The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1904-04-02
THE SUPREME COURT.

Senate met, writes u. M. JACOBS IN
the Saturday Evening Post. 1t would
be difficult to imagine quieter place
than this chamber has been since, in
December, 1860, it became the ma
tons great Hall of Justice. It is IS
feet long, As feet high, and its ceiling
is a half-dome, through the windows
of which fall subdued light.
The "bench" consists of a gallery,
on the east side of the apartment. 1t
is furnished with nine large chairs,
upholstered in brown leather. Above
it is smaller gallery, the only one
preserved after the removal of the
Senate. 1t is supported by pillars of
dark, variegated Potomac marble,
with Ionic capitals. Between the
pillars are curtains of heavy crimson
plush.
A large portion of the floor, in front
Of the bench, is filled with chairs and
desks reserved for members of the
legal profession, who, by an unwrit-
ten, but firmly established, rule, must
be attired in black when they appear
before the Bar of the Court.
The conventional habit for lawyers
of the gentler sex has not yet been
prescribed. because, of the twenty
one women who have been admitted
to practice in the Supreme Court, not
one has ever argued case before it.
The court is in session annually
from the beginning of October till
the end of June. At noon, when it
convenes, two ropes covered with
crimson velvet are stretched across
the main corridor of the Copitol, be-
tween the consulting room and the
court room. This effectually blocks
the passage from the Senate to the
House of Representatives, and the
President himself, should he be there,
would be detained by these crimson
barriers.
A rustic of silk is heard, and nine
stately men, the Chief Justice at the
head of the procession and the asso-
ciates in the order of their appoint
ment, all clad in black gowns with
wide sleeves, march in single file
10 the court room s',zfG''ffb e. ffb6eilh tie leees lob
on the bench. As they enter the crier
announces:
"The Honorable the Chief Justice
and the Associate Justices Of the Su-
preme Court of the United States"
The justices stand before their
chairs, bow to the Bar, and the law
yers and spectators, standing, return
the salute. The crier continues:
"Oyez, oyez, oyez All persons
having business before the Honorable
the Supreme Court of the United
States are admonished to draw near
and give their attention, for the Court
is now sitting. God save the United
States and this honorable Court
Soon after the Supreme Court came
into being the question of a judicial
garb was raised. Hamilton, Burr
and Jefferson took part in the discus
sion. The English wig was rejected
and the gown adopted. That of the
first chief justice, was, in pattern,
similar, to those worn today, with the
exception of decorative bands, vermil-
ion in hue. The voluminous robes
worn by the justices when on the
bench are of black silk, reaching to
their feet. This simple attire, though
transformations, is impressive, and
adds to the naturally digni6ed ap-
pearance of the nine men who have
in their keeping the rights and for
tunes of SO, 900, 900 people.
The justices have life tenure of
Office. They are appointed by the
joint action of the President and the
SeDate. They cannot be removed ex-
cept by formal trial before the Senate.
In age they can neither be retired
nor can their salaries be reduced,
though by an existing statute, they
may retire voluntarily, with full sal
ary-$1o, ,ooo-upon reaching the age
of 10 years. The chief justice, whose
special duty is to preside when court
is in session, and to assign to his as
sociates the cases in which they are to
write opinions, receives $40, 500. In
accepting his present position Justice
Fuller reliuquished a practice worth
four times his annual salary.
The seat on the right of the chief
justice, which, by long established
precedent, is that of the associate jus
tice who has been longest on the
bench, is occupied at present by the
Hon. John Marshall Harlan, of Ken
lucky, appointed in 1877. Immedi-
ately on the left of the chief justice
sits the associate next in seniority of
service-the Hon. Horace Gray, of
Massachusetts,. Mr.. Justice Gray,
who was appointed in 1881, is the
giant of the court, measuring 6 feet
q inches in his stockings. Mr.. Justice
Harlan is almost as tall, and both are
proportionately we'll built. The chief
justice, who is the smallest man on
the bench, appears diminutive when
standing between them. The other
associates on the left of the chief JUS
tice are Justices Brewer, Shiras and
Peckham on the right Justices
Brown, White and McKenna.
That these men have not reached
their exalted position at a single
bound. and that they pay, unceasing-
ly, high price for their prestige, is
evident to the most casual observer
Few men work harder, or for longer
hours, than the justices of the Su-
preme Court. Every litigant, how.
ever humble, can be certain that,
though years may elapse before his
case comes to trial, he will have upon
it the opinion of every one of the JUS
! tees. Every Saturday night the chiel