The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-10-29
VERY POPULAR WAS
LATE JOHN HARLAN
Former Supreme Court Jus.
tice Was a Man of Very
Broad Humor.
~ JONATHAN WINFIELD.

OF the y. 8. Supreme court will long
lament Associate Justice John Mar.
shall Harlan. Now that the court has
reconvened after following the distin.
guished jurist to his last resting place,
the mournful vacancy of Justice Har.
1an's chair Is accentuated. and those
who have been accustomed for de-
cades to the genial influence Of the
Harlan personality miss it.
The deceased turist's habit of joking
with his colleagues endeared him to
all. His humor showed more than
once on the bench while the court was
wrestling with knotty questions OF
grave national importance. On one
occasion he opened his eyes. which he
was in the habit Of keeping closed a
great deal as he followed the argu.
ments. and beckoncd an attendant
He whispered into the attendants ear
something that was repeated in the
same quiet manner to Chief Justice
White. Justice Harlan's plug of to.
bacco had succumbed to hard usage
tice's brand
Go back with my compliments and
tell Harlan ! say no more until he
pays back that chew ne borrowed the
other day." replied the head of the
bench
This story got abroad and Justice
Harlan repaid the loss in kind. A few
days. later. when the Chief Justice
made a request for part Of bunch
of mint which had been presented to
Justice Harlan by woman admirer
the latter sent back word that he
would assume the risk II he thought 1t
likely that any lady would fall in love
with the Chief Justice and bestow up
on him enough of the fragrant mint
to enable him to pay the loan.
Justice Harlan preserved and treas
ured until his death a resolution OF
the Lime-Kiln club. a colored aggre
cation, upon one of his strong dissent
ing opinions, for which he is noted. A
copy was mailed to the justice and IL
in the following words:
Resolved. dat dis Lime-Kiln club
as de representative of 100000 cul
Id people am much obleeged to Jus
tice Harlan for his sound, solid an
car'fully prepaid dissentin opinion In
de civil right case"
Justice Harlan was a giant physical
ly as we'll as mentally. and the Su
preme court bench has been known tC
vibrate as he pounded out his EN-
phatic dissent from the ma jority's con
illusions on points of constitutional
Ia hn
preme bench who heard him deliver
his celebrated dissenting opinion in
the income tax in 1895.
Justice Harlan's chair will be va
cant. at least until Congress convenes
in December. President Taft has an
nounced that he will make no appoint
ment to the vacancy until that time
In doing so he followed the custom
OF the Presidents in regard to vacan
cies on the Supreme court bench. II
Is thought that the Chief Executive
will send his appointment to the Sen
ate on the first day of the session fol
confirmation. Until then the Presi
dents choice probably will be purely
speculation as far as the public Is con
cerned. He has been non-committal
even to his closest personal friends, in
other judicial appointments.
The appointment Of Justice Harlan's
successor Is already an absorbing sub
ject in Washington, and several names
have been prominently mentioned in
connection with the place Effort al
ready has been made to create the i'm
preston that no Democrat need apply
that President Taft will name Re-
publican. The fact that he has already
appointed two Democrats to the high
est bench and made Edward Douglas
White. a Democrat. Chief Justice, ap
pears to be the foundation for this
rumor, since no other intimation has
come to the front that the appoint
ment will be Influenced in the least by
political considerations The President
has confidently and publicly acknow
lodged his sense Of his own RESPONSE
bility for Supreme court appointments
and his knowledge Of the judicial ma
terial throughout the country is well
known. The prevailing opinion seems
to be that his selection will be in
huenced by merit alone.
There are some who are seeking tc
add a geographical consideration to
the matter. Some expect that an East
erner and others than Westerner will
be favored. The Presidents closest
friends think he will appoint Charles
Nagel, Secretary of Commerce and
Labor. to All the vacancy. Solicitor
General Lehman seems to have the
better Of the guessing however In
the Department of Justice big odds
are being laid on him. 1t is believed
here that he would not have come to
Washington for the solicitor general
ship alone. but that he has already
been favorably considered for the Su
preme court bench. These two names
are conspicuous in the talk as it is
well known that the President es
teens both men as great lawyers
Both hail from St. Louis.
Judge Albert c. Cox. of the Circuit
court bench Of New York. is still well
up In the race. however. as far as the
guessing goes He also is highly es
teemed at the White House. His de
cliniation some time ago of the CHIEF
justiceship of the Commerce court Is
regarded as significant.
II the President should draw upor
the far west for Justice Harlan's sue
~n.>~r u q ho1iovod horo that oitho,