Bisbee daily review., 1911-01-07

IssEt of the chief justice of the su- preme court of the United States has been regarded with far greater inter- est on the part of the general public than the organization of that body un- der New Yorker as the first chief justice. commanded 120 years ago It vas on February l. l790. that John Jay. one of Manhattan's leading citi- zens at that sGac. sa- ip powder queue and black robes in a chamber If the rld Stock Exchange and ca'ed 10 order court Of undetermined jurisdiction which was without lii- gant. docket, writ or record lts members attended a banquet given that same evening at Fraunce's Tav ern in their honor by the lawyers Of New York
 At the head ol such a body there has been a remarkable succession ct man who have sh -wn themselves worthy of the power given to then by their professional ability broad minded versatility and unblemished integrity. The only blot on their rec ord was the opinion groueht about by oger B. Fancy in the Dred Scott decision. but it is considered as due 70 his mental ard physical weakness. Those who stand out prominently in the list of the seven chief justices who have served their country pre- vious 10 the recent appointment Of Edward Douglaass White, on account of their more than extra -rdin2ry 2c- complishments, are Oliver F lsworth. tho author of the indiciary system of the United States; John Marshall. who moulded the constitution into full and permanent form, and Sa!- mon P. Chase, who founded the pre- sent fiscal system.
 Oliver Ellsworth finally succeeded 10 Jays place. At that time he waS a Federalist senator from Connecticut who was learned in the law and also in politics, being the Aldrich of the senate and the boss" of his own state. He was well fitted for the po- siion of chief justice, for he had been one of the most imp 7rtant and in- fluential members of the convention which framed the constitution. It is 10 Ellsworth that We owe our present judiciary system. His reasoning pow CT, sagacisy sound sense in the con. suet Of affain5 and moderati-n n of ten per were admired by Daniel Webster. Ellsworth did not stay on the bench long for in 1799 he resigned to be- come minister to France.
 The next chief justice, John Mar. shall. is considered the greatest oi the seven men who have held that position. His term of thirty-six pears marked an epoch in the hist0ry Oi he United States and of jurisprud. ence. During that time 1.106 opinions were rendered under him. and of these he himself wrote 519. Those decisions, which outnumber thoEa of any other period of our national his tory, interpreted the constitlti n adc- suately for the first time and estab ished a basis for future decisions de lifted the supreme court out oi he influence of politics and personal ambition to a dignfied place in the nations governmental system.
 Marshal's first important decision vas to the effect that the supreme cor-t had the right and power to de clare an act of congress null and void f in the opinon of She justice il giolated the constitution. Uutil th's opinion has been given the people oI the country has considered the !egis latiye power of congress unlimitef aarshall's interpretati- of the sim ple commerce clause in the constitu tion relative to the famous case o Gibbons ys. Ogden established th; power of the federal government oyel fntenBtate commerce.
 At the death Of Marshall. in 1S15 Roger B. Fancy received the office O chief justice at the hands Of Andrew Jackson. whose nomination of Tanel as secretary of the treasury and al aasociate justice had been rejected bya a senate opposed to Jackson's ans Taneyss views As attorney gerera in Jzeks-n's cabinet. Fancy had writ ten the correspondence for the nul Iiacation conspiracy and had mad the arguments of the United State Rank ease. Before that he had as | lawyer pleaded cases in all parts O the country.
 In inc Dred Scott decision. fo which the chief justice was respon slble. Taney held that Scott as negro. was not a citizen of the Unit cd states, and consequently had m standing in court. The negro. he ar gured. had no social or political right
 He himself had freed the slave fha. be had inherited, and had neve refased professional aid to neEroe saeki1g freedom. The case ended hi career. for be was seldom in the su s.rer,e court aftorward and heard n'