The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1910-09-23

modern thought, the late chief justice
well illustrated the purpose OF the
bench by listening to the reasonable
arguments of lawyers better versed
at the outset than he, and before the
end OF his judicial career was found
in the Supreme court record revers-
ing the applied principles OF law
which he brought with him to Wash
ington. BY many astute lawyers this
Is regarded as one of the most striking
examples of the largeness of the judi
cial mind of the late chief justice.
Combined with these judicial func-
tions great administrative ability Is
required of the chief justice of the Su-
preme court. This quality Chief JUS
tice Fuller possessed In great degree.
Few, If any, complaints have ever
been made during his administration
as presiding officer of the court that
the wheels Of justice Of the highest
tribunal of the land were turning too
slowly or unevenly. Behind the out
ward manifestation of the courtly gen.
tleman and his mildmannered voice,
which In recent years has been al
most inaudible to those seated on
the edge of the court room, was tre-
mendous force of character and
keen sense OF justice and capability
for hard and persistent work wholly
out OF proportion with his years.
Justice Fuller never pretended to
voice the opinions of any one but him
self and had no liking for the lime
light His position in Washington
made IL possible for him to fix his so
cial status where he willed. He had
NO liking whatever for anything
smacking OF ostentatious display. On
and off the bench he was the personi
fication of judicial dignity. He pos
sessed a sense of humor which he EN-
ployed quietly and with effect. The
subjects of his conversation were full
of substance, scholarly and profound
and rich In wisdom.
1t was Justice Fuller who practically
settled the fate of the Roosevelt
propaganda for phonetic spelling. A
the time when congress was daily re
ceivlng messages from the White
House spelled In the new form of or
biography and when the house Of rep
resentatives was trying to nerve itsel
to the point of putting quietus ol
this new system Justice Fuller quietl
squelched its use in the Suprem
court. At that time the government
printing office, under orders fron
President Roosevelt, was printing al
documents for the executive depart
ments, including the department O
Justice. in phonetic spelling. This II
cluded briefs which were submitted {
the Supreme court. In land cas-
presented to the court Solicitor Ger
eral Henry NJ Hoyt offered one c
these briefs, In glancing through
hastily Chief Justice Fuller espied
quotation from an opinion rendered b
former Associate Justice Bradley.
which the word through" was spelle
''thru."
did understand you to say thi
this purports to be literal quotatio
from the opinion of Justice Bradley
inquired the chief Justice,
II was not necessary for him to SO
more MIR. Hoyt realized from this 1
Quiry that phonetic spelling would n,
be tolerated by the Supreme cour
and that serious blunder had bee
made in changing the spelling use
by former member OF that court. +
promptly and quietly informed Il
court that there would be no repe
tion of the offense. That ended ph
netic spelling in the third co-ordina
branch OF the government. and shol
ly thereafter congress itself limited 1
use 10 correspondence between the e
ecutive departments.
With other members OF the coul
Justice Fuller had an adherence 4
those who used Its decisions as '