Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-21
BIG PLUMES FOR A LAWYER
More Legal Trophies for Inventor Of
the Immunity Bath"
CAREER OF THE REAL VICTOR
Corporations Tie 60 Him Because He
Delivers the Goods, but Occa-
siOnaIIy He sides with
the People.

The Standard OIL company directly, the
railroads and other rebating corporations
indirectly. are the beneficiaries of the
court ruling which annuls the prosecution
of the oil combine on criminal charges.
But the winner of the combine victory is
John 8. Miller. inventor Of the immunity
bath" for the Beef trust, after whose name
in the Chicago directory appears the single
word, attorney"
A correspondent OF the New York Herald,
detailing Mr.. Miller's career in the courts,
says of him:
Success In defending a big corporation
in cases where the public interest is at
stake does not tend to make q lawyer
more popular with the masses. In some
quarters Mr.. Miller is suffering the penalty
Of his legal powers. Thousands there are
who disbelieve he could do what he has
done and retain a clear conscience. They
do not understand how he can square his
work as a lawyer with his civic obliga-
lions as a man. Mr.. Miller is in bad com-
pany, say these critics, who complain that
he is turning his great talents into wrong
channels and forgetting his duty to his
fellowmen.
That is not the spirit In which Mr.. Miller
approaches his tasks. Neither is the popu-
lar view VI HliH Tic ht Va
of the legal profession. They take off their
hats In Difference to his ability. and just
as readily they grant him all the virtues
that omman respect among them-pro-
fessionai honor, purity of purpose, a lofty
conception OF citizenship, rreproachaole
private character, impulses of altruism'
. and-a conscience that is always at home.
John s. Miller has fought In the court
against corporations as hard and success
fully as he ever fought for them. Nlcto-
ries of his as corporation counsel for the
city of Chicago have saved the people
millions of dollars and thousands or hu-
man lives. To him., for instance, must be
chalked up the credit Of compelling raii-
road track elevation in the municipality.
He thrashed the Illinois Central Railroad
company soundly and saved TO the people
the navigable bed of the waters OF the lake.
He established the right of the people 10
open streets across railways and highways
without cost, taking the ground hat public
service corporations exist only by virtue
Of performing functions for the public ana
that their rights are incidental to the
rights of the people.
It was in this sort Of litigation he won
his spurs. The corporations did not enjoy
the thrashing, but they admired the way
OF the man WHO tnTdSHeu Ihcm' wv
time he won from them they gave him
a little more Of their respect. Then they
came to the conclusion that the best thing
10 do was to annex him on their own ac-
count. An able foe ought to be an equally
able defender, they argued. They tried
him and the results speak for themselves.
Corporations have no monopoly on the
service of Mr.. Miller. The latchstring OF
his office Is out whenever the people have
large interests at stake that need a cham
pion. They must be large interests, for
the talents of Mr.. Miller are large tall
ents, and there are plenty Of lawyers who
can take care of the little things. He
does not put the dollar above duty, but
he holds with the rest Of mankind that a
maj Is worthy OF his hire. Years of hard
work and study. a brain that Is crammed
full Of legal lore, an acute intellect, a
faculty for hitting upon and utilizing the
dominant ~facts-these make up an accum-
ulated capital on which 1t is fair to draw
at least the legal rate OF interest. Mr..
Miller's fees are large. but he is not a
usurer in his profession. He has the
goods. The customer may take them or
leave them, be he corporation magnate
or buyer for the people.
Many times he Is a volunteer in the serv-
ice Of the public good. Many times he
is drafted. In either case he is a loyal
soldier and a good fighter. Between the
hours Of his professional work he shows
his active devotion to the lofty aims of
the Citizens association and the Civic
Federation. His personal and private in
fiuence is on the side of those who are
trying to make society and the world bet
ter. II always has been 30, and that
was why years ago as a young maj he
walked every Sunday far out to one OF
the suburbs of Chicago and read the
service In a little Episcopal mission. He
stili goes to church regularly. because his
inclination runs that way and because he
thinks II Is the thing to do.
Corporations tie to him because he is a
good lawyer and knows where to hold the
shield to protect them. That is about all
the interest they have in him except they
think he also is a good fellow In the high
sense. Hundreds Of widows and orphans
in Cook county like him as lawyer and
love him as a man. In establishing their
rights and guarding their heritage he in
vested both his professional and personal
interest,".
Mr.. Miller was selected by the supreme
court Of Illinois a few years ago as one
OF a commission OF five lawyers to see
what could be done toward revising the
practice act OF the state courts He found
that Illinois, in Its legal as well as It's
geographical aspects. was a long state.
with, widely diverse ideas about court
procedure. Far down In tho state. where
the conditions and relationship OF life are
essentially different from those In busy,
commercial Chicago. he discovered that the
attorneys generally chung to the old COM
mon law ideas Of practice. there
were notifications and Improvement
grated on to suit civic environment. He
did much to harmonize these differences
and to simplify practice. For that he
earned the gratitude ~ his fellows OF the
bar. but very little OF anything else.
In the veins OF this man flows the blood
OF the Puritan and the Scot. On his faith
er's side his ancestry was a good old
Massachusetts, breed. His mothers maiden
name was Mcleod. which stands for the
spirit OF the land of the heather and the
bagpipe. Somewhere down the line ar
Irish strain was infused. Thus between
the covers of the Miller book OF Genesis Is
found the secret OF the Chicago lawyers