The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-03-19
RARE EXHIBITS FROM THE
Department OF JUSTICE

Washington, March l2.-Wllat can a
lawyer exhibit to illustrate his pro-
fession? Is it possible for law Of
five successfully to compete as an ex-
hibitor of entertaining objects iIlustra-
ting its functions!
The department of justice at Wash
ington presided over by the attorney
general, who is the chief law officer
of the government, is Uncle Sans big
law office. The attorney general and
his assistants represent the United
States in all matters involving legal
questions, including the business of
the government in the supreme court
of the United States and the defense
of suits in the court of claims at
Washington; the attorney general pre-
pares opinions OH legal questions sub
mitted by the president or the eXecu-
| tive departments, and has general add
ministrative supervision of the bust
ness of the United States courts.
That the department of Justice can
successfully compete as an exhibitor
| is made clear by the very interesting
and instructive exhibit it made at the
jamestown exposition held at Norfolk
Va, last year.
At this exposition there were shown
most interesting collection of rec.
ords from the files of the United States
supreme court, among them being a
manuscript docket kept by Chief JUS
tice John Marshall, in 1920, and one
kept by Associate Justice Bushred
Washington in 1917. There were also
sworn yeniers for jury trials held by
the supreme court of the United States
in 1894 and 1895, and other ancient
records pertaining to this great court
which proved to be of great interest
to students and lawyers. To many
persons, even among the legal pro
fession the fact that jury trials had
ever occurred in the United States SUI
preme court was a revelation From
the files of the United States circuit
court ut Richmond Va, were exhibited
collection or original papers in tn,
/ Aaron Burr treason case among then
being the original indictment charg
ing Burr with treason against tn,
United States, and the original order
for Burr's arrest, signed by the chic
Justice of the United States, John Mar
shall This collection included tn,
original indictments against Herman
Blenncrhassett and jonathan Dayton
| for treason and raising military eX
petitions; also, subpoena duccs tecun
+ to President Jefferson and others, il
the case of Aaron Burr; the deposition
OF Aaron Burr as to a letter of Gen
eral Wilkinson to President Jefferson
material in his defense; and ailidavit'
bearing the signatures of Herman
Blcnncrhassett and Aaron Bur-
! Copies of rare text books and pub
lications of interest to lawyers were
shown, among them being an edition
in six volumes, OF old English stat,
trials and proceedings for high trca
son, commencing with the eleventh
year of the reign of King Richard ii
and ending with the sixteenth year o
the reign of King George LII, by Fran
els Hargravcs, Esq, printed in Londol
in l77G. These books contain com
plete records of the trial of Mar,
queen of Scots, for conspiracy agains
Queen Elizabeth, 1886; the trial of An
no Bolcyn for high treason, in 1886
the trial of Sir Walter Raleigh, il
1908, for high trcasons the trial o
Charles Stuart, king of England TO
high treason, 1913, the trials of Cap
tain William Kidd in l70l, and Jobl
Wilkes in 1863, for treason and muir
der, and many Others.
Possibly rs attractive as any othe
feature were the busts of the chic
justices of the supreme court of TIN
United States. The busts were mad
from the originals i'll the supreme cour