Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1906-10-26
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT LIKELY TO
NAME SEVEN OUT OF NINE JUS
TICES OF HIGHEST COURT.
LURTON TO SUCCEED BROWN
Spooner May Be Given Place on Supreme
Bench-RetirementSA Are in
View
CHIEF JUSTICE WILL HANG ON.

Roosevelt before his term expires. AL
ready he has named two of the nine JUS
tees now sitting, Associate Justices Oil
yer Wendell Holmes, Jr., and William
r. Day.
The President is now about to select a
successor to Justice Henry B. Brown,
who retired last May. The probabilities
are that the Presidents choice will fall
upon Judge Horace Harmon Lurton of
Tennessee. He Is at present United
States circuit judge of the Sixth district,
and is regarded as one of the leading
jurists of the nation.
No final decision has been reached by
the President. however. Besides Judge
Lurton. he is considering other men of
note, and among them is Solicitor Gener-
al Henry NJ. Hoyt, who is strongly
backed for the place.
Point in Favor of Hoyt.
General Hoyt is the son of 4 former
governor of Pennsylvania and halls from
a judicial circuit, which, as it happens,
has not been represented on the SUI
preme court since the retirement OF JUS
tice Shiras. This is the third circuit,
embracing New Jersey. middle, eastern
and western Pennsylvania and Della
ware. 1t is the custom to have on the
nine districts, and this adds to General
HoytS chances.
The solicitor general, however, is a
Republican in politics, and, while poll
tics is not supposed to be thought of in
connection with the supreme bench, the
fact is that if General HOyt were named
the court would stand six Republicans
nd three Democrats. President Roose-
r,.it probably would wish to have the
body more evenly divided and therefore
is said personally to favor the selection
of Judge Lurton. who is not only a
Democrat but a confederate veteran who
served with distinction in the civil war.
The fact that the President called JUS
tees Day. White and Harlan in CON
sultation has caused some of the politi-
cal wiseacres to feel that probably one
of the Circuit Court judges i'll their
district might be named. Judge Lurton
is among the number. and others are
Peter S. Grosscup, Francis f. Baker,
William II. Seaman, Christian q. Kohl
saat, Don \. Pardee, Andrew 2. Nc
Cormick, David d. Shelby, Henry f.
Severens and Lohn X. Richards.
Post Declined by Taft
There has been, however. no intima-
ton that any one of the foregoing jurists
is to receive the honor, except, of course,
Judge Lurton. President Roosevelt some
Il
his inclinations toward the supreme
bench, and Mr.. Taft is understood to
have declined with many thanks. Since
then Mr.. Roosevelt has been looking
over the field carefully.
The Present Court.
The present members of the Supreme
Court. with their politics, date of birth
and date of appointment are:
MELVILLE W. FULLER (chief JUSTICE,
Illinois; born 1888; appointed 1888; Demo
JOHN NJ. HARLAN. Kentucky; born 1888;
appointed 1877: Republican.
DAVID J. BREWER, Kansas; born 1887 :;
appointed 1889; Republican.
EDWARD d. WHITE, Louisiana: horn
1913; appointed 1894; Democrat
RUFUS w. PECKHAM, New York; born
1923 s, a 2I12 1922; Democrat
1913; appointed 1898; Republican
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. Massa-
chqSsetts; born 1871; appointed 1902; Re
WILLIAM R. DAY, Ohio; born 1910; ap-
pointed 1903; Republican.
Retirements in View.
OF the above Justice Harlan and
Chief justice Fuller, have already
reached the age for retirement. Justice
Brewer will be eligible to retire next
June. Justice Peckham could retire
on November %, 1908.
The others, Justices White and Nc
henna. have nine years and seven
years, respectively, before them ere thew
can ask for retirement.
May Select Spooner.
Senator Spooner of Wisconsin is being
considered by the President for Mace
on the supreme bench. Mr.. Spooner has
twice declined offers to go into the cabi-
net, once as attorney general and once
as secretary of the interior. He might
welcome place on the supreme bench
as 1ellef from fractional politics. for
which he has no taste. He will probably
be offered Justice Harlan's place should
he retire.
BY appointing successors to Justices
Brown ana Harlan President Roosevelt
Will have named four members of tho
court only one less than a majority
Chief Justice Fuller has been eligible 70
retire Tor three years past, but that he
VIII avail himself of the privilege seems
less likely than that Justice Harlan will
retire.
Fuller Eligible to Retire.
Chief Justice Fuller is a Democrat
he is very devoted to the fundamentai
principles of the Democratic party. He
has not always agreed with the leaders
OF his party, as i'll the case of the income
tax, when he furnished the necessary de-
Gliding vote that declared the income tox
law unconstitutional.
This was one e President CIeveIand's
pet measures. : it is recalled that at
the time the decision was handed down
President Cleveland showed great disan-
pointment, and expressed regret to y
western Democratic senator that he had
ever appointed Mr.. Fuller to the bench.
Were Chief Justice Fuller to retire he
would turn over to President Roose-
welt an opportunity to appoint a Re
publican chief justice and reduce the
Democratic representation in the court
from three members to two members.
Although he is 10 the chief Justice is
still vigorous and very much devoted TO
his work. he would probably not care
to relinquish his judicial duties for a life
of inactivity.
But Justice Brewer will be entitled 70
retire next June and it is not improbable
that another vacancy will be offered to
President Roosevelt before the expira-
ton of his term that will enable him to
appoint five members of the court.
Justice Peckham of New York will
reach the age of retirement November
% 1908. shortly after the next presiden-
tial election and before the inauguration
of President Roosevelt's successor.
Should Fuller. Brewer. Peckham and