Omaha daily bee., 1911-08-13


thereafter twice elected 1 was elected first
over Judge John Barnd by majority of about LOO
votes, and the second time was elected over Judge
William L. Greene by majority of 4,196 votes. When
the populist wave came along Judge Silas A Hocomb
ran against me and defeated me by majority of Is
votes, according to the official count The district had
been cut down that it only included Buffalo, Sher
man, Custer and Dawson counties.
Immediately after my defeat by Judge Holcomb I
formed partnership with Judge H. NJ. Sinclair and
Senator Norris Brown, under the firm of Hamer,
Sinclair & Brown. l have steadily and ndustrously
practlced law since that time. have tried cases
In very many OF the counties of the state was sue
cesstu IN the first important in which was en-
ployed and have always had plenty of work to do as
lawyer: Ny term district Judge ceased on the 9Th
day of January, 1892
After Mr.. Conner and I removed to Kearney we
were soon busy with small professional matters. The
new settlers were generally poor. We tried good
many little civil cases and for the defense in
nearly all the criminal Mr.. Conner was an eo-
quent and forcibe advocate and he was tactfu law
yer and an excellent judge of If we were beaten
IN the district court then went to the supreme court
generally prepared the briefs in the supreme court
and often spent month in writing one brief.
Our business grew and soon had cases In many of
the state district and we also had important bus
mess in the U. S. circuit and district courts
The most important case / have ever had was an
irrigation at Chadron, Nebraska. In this case
there was mill owner who commended that all the
and be used to turn his mill Wheel represented the
rrgaors who desired to take water out of the White
river above the mill and to apply it to the fields for
the purpose of raising crops Notwithstanding the leg
isation on the subject the supreme court held that
there right to take the water out of the stream
wrote nine hundred pages of brief and filed two mo-
lions for rehearings and occupied two three years
in persuadng the supreme court to take it back and let
the people have the water for irrigation.
made long fight in the state court and in the
o. supreme court for the purpose of having the doc
trine established that surveyed lands in the Platte
river, which have never been appropriated could be
taken by homestead settlers. 1t was my contention
that land of this character should be allowed to be
taken by the first settler who in good faith went upon
the land and asked to have it surveyed The Nebraska
supreme court beat 1t seemed to hold that the I'M
surveyed land which had not been appropriated be.
longed to the surveyed land which had been appropri-
ated The decision of the Nebraska supreme court was
not in the highest interest of homestead settlers 1t
in the interest seemingly of the who desired
to take more land than had been surveyed. When
took of these to the u S. supreme court that
court did not squarey pass the question. 1t held
that it for the land department to say whether it
would survey the unsurveyed islands
1t would seem that so long as there are unappro-
priated, unsurveyed public lands in the Platte river
that they should be allowed to be taken by the settler
who goes upon the land in good faith and that the gov
eminent should in all direct survey of the un-
surveyed lands and permit the homestead settler to
make his homestead entry and to acquire title to the
unappropriated land
By dint of very long struggle got one of these
islands for one of my clients.
When judge of the district court was averse to
permitting the hanging of insane persons, but in two
cases where insanity alleged behalf of the pris
oners after conviction ordered uries to be mpaneed
to try the question of sanity and when the verdict in
each case returned showing that the convicted man
was then sane made the order in each under