Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-12-02

Another illustration OF his figurative
style may be found at the close of his
argument in the proceedings by adj
dress before the Maine Legislature in
1891. Now that the clamOr of this
great debate and cause will soon be
still-as of old after the wind, the
earthquake and the storm, there is TO
come that still, small voice in the
conscience of every one of you which
is to pass upon and decide this ques-
ton. The State, no individual, is on
trial here Individuals may come or
go, but Justice and the State endure.
Even fame is a candle almost as brief
as life itself, and honor and disgrace
alike will soon be put to sleep by the
sprinkled poppy of oblivion. But there
remains with us the majesty of the
eternal Justice
You are here in the broad and noble
spirit of the old Roman Senate, to see
that the Republic takes no harm. If
you should omit this duty, if you
should betray this trust,
Not poppy orr mandfagora.
Nor ali the drowsy syrups OF the world,
Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet
Which late thou owednst."
You are the watchers on the coast
Beneath you are the rocks. One fair
ship. with it's freight of talent and of
promise, has just sunk before your
eyes. In front, and far out at sea,
stretching beyond the horizons edge,
through the stress of the dark and the
night, down drives the fleet of the
future, straight toward the rocks which
split and sink. Your vote must light
the signal, for rescue or for ruin. The
good ships wait for you. What shall
the signal be,-false lights to beckon,
or beacon to warn and save?"
AS a trial lawyer Mr.. Baker did not
rely solely upon the breadth and ac-
curacy of his general knowledge of the
law, or upon the fertility of his re-
sources; but he subjected the details
of each case to a thorough analysis and
his preparation for trial was painstak-
ing and complete. In presenting the
evidence to the jury his method of con-
Quoting the direct examination of his
witnesses was so gently persuasive
and subtly argumentative as to avoid
objection on the part of opposing
counsel and when his testimony was
closed, the probative force of every
fact was understood by the jury, and
often no closing argument was re-
quired. AS a cross-examiner, probably
no lawyer in the state was so greatly
feared and dreaded by all witnesses
who were tempted to prevarication and
falsehood. Such was the mercileSs
power of his sarcasm and ridicule, and
his relentless pursuit of the witness
from point to point, that the mental
torture of his victim was often pain
fully manifest
But however strong his personal
conviction night be that no argument
was necesS;i Any f.'Vcr faltered in his
summing u to The jury in important
cases, but with an accurate and almost
intuitive perception of the legal
principles involved, with splendid
analysis and marvellous grasp of all
the evidence, with superb expression
and confident assertion, with splendid
rhetoric and faultless logic, and with
eloqUcnce attuned to the general
harE! ony of effect, he strove to carry
conviction to the minds of the jury.
In complicated cases, he stalked with
aggressive courage across the devious
ways of conflicting details of testimony
and safely took the main avenue to the
cor uSion for which he contended.
Several of his arguments before the
Ia " court were striking illustrations Of
the creative power and expansive force
If the principles of the common law
Ind their adaptability, in the hands of
a master, to new conditions in in
dustriaf and social life. BY thus aid
ing to establish what are termed new
rules of law, he has made valuable
contributions to the jurisprudence of
Maine.
In 1885 he was elected attorney
general of the state and no lawyer in
Maine ever came to that office with
more admirable qualifications for the
proper and successful discharge of it's
duties. In the prosecution of Stain
and Cromwell upon the charge of
murder, his closing argument was
masterpiece of analytical power and
forensic oratory rarely if ever sur
passed in New England since the days
of Webster and Choate. 1t is scarcely
an eXaggeration to apply to him the
language recently employed by Mr.
Dawson in describing Edmund Burke.
He lifted the most formidable burdens
Of thought with easy mastery. probing
their profoundest depths with almost
superhuman power and insight. When
once his imagination caught the flame
his whole mind seemed to flow. of
passion. of feeling, without an effort"
Across MS sea of mind
The thought cane streaming like a
blazing ship
Upon 4 mighty wind"
He possessed exceptional powers of
mental concentration and long sus-
| tanned effort, and with his great
talents, keen discrimination, ripe
scholarship and extensive knowledge,
with his highly cultivated literary
tastes and rare artistic sense, he could
not have failed to achieve distinction
| in any department of intellectual effort
to which the study of his life might
have been devoted. But he wisely
chose for his life work the study and
practice of the great science of human
rights and social tranquility. With an
unsurpassed alertness of mind and i'm
perturable self command, he was
admirably equipped for the contest of
the forum and easily beat a pathway