The Washington herald., 1909-03-07

and other heirs for whom he interceded
Mr. Miller was selected by the Supreme
Court Of Illinois a few years ago as one
Of a commission OF five lawyers 70 see
what could be done toward revising the
practice act OF the state courts lie found
that Illinois. il its legal as well as its
geographical aspects. was a long state.
with widely diverse ideas about court
procedure. Far down IN the state, where
the conditions and relationships OF life
/ are essentially different from those in
busy. commercial Chicago. he discovered
that the attorneys generally clung to the
old common law ideas Of practice. Else
where there we're notifications and i'm
I! prOvements grated on 20 suit civic en-
vironment He did much TO harmonic
these differences and 10 simplify practice.
For that he earned the gratitude OF his
fellows OF the bar. but very little or any
thing else.
Illinois outgrew its ol5-time assessment
laws just as II outgrew is esrly-day legal
practice Il needed a new system. The
State authorities cast about for men
qualified 70 devise a better way OF raising
revenues They selected Mr.. Miller as
one Of four 10 undertake this work. He
was a busy man, with legal Affairs o.
his own. but again re proved a soldier
loyal to his State. and his service was
one Of enduring value From the dollar
viewpoint he misi4. well have Stunned
the task.
In the veins OF this man flows the blood
OF the Puritan and the Scot. On HIS
fathers side his ancestry was a good
old Massachusetts breed. His mother 5
maiden name was Mcleod. which stands
for the spirit Of the land Of the heather
and the bagpipe. Somewhere down the
lire an Irish strain was infused Thus
between the covers Of the Miller book Of
Genesis is found the secret OF the Chi
cago lawyers high sense Of honor. Of his
dogged perseverance and his disdain %
temporary defeat. OF his keen-edged intel
lect. OF his saving flud of hum0r. In
deed. every trait ~ his mind and charac-
ter may be traced straight back 20 a germ
in his f0rbears- He took the germ and
nurtured and developed IL until there are
a hundred mental and moral c0rCIaries.
each distinctive Of the type.
tt means much 90 the after life % AIr.
Miller that he was born and reared In a
small town where he came into intimate
contact with those about him and where
he learned the value OF thoroUghness IN
little things He Is native of Louis
vile. 81 Lawrence County. y Y. and
came into the world Nav a ISE. He
was graduated from ST Lawrence Uni
versity in 1872 The sturdy mentality Of
the boy was shown when he chose for
his graduating Grafton q deeply philo-
sOphicsl subject once an alumnus he
became an Instructor IN mathematics and
the Latin and Greek languages in his
alma mater Mathematics shaTpened his
reasoning powers. and the language study
made him feel Is well IS know. the
meaning OF the words % his own tongue
an accomplishment that has served him
weu in his life work.
He spent his college vacations in the
Office q his father. who was county clerk
There legal terms and relationships grew
as familiar 20 him as balls and strikes
20 the lad on the bleachers- He became
acquainted with lawyers who wanted 20
know things and absorbed the whole
technical jargon Of the courts. He read
law at night during his teaching period
and was admitted 20 the bar al Ogdens-
burg. y Y. in $50 when he was twenty
4 three yeas old -Four years later ne went
/ 10 Chicago and began the professional
/ career which has brought him information
al fame.
/ II the Western metropolis his first work
/ was in the office Of Herbert * Quick
Mr. Herbert was a eiftcd lawyer Of the
! old fashioned type. His specially In law
was the care and settlement Of trust es-
tates. In that branch he was almost
unique in his day Il was a field OF great
/ responsibility. but Of no Ereat publicity
( After a short period OF service young
E Miller became the third member Of the
I firm and the trial lawyer Of the trio
This work did not bring him into the
limelight before the public, but those who
/ measured swords with him IN the court
room quickly discovered his capacity and
/ industry and friCtiOnlesS way he wen.
about things II was in this period the
I Riverside. Jackson Park and FlacIel
cases came up and were disposed Of.
During this quiet foundation LAYING
other lawyers observed his ready absorb
ton OF facts and his remarkable faculty.
/ Of selecting the dominant. controlling
ones He was Ike the miniature painter
I who studies every detail of the surface
but stiI more Ike the etcher who seizes
7 upon the salient magnificent lines at a
( glance.
{ This gift Of selection was never more
strikingly illustrated than when he be-
! came corporation counsel for the civ OF
1 Chicago in 1S9l. an Office he held fo~ two
I years. After a survey OF the field before
( him. he chose for special effort three
/ things which he thought were for The
! greatest good OF the city These he press
! ed forward with ali the genius and Indus
( try he possessed. They were the lake
. front case, the traCk-elevatiOn issue. and
the right 20 open streets across railways
I and highways. In the Illinois Central
( case the courts held. as he cOnteDded
i that the bed Of navigable waters belongs
/ 70 the people and IS held in trust by the
State for them.
There were complex propositions and
/ abstruse problems of law iu this series Of
/ cases, but the facne Miller miad QuaIleC
/ before none Of them As readily as hs
had digested the little routine things II
st. Lawrence County. he became mastel
Of large affairs when his mind was TO
cUsed on them. In that adaptation 10 the
tasks before him he IS not unlike EIihy
Root. Paul Cravath. or William Guthrie
I The professional lives Of these men are
the QuOd erst demonstraudum OF the uIti-
mate proposition that the man who come.
out Of the field Of small things where h,
handled them wei is the best equipped q
meet and solve the big things.
Mr.. Miller tackled the BEEF trust case
formidable as IL was. as coolly as If h
were opening primer 10 read 10 child
No temporary reverses daunted him in IN,
court room In this suit. as in others Of
big import. he had. as legal friend OF hi,
remarked. no pride OF opinion. none o
the vanity that sometimes leads a Iawye-
likely 20 stand the test before the man OF
the bench He brought into play The rar,
gift OF. estimating accurately in advanc,
the view which the judge would be likely
20 take OF the questions involved IN n,
suit He pressed that view for all sher,
I was IN him. For his im-u-d diate pIrpos,
] h., ~zs1 ~.o-1arr, h4r~a..r4 ~---sf, a.