The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1908-10-29
SKILLED IN THE LAW
Success of mT. Taft as Solicitor
General.
WON MANY NOTABLE SUITS.

WUN MAN NU AoLE SDI ,.
Victorious In the Celebrated Alaskan
Seal Fisheries Con-roversy-His Cs-
tense of the Mc%inley Bi..-Refassd
Golden Offers For a Sca, On the
Federal Bench.
Mr. Taft's eight years OF history
making utility upon the ben h IF he
Sixth federal circuit during most Of
which period he was presiding judge.
were pGeiaeCd 10y three years oI ni-h
accomplishment as solicitor general Of
the United States. President Hurri-
son picked him to be the legal repre-
sentative Of the United States III ac-
| tive litigation in 1880. when he WIS
only thirly-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-thrce. Scarcely more
than a boy in years as ripencd matu-
rily is reckoned and already doing
T N''hN VI l'ltl OlltlI ll'lltul- OIL
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 fer 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 fnal-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 clutchcd
and held fast When he emerged from
! the murk of international law. treaties.
precedent and kindred clarifies he had
800 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 land-Joscph II. 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
/ paving higher duties imposed by the
| bill and pleaded that Speaker reeds
way Of counting 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 a numerical quo
rum. could break quorum by not
voting
IF voting and not present is neces-
Saly to make quorum. why is tina
speaker empowered to employ the ser
eeant at arms of the house to compel
abSentees to attend with the object of
| making Il quorumE" qucried Mr.. So
licitor General Taft. The Mckinley
bill 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 rea! ambi-
| tion-the supreme court bench He
named him as circuit Judge Judge
| Tart accepted unhesitatngly. He did
| 1t in face Of the well meant advice of
friends who wanted him to be a money
maker, Attractive partnerships were
proposed to him by big law firms. part
nerShipS that meant $4,000. $4,000
and 100000 a year The emoluments
of the bench were only $4,000 annual
ly Judge Taft shook his head. There
are bigger and better things than mon
ey.' was his reply to these gilded sug-
gestionS. He was then thirty-fye. lie
was poor man, but he had enough
He is now ffty-one and a poor man
still by the standard of the dollar