The Irish standard., 1904-09-10
He is Absolutely Free From Vanity and Never
Does or Says Things for Purpose of
Attracting Attention.
Not Distributor of Platitudes Uttered That
They May Find Expression in the
Newspapers.


the writer met Judge Alton Brooks |
Parker, then newly appointed Judge
of the Supreme Court Of the State of |
New York, in an exceedingly dramatic
and grewsome murder trial, which
was held in a Hudson River town.
The case was one in which the great
est necessity existed for judicial re-
straint and patience, for, besides a
rather earnest District Attorney, there
were an erratic, noisy and insistent
counsel. for the defendant and a dis
orderly court room, says writer in
the New York Herald.
Although I had for many years
gone upon the stand in courts presided
over by numerous capable judges,
do not think ever witnessed such an
exhibition Of perfect self-control, dig
nifty and resourcefulness as that dis
played by the young judge who had
been so short time upon the bench.
Calm, decisive and so perfectly quail
fed in the practice Of his profession
that his rulings were promptly made,
and so clear that they admitted Of no
satisfactory appeal, as was subse-
quently shown, he sat for nearly a
week, and within few hours Of the
opening Of the case no one dared to
trifie with the court or failed to ap-
preciate the peculiar personal power
of the quiet gentleman upon the
bench. While his poise was that Of
simple, unruffled businesslike indi-
vidual who was in no way pompous
and whose utterances were free from
oratorical effort, the impression soon
became conviction that he was clear
ly the person to have the last word,
and that decisive one. The prison
er's hectoring counsel subsided, the
noisy room became as still and orderly
as a church. and no one could help
feeling that the prisoner and the 6peo-
pie were being most impartially pro-
tected.
Since that time I have seen much
of the Judge under more intimate cir
cumstances, and have been impressed
by his quiet gentleness Of manner,
domestic tenderness and concern, by
his uniform good sense. by his abso-
lutte sincerity and freedom from af-
fectation and by numerous sterling
traits that have gained for him place
in the hearts Of great many devoted
friends.
Alton Brooks Parker, originally Of
English stock, is to-day about fifty
two years of age. He is an absolutely
sound man, physically and mentally;
is six feet tall, weighs two hundred
pounds, and is well proportioned and
muscular, his good ''form" being due
to a we'll balanced exercise of mind
and body, which is, Of course, always
indispensable to the attainment Of
any degree of perfection. His mental
vigor and capacity for head work are
exceptional, and his intellectual facul-
AAC0 0AC SIAVA6 oAu dSuNCs II 10 AVA
this reason that his judicial utteran-
ces and his ordinary conduct are free
from any suspicion Of. assertive NOR
bid mental erethism or inconsistency.
BY the most extreme effort it is i'm
possible to find any Of those stigmata
supposed by anthropologists and psy-
chiatrists to indicate a neurotic or
false development.
Physically he is without the least
sign of degeneration, his head being
we'll proportioned and in no sense
atypical; it is well formed and well
set upon the shoulders, and there is
no excess in the length of neck. His
facial expression is placid, and when
be is interested there is a harmonious
play Of feature. but no excess Of emo
fional release.
His vision is clear and good, and his
eyes are set well apart indicating most
strikingly the thoughtful, earnest man,
whose seriousness always means
much. It is indeed conceivable how
they may fash angrily or scornfully
at times when occasion demands but