The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-04-28


ever he might respect Roosevelt.
So Taft went under the meridian OF
his life with destiny laying another
ordeal upon him, for the superstruc-
ture Of his character was not complet
ed. To the habit OF industry acquired
In his youth, to the spontaneous,
wholesome nature OF his young man
hood to the unselfishness and fine al
truism OF his maturity, another vital
principle OF life had TO be developed
and proved before he could be called
a man. In this life, how fate ham,
mers men on the anvil Of hard cir
cumstances to fashion them In the like
ness OF the Master Worker. Some OF
us crumble, some Of us break, some
of us show great flaws and some of
us many little ones, while none OF us
Is perfect; apd the sparks of agony,
OF shame, OF heartache, of sorrow and
of bitterness fly from each of us upon
the merciless anvil, under the mex
orable hammer Of the days. But
once In long time there comes from
some soul under the sledge flash OF
sheer white JOY, and that soul is Of
steel, true, well tempered and worthy.
And the Mastersmith smiles as He
watches the hammer and the anvil
fashioning that thing into useful in
strument Of His purpose.
SO with the spring Of youth still In
his step, firm, hard, masculine step,
young Judge Taft went into his life's
work. Thirty-five is rather young for
man to sit in court but one remove
from the highest court In his country.
II was said Of him that he lacked dig.
nifty; that he laughed too easily; that
he romped with his wife and babies
too much, and that-horribile dictu!-
he hummed and whistled at his work
! in his office, and surrounded himself
with no ceremonious outer guards, but
worked by an open door. His blond
mustache, his merry blue eyes, his
heavy mop OF dark-brown hair and the
cherubic look on his big face. con
spired with his soft, sibilant, self
deprecatOry voice to create the i'm
preston that he was like the good
aster of the song, Mild and lovely
gentle as the summer breeze; and so
In the Debs strike of 1894 a labor
leader named Phelan came down to
Cincinnati to call the boys out on a
railroad which, for the moment, was
in Judge Taft's court in receivership.
Here was the whole Mississippi valley
paralyZed by strike of railroad en-
ployees who had the country terror
lied No judge among all the gray
boards on the bench had reached out
an effective hand to stop the spread of
disorder. And Phelan took casual
| glance at the youthful-looking person
on the circuit bench, and after the
court had adjourned Phelan from in
citing the men to strike he held a
meeting, deled the court, and called
out the boys. But Phelan made bad
guess and went to jail for contempt OF
court, as result Of that casual glance
at the young judge who whistled in
his Office. Phelan overlooked the jaw,
a broad, hard canine feature, well up
holstered insadipose, but still power.
full lever that did not bulge under
pressure. Judge Taft gave Phelan a
trial. Having heard the evidence, the
Judge announced that he would render
his decision at noon on the fourth day
thereafter
AS the second and third day passed,
the forces of disorder attempted to
terrorize the Judge. Feeling grew
bitter, and the judges friends urged
him TO defer his decision; or to post
pOne the reading of the decision; or to
let 1t be read and absent himself from
court-at least to have a body guard.
But Taft and his stenographer worked
on. All the night OF the third day he
spent on his decision, going over ii
and over II. The stenographer weari-
ed toward morning. and the Judge
went on alone. At halfpast nine OF
the fourth morning the stenographer
came back and the two worked until
noon. A great crowd had assembled
in the courtroom. There was danger
In the air. Judge Taft, with the
bland smile on his cherubic face
mounted 10 the bench and read the
decision which sent Phelan to jail
AS he read the fires of just wrath be
gan to glow in the judges eye and
color began to flame In his face. AS
he finished he addressed the sullen
crowd before him, and his voice rang
out in a clear challenge like the blast
from horn. when you leave this
room / want you to go with the con
viction that II there is any power In
the army of the United States
to run these trains these trains
will rum" and the big iron fist
banged on the bench, and the man OF
wrath looked into the faces of those
who had threatened him, and they saw
their MASTER The Judge rose, strobe
to his room, and the crowd melted
lsilently away. He had stood the test
Moral courage, backed by physical
courage, had been welded into his
soul.
Three times in his judicial career
was Judge Taft compelled by the evi
dence and the law to decide against
organized labor. And not once did he
finch. He is an ambitious man
That Is written big in his face, but
courage is written stronger--not mere
physical courage, but that fine, in
domitable. spiritual thing that stamps
a face with an ineradicable dye
moral courage. And so. as he sat on
the bench glorying In his strength and
joyous at his work, cheerful, simple
and glad of the blessing OF life, the
white spark flashed out under the
hammer and anvil of fate and circum
stances, and the man was made good
good for higher things. And by the
mysterious equation of justice that
runs through his life, that decision
against Phelan in the labor strike oil
1894 was used in another federal cour,
nine years later to defend labor in
another strike, and so just and faii
and reasonable was 1t that today at
torneys for labor unions quote II In the
defense of their clients in ordering
peaceful necessary strikes for higher
wages
Labor has advanced in a dozer