Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1910-07-29

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-
lions great administrative ability is
required of the chief justice of the Su-
preme court. This quality Chief JUS
tfce 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 mild-mannered voice,
which in recent years has been al
most inaudible to those seated on
the edge of the court room, was ire
mendous force of character and a
keen sense of justice and capability
for nard 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 it possible for him to fix his So
cial status where he willed. He had
no liking whatever for anything
hacking 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 At
the time when congress was daily re-
ceiving messages from the White
House spelled in the new form of or
typography and when the house of rep
resentatives was trying to nerve itself
to the point of putting a quietus on
this new system Justice Fuller quietly
squelched its use in the Supreme
court. At that time the government
printing office, under orders from
President Roosevelt, was printing all
documents for the executive depart
ments, including the department of
Justice, in phonetic spelling. This in
cluded briefs which were submitted to
the Supreme court In land case
presented to the court Solicitor Gen.
leral HeLry M. Hoyt offered one of
these briefs. In glancing through it
hastily Chief Justice Fuller espied a
quotation from an opinion rendered by
former Associate Justice Bradley, in
which the word through" was spelled
thru"
Did ! understand you to say that
this purports to be literal quotation
from the opinion of Justice Bradley %
iinquired the chief justice.
1t was not necessary for him to say
more. Mr.. Hoyt realized from this In
fQNhS 1hAS phohSeAS SpSAAihS "OuAu AOt
he tolerated by the Supreme court,
and that serious blunder had been
made in changing the spelling used
by a former member of that court. He
promptly and quietly informed the
court that there would be no repeti-
ton of the offense. That ended pho
netic spelling in the third coordinate
branch of the government. and short
ly thereafter congress itself limited it's
use to correspondence between the ex-
ecutive departments.
With other members of the court,
Justice Fuller had an adherence for
those who used its decisions as a We