Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1908-10-23
SKILLED IN THE LAW
Success of Mr.. Taft as Solicitor
General.
WON MANY NOTABLE SUITS.

Victorious In the Celebrated Alaskan
Seal Fisheries Controversy-His De-
Tense of the Mckinley Bill-Refused
Golden offers For Seat on the
Federal Bench.
Mr. Taft's eight years of history
making utility upon the bench of the
Sixth federal circuit during most of
which period he was presiding judge,
were prefaced by three years. of high
accomplishment as solicitor general of
the United States. President Harri-
son picked him to be the legal repre-
sentative of the United States in ac-
tive litigation in 1890, when he was
only thirty-three years old and still had
three years of his elective term upon
the superior court bench in Ohio to
serve. Solicitor general of the United
States at thirty-three! Scarcely more
than boy in years as ripened matu-
rity Is reckoned and already doing
deeds of national moment-deeds of
international moment, to be exact, for
inside of two weeks of taking the
oath he had put up to him the defense
of the government in the Alaska seal
fisheries controversy, at which the
courts and the diplomats of three coun-
tries-the United States, England and
Canada-had been dinging for fourteen
years.
Briefly the sum and substance of it
was this: We had captured and con-
demned to be sold the Canadian
schooner Sayward for illegal sealing in
Alaska waters. England and Canada
supported the claim of the owner for
damages, which we rejected. Pend
ing arbitration the case was brought
Unexpectedly before the supreme court.
1t was clever tactics on the other fell
lows part. and it put us in rather a
pickle. While Canada would not be
bound by an adverse decision if the
case went against her-that is. she
would not be compelled to accept the
decision as final-should we lose the
fact of our losing in our own court
would count against us.
The new solicitor general sailed in.
He read the documents. He clutched
and held fast. When he emerged from
the murk of international law. treaties,
precedent and kindred clarifies he had
a 300 page brief ready to present to
the court. 1t won, for him and for the
United States against two of the best
lawyers in the and-Joseph H. Choate
and Calderon Carlisle. Jr.
Then it fell to him to defend the
Mckinley bill in an action brought by
an importing firm who objected to
paying higher duties imposed by the
Dill and pleaded that Speaker Reeds
way of counting a quorum. by which
tactics the bill had passed the house
of representatives. was unconstitution-
al The importers urged that enough
members present in the house, al
though constituting numerical quo
rum, could break a quorum by not
voting.
IF voting and not present is neces-
sary TO make n quorum. why Is the
speaker empowered to employ the ser
geant at arms OF the house to compel
absentees to attend with the object of
making a quorum" queried Mr.. So
licitor General Taft The Mckinley
hill was saved.
The young solicitor general won
won, won and kept on winning for the
government for the two years he was
in office. Then President Harrison
set him upon what Mr. Taft felt would
be the track leading to his real ambi-
tion-the supreme court bench. He
named him as circuit judge. Judge
Taft accepted unhesitatingly. He did
1t in face Of the well meant advice of
friends who wanted him to be a money
maker. Attractive partnerships were
proposed 10 him 10y big law firms part
nefShips that meant $4,000 $4,000
and 100000 a wear The emoluments
of the bench were only $4,000 annual
~ Judge Taft shook his head. There
are bigger and better things than mon
ey,' was his reply to these gided sug-
gestions. He was then thirty He
was poor man. but he had enough.
He is now fifty-one and a poor man
still by the standard of the dollar.