The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-19
PARKER LAUDS DEAD JUSTICE. Tributes Are Paid Judge
 PeckhaIn. THE SUPREME COURT MEETS Membens ot the Bar Adopt
 Resolutions. Declare. That Fer : Fsii Haif Cen- tury He served The Cause ! sf Justice without Fear
 CT without Re-

Court rooms at the capitol today ana adopted resolutions commemorating the late Justice Peckham.
 Judge Parker speaks.
 In his address. Alton E. Parker ot New York paid high tribute to Jus tiee Peckham, and incidentally spoke of the highest court of the nation in terms of praise.
 "We are here today" he, said. ito commemorate a pubic career emDody- ing the highest development of our democratic institutions, as manifested in our judicial system. and, at the same time. to recall man sturdy, independ- ent. kindly. modest, weii-poised and many-slded.
 Peckham to the law was akin to his heritage Of life Itself. He came from an ancestry distinctly legal. There have been families whose mempers have illustrated In one generation ar ter another. the best human qualities but our history does not reveal another in which the public career of a son nas touched that of a father at more. II so many. points,.
 After citing instances in which Judge Peckham and Judge Peckham father had nlied the same positions. Mr. Parker continued: a
 sIits personality was engaging and kindly. His attachment for old friends warm and tenacious. Ills hatred or fraud and deceit was so deep-seated and his vigilance in its detection so untiring, that he who. In the words Of Lord Blackburn, so palters Tn double sense as to Lie like truth could not thereby escape the consequences or his deceit.
 ..He loved justice with all his heart. and his nighest. indeed his only. am bition was to devote his life to its ad- ministration. Therefore. he welcomed the opportunity which his modesty and dignity prevented him from seeking, of service to all the people of the United States in their court of last resort.
 .And SO, in a process of evolution as orderly--I had almost said as any ot tne processes of nature--Rufus w.. peckham came to be constituent of Inc tribunal which occupies this mod est court room. And what triDunaH
 .It Is at once the eminence and the basa of the most imposing. the most henaficent. the most firmly planted of the Governments the world aas ever known. \
 ..In It's beginning. statesmen and stu dents of history gravely considered whether a Government could live with such power lodged in the court; nut
 
 century and nearly one-quarter. invoiv- inc bitter strife in the domain of poll sics heated and even angry controver- utea in the legislative halls, quarrels between the legislative and the execu- five. and contest of arms evoking destruction of lives and maternal treasure appalling to the imagination. and a wider radiance Of nope anu as rurance among mankind.
 Court Es a Bulwark.
 .-rhro,,xh 1t all this court has pre- ..rvea lis serenity, It's majesty It's Tn f,uence. It's power and the respect anu confidence of all the people. TO tne sovereign State it says. nere is ule itv; to the legislative department. sts+a ar national. it says. you have a~caaded the limit of your power ana s.a,,r aoine is void;' to the humblest, and most destitute of humans It un- locks the prison door closed upon nm. by a sovereign; to the greatest asere gatIona of organized wealth ana pow
 ,t .ava dissolve and disperse, and IT. ,s so. And all this has been accom- ] r,isbed in the words of the Marquis da Mohis by power which has no guards. no palaces, no treasures. no ] armies, but truth and wisdom.
 Justice Peckham. he said. had en,
 
 affection of the peoplS TOT tne preme Court.
 Unto this court, the very crown of o,r iudicial system" he continued. .,JudEe Peckham entered with his ripe experience buttressed by strong mental equipment. As result he aid not have to grope his way but as sumea at once his natural place among eouals As he had adopted for his own the apostolic commands: "Whatso- aver thy hand finds to do. do 1t with all thy might his phenomenal Indus fry was newly devoted to the consid- eration of the most vital questions just as it had been gwen .c those which had absorbed him during the whole of his career as lawyer and
 "It was his privilege, although he cotld not foresee 1t at the beginning; to be A member of the Court during neriod when more questions of far coaching national importance were to he passed upon than during any like period in the history of the Court. as tt was also to be his pleasure to be aesociated with Justices whose useful ness to the Court and the country hal not been surpassed in the history of the court.
 Tt Is not given to the bar and the nublic to know the extent to which each or any member of the Court con tributes to its usefulness. Our Judg ment Is based solely upon the opinions written. But the real work of court. which follows the method of tho Eunreme Court of deciding a case be- fore the Chief Justice designates who ahall write the opinion. is in the con- euItation room behind closed doors. There each labors with a singleness of purpose to produce correct re- suit.
 ham have given us, who were his per z aonal friends and admirers, great sat- isfaction, and while we know not the secrets of the consultation room. our personal knowledge of this wise. just and fearless man assures us that he met with unfailing freshness and vigor of mind. the vital questions that come before the Court during his term of service and contributed his full part to their elucidation and settle ment.
 Therefore are we in this hour of sorrow most devoutly and patrioticat- sAy thankful for the opportunity for service, and it's rendition. by that learned jurist to the Supreme Court and to all the people Of theb United States"
 A committee with United States Senator Root as chairman, presented resolutions which were adopted and which declared that flor a full half century he served the cause of jus