Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-07-16


all deserved part in the credit for the
opinions prepared by all the others.
When went on the bench In 1864
we had practically no library. We
did not have full set of the Iowa ra
ports. was appointed by the other
Judges to take charge of the work of
collecting a library for our use. This
did and with the assistance of James
Wright, secretary of state. and nv q
system of trading the reports of the
state was able to lay the foundation
Of the present library which is proba.
bly, tho third best in the United
States. When I left the bench Of the
supreme court we had the complete
state reports and all the English colo
NAL and many other reports"
Judge E. H. Stiles.
Mr.. stiles address the first and
principal one of the evening, was as
follows:
Mr.. President and Gentlemen of
the Iowa Bar association: 1t gives
me great pleasure to be with you, and
meet such representative body of
Iowa lawyers, after so MANY wears of
absence. If there is anything / under
stand thoroughly it is the history of
the Iowa bar, and that Of it's older
members.
My theme, 1.-THE Old and the New
LAWYER / take it, is to be understood
as applying on the one hand. to the
lawyer of the past, and, on the other,
to the one of today. l shall confine
myself for the most part to the former.
me latter, you know as much about as
trasts and conclusions.
Let us see who thew nre and fror,
them select few who will give a fair
~ good notion of the whole, at least
In some respects. And let me saw
here, that it will sufficiently answer
my purpose to take for examples from
the lawyers who We're in the habit of
attending this bar when | was admit
ted, nearly fifty years ago. From my
youthful appearance l am sure this
statement as to time, will not be re-
CARED as seriously made. But alas;
It is but too true. While not quite
half century, it was forty-seyen
years ago. The Indians had been
gone only fourteen years; their depart
ing footprints We're scarcely effaced:
their wailing farewell to the land they
loved could almost be heard in the
whispering winds Of the surrounding
forest. But let it be remembered
that it was not then customary to en-
Guide bright applicant on account of
MS age. and so, am not bound to say
how youthful / then was.
The judge I found upon the bench
was II. B. Hendershott. God bless his
memory. / doubt if there ever was a
better Nisi prius judge. 1t was my
pleasure to make for the historical de-
partment of your state as good and
complete sketch of him as am able
to make, which you will find published
IN one OF the recent volumes of the
Annals of Iowa, the periodical publish
ed by the historical department under
the very able management of that fine
historical collector, and to whom Iowa
is greatly indebted for his labors in
that behalf, Charles Aldrich.
Among the attending lawyers We're
Samuel w. Summers, Homer D. Ives,
A. H. Hamilton, Morris j. Williams,
John A. Johnston, Thomas Bigham
A. W. Castor, j. w. Dixon, Homer
Thrall of this county.
George May, distinguished for his bril-
liancy and for his dissipation, had lust
gone and A. A. Stuart, bright Brown
university graduate, afterward a cap
tain in the Seventeenth Iowa infantry.
and author of the history of Iowa
Colonies and Regiments, had not vet
arrived. From the other counties in
the district were II. H. Trimble, Matt
Jones and Harvey Dunlavey, of Davis:
Sam Carruthers and James b. Weaver
commenced visiting our Der a little
later. From Appanoose, Amos Harris
and Harvey Tannehill. From Monroe
Daniel Anderson. John S. Townsend
ana 1. e. Perry-a very able young
From Van Buren,, Joseph c.. Knapp,
George G. Wright Henry c. Caldwell,
Charles Baldwin, Charles Nourse, Ber-
trand Jones, Frank Semple, Isaac kim
ley and ----- Smith. Robert Sloan
who for many years has been one of
your faithful and able judges, was not
then old enough to be trusted away
from home. From Keokuk county,
George D. Woodin Ezekiel Sampson,
Samuel Harmed and that prince of
lawyers and gentlemen, Edward l..
Burton. He did not remove TO Ottur-
wa until the following year. And from
counties outside the district, who fire.
quently attended, there were David
Rorer, ]. C. Hail. NJ D. Browning,
Harrington, Charles Phelps, Henry w.
Star and Henry Strong, of Burlington.
From Keokuk, Samuel f. Miller. Daniel
Miller, John w. Rankin, Hugh T.
Reid. John w. Noble, J. NJ. Love- Sam
uel r. Curtis and Judge Claggett. R.
think little later. From Fairfield,
Charles Negus Christian w. slagle,
George Atchison, James F. Wilson,
and soon afterward Daniel P. Stubs
and Moses McCoid. From Mt. Pleas
ant. William Thompson, familiarly
known as BLACK Bill" Leroy Palmer,
r. L. B. Clark, a brother of Grace
Greenwood, Alfred Berreman and
Henry Clay Dean. From Oskaloosa,
Judge w H: Sewers, Micajah Will
liams, j. A. L. Croolsham and Enoch
Eastman. From Lucas James Baker
and Warren S. DUNCAN.
OF that entire throng but few re-
main to tell the tale OF those that
belonged to the bar of this county, A.
H. Hamilton and myself are the only
survivors He and Morris ]. Williams
We're partners. Mr.. Williams was
purely a lawyer, and a good lawyer.
II there ever was man who made the
cause of his client his own, it was he.
They We're always veritable sparagons
of justice and right and their wit
nesses the personal .embodiments of
truth. Those belonging to the other
side was very emphatically placed on
2 lower seat. That was one of his
leading characteristics. Another.
was his caustic treatment of cases and
his severity in cross examinations.
He put a damaging witness on the
rack and turned the thumb screw with
skillfulness, and in his summing up