Daily Kennebec journal., 1906-04-19
The Distinguished Career Of a Famous
Son Of Maine.

| The fact that Chief Justice Fuller
| never even thought of retiring, as he
| mad a perfect right to dc some three
years ago, on reaching the age Of sew
enty, has had little to do with the
| speculation about his successor. Once
in While, those who know that he will
follow the practice of all the Chief
Justices, both Democrats and Repub-
| licans who preceded him, and serve till
the END of his days, cause to be print
| ed the fact that all the stories are un-
| founded. But it amounts to little for
| the dispatches keep going out to differ
ent parts of the country that the Pres
ident will appoint SO and so Chief JUS
| tice when Chief Justice Fuller retires.
| Not long ago a Boston news spaper
| writer sent from here q dispatch that
| the Chief Justice had recently given
the subject no thought whatever and,
as Il matter Of fact, would not retire
| Editorial after editorial was written on
| that dispatch as though it really were
something entirely new.
| PERHAPS the persistence of the dis
patches ;tbout the Chief Justice is due
| IN considerable. part to his own reti-
| cen' e on the subject. He CherisheS the
| traditions Of his high office and does
| net discuss matters Of current interest
III the newspapers. All his associates
| on the bench, however, are always
| chary about mentioning in pub
| lie anything about the plans of any
| member OF the bench. The Chief Jus
tire, who, in carly life ran Demo-
| cratic newspaper down in Maine.
| holds to the formalitiea about public
speaking much more tenaciously than
do many Of his associates. Justice
Brewer, for instance. frequently speaks
| in public. His addresses on many diff
| ferent occasions have attracted wide
attention. He is eloquent. keeps well
| Informed on all the questions Of the
| hour and never speaks without con-
| tributing something to the public
thought. Justice Harlan also speaks
| sometimes in public. but less frequent
| ly than his brother Brewer.
Nearly all the other seven members
of the bench hold aloof from public Mt
| teranCes. The Chief Justice will not
make any kind of q public address. In
a spirit of good nature. a few wears
| ago, some Of his friends in the Wash
ington Association Of Bowdoin College
Alumni took him to task because he did
not speak at their annual banquets
They had always been accustomed to
having addresses from the President of
tne ASSOCIATION on such occasions
The Chief Justice made some execution
to his rule and for a few years did de-
| liver brief addresses at the annual
banquets. He has also spoken at the
Bowdoin Commencement dinners in
Brunswick But he thinks that the
Chief Justice should not indulge in
public remarks.
1t is now almost eighteen years since
he was appointed as Chief Justice.
President Cleveland designated him
for the office April 80. 1888, but he was
not confirmed by the Senate till July
20 of that year and he did not take the
oath of office till October following,
| that having been the date on which
court assembled after the summer re-
cess. 1t was exactly fifty years ago
IN 1S5t-that Chief Justice Fuller be-
came President of the Augusta Com
mon council and served as city solicit
or. That was year after he had
been admitted to the Kennebec County
| bar
Eighteen years is a long while for
q Democrat to have served at the head
| of one of the three coordinate branches
Of the United States government. es-
| pt cially when the government has been
| most of that time in the hands of the
| opposition political party. Eut the
| chief justice and associate justices of
| the supreme court are chosen for life.
| |. iS
that the chief justice, in his time. has
| been very active in politics. He has
been a delegate 10 four successive
Democratic national conventions, be-
| ginning in 1864, when Mcclellan was
nominated for the Presidency. He was
also in the conventions that nomina ted
| Greeley, Tilden and Hancock He
served for two years during the Civ1i
| War as d member Of the Illinois Legis-
| lature and prior to that assisted in
drawing new constitution for the
state of Illinois. He had all the predi-
lections for politics that Most young
men from Maine have and was quite
as successful at it as have been most
OF the young men who have gone from
the State to seek careers elsewhere
| Chief Justice Fuller holds .he degree
| OF LII ID. from BoWdoin College, of
which he j. graduate in the class of
1853. Bowdoin fastened to honor him
with that degree soon after he was
elevated to the supreme bench. North
western University also conferred the
same degree upon him the Same year
| Harvard. where he attended law lee
lures as young man, conferred the
same honor upon him two years later,
as did Yale and Dartmouth in 1901
He is not, however, the only member
OF the supreme court holding an LII. d.
from Bowdoin. Justice Harlan has
been similarly honored by the institu
1 tcn at Brunswick and SO has Justice
! Brewer For many years Chief JUS
tice Fuller has been member Of the
pcafd OF trustees of Bowdoin and he