Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1903-01-31
JUDGE DAY IN COLLEGE
Stories About His Career at
Michigan University.
TRAITS OF DEPOSITION SHOWN.

Most Prominent Characteristic of
sze Tornaer ~ecretar IL state wau
TIis SELF roise In Matters OF opEn-
fon-An Alleged instance OF his
hanncr of Procuring information.
"Reminiscences Of Judge William r..
Days career IN college are Ia course Of
revival now that his name has been
brought once more into prominence.
says the special correspondent Of the
a graduate Of Michigan university and
while there lived for a Tins In tile fami
IL Of Judge Cooley, aftcrward the dis
~tinguished chairman OF the Interstate
commerce commission. Day was then,
as now, spare OF stature and not par.
ticularly robust looking, but wiry and
of strong vitality, with a fair taste for
out of door sports. especially running
and jumping. and net a bad bail play
er. His most conspicuous characters
tic was his self poise In matters Of
opinion. There was nothing aggressive
or bumptious about him, but a Judg-
ment once formed was sufficient for
him till some one could bring him a
first rate reason for changing it. ana 1t
made no visible difference to him
whether his companions generally
shared 1t or not. He was very studi-
GUS, though not belonging In the grub"
category, and his quiet, uneffusive
manner and his almost shy way of re
firing within himself when he pre-
ferred reflection to conversation were
a bar to his making any very violent
personal attachments among his fell
lows, though all held him In respect.
The expression Of Mr.. Days face all
ways impresses first observers with the
notion Of melancholy, and it is not till
after acquaintance has ripened pref
ty well that the dry, quaint humor
behind the solemn expression peeps out
here and there. On the class day of
the class of 1870, to which Day be-
longed. the prophet read a poetical
forecast Of the career Of the several
graduates elect, In which these lines
occurred:
Day is a dismal undertaken, drives a
rushing trade.
And also drives a solemn hearse, keeps
collins ready made;
He advertises TO look sad ana ~weep-hirn-
self, at least
And furnish mourners If required at JUS;
six bits apiece.
He keeps a mining engineer to scoop the
narrow graves;
The scooping Is the pleasant part tina Mr..
Waters plays.
1t might have been the painful duty
of his ~biographers to record Days fail
IRE to get through college. In mathe-
mates he was, IL not a dull scholar, at
least a most uninterested one. He
would overcome his difficulties By dog
ged hard work. but n was always a
hateful task, and he made no secret OF
the feet. He did manage to get
through, and with a reasonable stand
Ing on this line OF study, though an
other affair threatened for awhile his
chance OF graduation.
1t appears that while he was a senior
a group OK members of his clnss got
UP Il burlesque on the programme Of
the junior exhibition. Such publications
N0tC 1S1sAApt Az JIG Va tAC 1AiAfSA
sity, and offenders were often severely
punished. On this occasion the faculty
made a searching investigation, finally
rounding up a lot of the young fellows
and putting them through a fire Of
questions aud cross questions, after
ward retiring to a private room to dis
GUS the results and formulate a judg
ment. Somebody-tradition has it that
Day was the man-suggested that the
student suspects" should bore a hole
through the floor Of the apartment In
which the faculty conference vas 10
be held. This was done; the entire pro
ceedings were noted down by hidden
eavesdroppers, a burlesque on the
meeting was prepared. and the profess
sors were actually put into so ridicu-
lous n light that to save their own
faces they dropped the whole matter.
This direct Il of procuring infor
nation doubtless was only a forerun-
ner of the tactics employed nearly thir
ty years later In Washington, in the
case of Dupuy de Lone and the fatal
letter.