Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1908-01-03

short term at the Albany IN. " law
school after which he studied law in an
office in Wellsborough, Pa.
Came West in 1857.
In 1857 he came west to GAINESVILLE,
where he entered the law office of H.
s. Conger, afterwards judge of that cir
cult. Later he became member of the law
firm of Bennett, Cassoday & Gibbs.
This partnership continued for seven
years. For two years he practiced alone.
then in company with the late Willard
Merrill of Milwaukee and after that with
Edward F. Carpenter, a half brother of
late Senator Carpenter, until he was APP
pointed to the supreme bench in 1880.
Justice Cassoday was a Republican.
He was a delegates to the Baltimore
convention in 1864 that nominated Lin
coin for reelection. The same year he
was elected to the state Assembly. Ia
1876 he was again elected to the Assem-
bly, and chosen it's speaker. He was a
delegate-at-large to the Republican ma
tional convention at Chicago in 1880 and
was chairman of the delegation. 1t was
through his tact and far sightedness
that the Wisconsin delegation on the
thirty-fourth ballot broke the deadlock
| by casting it's vote for Garfield and on
the second ballot following the Ohoan
was elected.
Chief Justice Ryan of the supreme
curt died in 1880, creating a vacancy in
that court. Immediately the Rock coun-
ty bar addressed a petition to Gov.
Smith asking the appointment of Mr..
| Cassoday to the vacancy. Justice Cole,
the Oldest member of the bench, was ap-
pointed chief justice and Mr.. Cassoday
associate justice In 1889 Justice Casso-
day was reelected without opposition, re-
ceiving 21O,S99 votes. Upon the death
of Chief Justice Orion in July, 1895, JUS
tice Cassoday became chief justice I'M
der the law, he being the oldest judge in
! point of service.
Since taking his place on the bench
Justice Cassoday had shown regard for
ing entirely from all active participate
i'm political affairs. Both as lawyer and
nudge, he had always been a hard stu
dent with great care for details and
methods, close reasoner, an untiring
worker and unsparing of effort in the
cessful at the bar from the beginning
and during his twenty odd years of prac-
tice was never wanting in clients.
Notable Dissenting Opinion.
Conspicuous among the many notable
cases which have come before the Wis
consin supreme court during Justice
Cassoday's long term of service was the
suit to determine which Of the state
tickets claimed to be Republican after
the clash of nominating conventions in
1904 should be printed in the Republican
column on the official ballots prepared
by the secretary of state. The court
it will be remembered, decided this ques-
ton on technical grounds. Chief JUS
tice Cassoday on this occasion wrote a
dissenting opinion which went into the
merits of the controversy. 1t will long
be read with interest by students of his
tory as well as by students of law.
Justice Cassoday is survived by foul
Mrs. George II. Wheelock of Soutl
Bend, Ind. Mrs. Carl johnson of Madi
son and Mrs w. H. Jacobs of Madison
and one son, Eldon ]. Cassoday of Chi
cago.
A bill was introduced in the last SEES
| sion of the Legislature to pension JUS
tice Cassoday. 1t passed the. Senate,
| but was so amended in the Assembly
that it was unsatisfactory to the gov
ernor, who vetoed it. The bill originally
| provided that if any justice of the SUI
preme court over 70 years of age retire
| from his office after twenty years OF
| continuous service he shall receive from
| the state treasurer a sum equal to the
salary at the time of his retirement
! One amendment adopted by the Assem-
| bly, cut down the proposed pension to
| one-half the salary and another made it
go into effect after the expiration of the
term of Justice Cassoday. The measure
was vetoed a few days before the final
adjournment of the Legislature and was
laid on the table in the Senate.