
t. guess, as nearly IA he can, at the
resultant between established legal prin-
ciples and the conflicting desires of va
rious portions Of society and to pro-
nounCe Judgment accordingly? If not,
what does he mean?
Much more Ineligible on the face Of
the words, but perhaps even more pro-
foundly perpleying "a another sense is
Judge HOLINESS confession of the strcn-
uoul spirit with which he goes to the
Federal bench To do his share, rs he puts
it, in shaping the laws of the whole
country
Gentlemen. II Is great adventure. and thai
fought brngs with II a mighty 10y. on,
,rS not f,rgct the danger. but II victory SHOULD
| G., ne, Victory shall ome-wlth that though, th,
pcrs1 ual apprehension grows dim, The forces o
owes soul rally and gather to a point one look
down the line and catches the eye OF friends b,
va .cS his sword-it may he the last tine for hin
or them-bui the advance Is about to begin. Tn,
troo ~ are dcployed. They viii follow their leader
We W II not ttcr. we will not fail We viii reacl
the earthw,rks II we live. and II fall We wil
leave our spirit to those who follow. and they vi.
not turn back. All is ready, Bugler blow II,
charvr'"
Stirring words and fitting TO beuttereC
at the foot Of San Juan hill. with tn,
smell Of gunpowder in the air, Singular
words, we are bound to say, at ia,
threshold of the Supreme Court Cham
Der, where no buglc call ordinarily
heralds a new entrance into the serene
atmosphere Of the most digniiied, the
most conservative, and the most UNI
emotional tribunal in the world.