Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-07-16
interests of the chiceeo, Burlington &

Quincy railroad company Taking ev-
| erything into consideration, including
his age. think he and Chester G..
Cole, one Of the brightest. clearest and
ablest judges that ever sat on the
supreme bench, are the most re-
markable lawyers now at the Iowa bar.
Judge Knapp, Joseph G. Knapp, to
| whom have before alluded, was also
| at times, and when he was fully
aroused in an important case, an adj
vocate of great power He was really
q great man. and had his lot been cast
IN large city. rather than country
town. he would probably have attain
4 ed national reputation. He needed
the stimulus Of great demands and the
| execution of great purposes. He did not
/ have these, and lapsed into the inertia
Of his surroundings. He had a great
contempt for little things, and l think
became dlscontented with his envir-
onments. But it was too late in life
to change, and he fingered and died In
Keosauqua. He was leonine in APP
pearance and character, but 1t took
something more than the ordinary to
arouse him; but when once aroused
he was veritable Jupiter Tonnns,
and made everything around him
tremble. l heard him when thus wax
ed make the closing argument in the
Islander case OF Bizer against Warner,
)
Il youthful blood tingle.
And finally, there was Henry Clay
Dean, who occasionally appeared as
attorney for the defendant in capital
cases. ! remember one distinctly
that of the State against Trogden for
4 murder. After Mr.. Dean had closed
his argument and the judge had given
placed himself, or at least was sta
toned in the aisle through which the
jury must pass to their room, and as
1 they did so he said to me. In tones
loud enough for the jury to hear,
That settles 1t: under those instruc-
tons the jury are bound to acquit."
He was easily the finest natural ora
oratory pyrotechnic or vapid. He was
deeply learned, and drew his inspira-
ton from the richest sources of his
tory and the classics. I had an eX-
cellent opportunity to know, for as a
youthful orator I stumped the state
with him for Douglass In 1860; and
though I chan~ed my politics when
friendship remained to the end. A
more delightful companion there could
not we'll be. He had been both q
preacher and a lawyer. He had been
highly celebrated for his elouuence In
both lines. and as chaplain of the
i United States senate, Henry Clay pro-
nounced his opening prayer the most
eloquent that had ever been uttered
there. He was eccentric In the ex-
IRENE, and by sheer force of his elo-
4 quence and extraordinary personality
I carried everything before him. For
these reasons he was frequently en-
u ployed In the character of cases re-
4 ferred to.
i He reminded me always of an adj
fn1 IN, In NF yl,l.
Justice Denman. Before ascending to
that position he had been a nisi prlus
Judge on the circuit embracing York
shire. In one Of the towns thereof
dwelt an advocate famous for his elo-
4 quence andsth way he carried the
juries. His name was Jones. In a
certain case called by Denman for
trial, Jones was for the plaintiff. The
Jury were empaneled, the evidence in
troduced and the closing speech made
by Mr. Jones in his best manner. The
jury retired In charge Of the bailiff to
consider their verdict. Soon they re-
appeared to announce that verdict
had been reached. In trails the jury
with it's Yorkshire foreman at the
} head. and halted on approaching the
bench. Judge Dennlan asked the fore
man, Have the jury agreed upon a
verdict" 1--WE has, your honor" was
the reply. rs 1t for the plaintiff or
the defendant" inquired the judge.
I I'VE knows naught of plaintiffs or de-
4 PENDANTS, but wees for Mr.. Jones'" So
at was with Henry's iuries. They
were generally for Mr.. Dean.
4 The witticism of the bar was we'll
! exemplified in Matt Jones of Davis
4 county, and it's eccentricities by
4 Enoch Eastman and Judge Crookham,
| of Mahaska county. The former re-
| moved soon after to Hardin county
and died at Edora, If mistake not
Matt was a natural born humorist
He would have made first-class
comedian; one that would have i'm
/ proved the original playwright by i'm
1 browsing between the lines. He had
the peculiar faculty of making others
/ laugh without smiling himself 1t was
difficult to tell when he was serious.
4 Here is an illustrative incident. 1t was
4 While he was the prosecuting attorney
for this district. I was present. The
case was the prosecution Of the de-
! PENDANT for selling liquor. The de-
Tense was that it was not liquor but
4 ginger ale and sold as such. The
/ witness swore that this was what he
called for. Then the fun began. He
was piled with all sorts Of questions
| in most amusingly quisical manner;
as to how he came to have such a
thirst for ginger ale about that time;
how it looked. how it smelled; how 1t
tasted; how much he poured out:
how many times he drank; what the
interval between each drink; why he
was drinking ginger ale so many
times; how he felt after the first
drink; after the second, the third the
fourth. the fifth, and to describe his
feelings infinitely. Can Englishman I
once knew said he could tell water
when he saw 1t, 1t looked SO much like
gin.) In summing UP, Matt said to
the jury in his quiet inimitable way:
Gentlemen, you might think from my
manner of examining the witness that
| | know a good deal about drinks, and
the effect thereof, but (raising his
voice and vigorously extending his
arm) the fact nevertheless is, that I
never drank a gallon of liquor in my
whole life" Then after pause and
lowering his voice, Eat one time gem
tlemen."
| Here is another You may have
heard it as story; but it is a real
incident, was well known at the time
and is perfectly authentic. Matt had
a case before a justice Of the peace
out In the country. He was for the
defendant, while wiseacre Of a
school master who had picked UP
fatr MT