The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-11-08
Taft May Appoint Him to the
Supreme Court
FRIEND OF LONG STANDING
Tennessean Has Served on the Bench
With Taft and Stands High In
Profession.-Panama Canal
To Be Finished In 1915.

Wash ington, November 7.-(Special)
Those who know of the admiration in
which Judge Taft holds Judge Horace
Harmon Lurton OF the Sixth judicial
circuit will not be surprised should the
next President appoint the native Ken
tuckian to one of the vacancies which
may occur in the United States supreme
court. Judge Lurton is a democrat, or
rather was one when appointed to Of
flee, but 1t is stated that Taft's long
service on the bench with him may
outweigh the politics In the case.
Judge Lurton has been on the cir
cult bench of the Sixth district since
March 27, 1898. This circuit consists
of Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan and Ken
lucky, and is the circuit on whose
bench Mr.. Taft sat. The close asso-
citation at the time laid the foundation
of great friendship and mutual admi-
ration between the two men, which is
the explanation for the confidence
which so many people entertain that
Mr.. Taft will place his former judicial
colleague on the supreme court bench.
Judge Lurton is known as one of the
ablest circuit judges in the country. His
lawyers of all classes. His home is at
Nashville. Judge Lurton was born in
Newport, KY, in 1914. He graduated
from Cumberland university in Tennes-
see shortly after the civil war. He was
chief Justice of the supreme court of
Tennessee and was appointed to his
present position in 1898 by President
Cleveland.
1t is not believed here that Judge
Taft would be willing to appoint Sec
retary Root on the supreme bench, as
some of the eastern papers are now
predicting. The opinion at present is
that Root will succeed Plat in the
Senate and Roosevelt will succeed De-
pew in 1911.
Panama Canal Work.
sI agree with Colonel Goethals' estimate
that the work on the Panama canal will
be completed by January l. 1916, provided
the digging of the canal remains in charge
of the engineer corps of the army said
Herbert G. Squires, minister to Panama,
tonight.
''Taft's election will be popular on the
isthmus, as under his guidance the prog
ress of the canal to a successful finish
seems assured.
''The work of Colonel Gorgas in remedy
ing sanitary conditions on the isthmus
cannot be too much praised. He has en-
tirely rid the country of mosquitoes and
of yellow fever. Americans seem rather
to take it for granted that their sanitary
official would accomplish all of these
things, and 1t is the Frenchmen, English
men and Germans who have seen eff
forts to cope with unsanitary conditions in
the colonies of those countries who really
appreciate what has been accomplished
by Colonel Gorgas.''
Speeches BY the Ton.
Two hundred and thirty billion words
that Is the II digits figure turned out at
the government printing office for cam
paign purposes this year. The speeches
Of republican and democratic members
which were thought available for political
effect were struck off in almost countless
numbers. The committees paid for the
printing, and being extracts from the
Congressional Record the government
pays the postage.
The total weight of campaign speeches
printed since the beginning OF the Six
tieth Congress exceeds 100000, or about "A
carloads. The printed sheets would COM
pletely cover 45 square acres of ground,
and if each page could be laid end to
end a bicycle track 947 miles long could
be obtained. When printed on one side
only the sheets would double the above
distance. w. 8.