The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1910-04-01
JUSTICE BREWER
dies SUDDENLY
TWENTY YEARS OF SERVICE ON
BENCH OF NATIONS HIGH
EST COURT.
Passing of Member Of Court May Com
pel New Hearing of Standard Oil
and Other Trust Cases - Appointed
by President Benjamin Harrison.

Washington, March 29.-David 10
siah Brewer, associate justice of the
Supreme Court of the United States,
died last night at 1O:3O o'clock, of a
stroke of apoplexy. His death &C.
Cured before he could be carried to
he'd. Mrs. Brewer was with him when
the end came. Justice Brewer was al
most 70 years old.
Profound in Corporation Law.
Justice Brewer was essentially a
Western man, and his sympathies were
always with the West. He was deeply
yersed in corporation law and will be
missed immensely during the framing
of opinions of the Supreme Court on
the momentous questions concerning
the Standard Oil and Tobacco cases
now under consideration.
In his earlier days Justice Brewer
camped regularly in the Rocky Noun
tains and was fond of outdoor life.
He was member of the old Field fam
lily, being a nephew of the late Justice
Stephen J. Field and Cyrus w. Field.
Justice Brewers death raises SER
ious question as to the action of the
court regarding the Standard Oil and
American Tobacco Company SUITS, and
it is not improbable that the cases will
have to be retired, since there now re-
main but seven justices to pass upon
them, Justice Moody not having par
ticipated in the trials by reason of con-
tinued illness.
Junior Only to Mr.. Justice Harlan.
Justice Brewer came to the Supreme
Court of the United States from the
Federal court in Kansas. He was the
second oldest member of the court,
Justice Harlan only being his senior.
| He was regarded as the most democra-
tic of all the members of the court, at
fable, approachable and accommodate
| ing. He was the one man on the
bench who had proof copies of his
opinions prepared for the newspapers.
and this he did consistently.
Another characteristic of the jurist
was that he never took any of the
time of the court or the public in an
nouncing his opinions. He reached
1the conclusion probably many years
Iago that the audience in the court
room was so extremely limited that it
was pure waste of time to read opin-
ions there. He would give in a few
words his conclusions, and then hand
ed down the proof sheets of his opin-
ion, always completely arranged.
Appointed by President Harrison.
In 1884 Mr.. Brewer was appointed
judge of the Circuit Court of the
United States for the eighth district.
He was appointed as associate justice
of the United States Supreme Court
by President Harrison to succeed JUS
tice Stanley Matthews, deceased, in
December, 1889, and was commission
ed Dec. 10, 1889.
Among other Offices of dignity and
trust in which he served were as pres
ident of the Venezuela boundary COM
mission, to which he was appointed by
President Cleveland; member of the
arbitration tribunal to settle the boun-
Diary dispute between British Guiana
and Venezuela; orator at the bicen-
tenary of Yale University in 1901;
president of the international congress
of lawyers and jurists, St. Louis, 1904.
He also received the degree of LII. D..
from Iowa College, Washburn College,
Yale University, State University of
Wisconsin, Wesleyan University of
Middleton, Conn; University of Yer
mont, and Bowdon College.
Did Much for Women and Education.
Justice Brewer had long been noted
for his interest in education and for
his firmness toward the question of wo-
mems rights. Long before he attain
ed judicial position he was active in
the management of school affairs in
Kansas, where he went to make his
home after his graduation from Yale
College.