The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-09
THE DALLAS BAR OF THE
 OLDEN AND GOLDEN DAYS
By PERC Y CLARK.

at the bar In Selma. lie was afterwards commissioner of education during Mir. Cleveland's s administration. John P. Till man, who read law under this firm, be-
 came a member of the firm and later
 moved to Birmingham, where his reputa- tion as a lawyer bears full testimony to the practical school from which he took his first ventures in his profession. Gayle
 & Pegues are names that are left on the court records as memorials.
 Senator Joseph F. Johnston was mem Der of the firm of Johnston & Nelson. He was the head of that band of patriots who redeemed the county from negro end mongrel rule after the federal .roops
 were withdrawn and the negro was given
 the ballot Capt. R. M Nelson was pres. ident for some years of the Commercial
 bank, which failed a few years ago. The firm of Satterfield & Young WAS a very strong one, both members being men of marked ability. A. P. Young
 (deceased) stood at the very front of
 those who were, like good wine growing better, as the years crowned him with
 the ripeness of strong mind. J. R. Satterfield, sometime senator from Dallas, still serves clientele of prosperous people. He also won his political spurs in | the work of bringing order out of chaos verify, light out of political darkness-in the black belt.
 | The firm of Reid & May was another strong team of lawyers Capt. John c. Reid, gallant Confederate soldier, moved to Texas some years ago, where ne died. Moody May (deceased) was a lawyer of
 ability, an unusual type of sage, philos-
 opher and politician, who never sought
 office himself, but rendered valuable ser vice in the heroic task set for the white people in the aftermath of war during the political pestilence that fell upon them. He may well be called the Dio genes of Dallas, for he had "The Cynic's"
 best traits and he despised riches. None of the older members of the Dal- las bar remains to tell of the road they
 were forced to travel, the paths they trod, plodding towards the heights of Parnas- sus, for they sleep in the heaven-veilng
 clouds of Olympus. their memories are
 woven in the warp and wool of the tap estries of political and social life tha, will endure as long as chivalry and fair faced manhood shall be typified by the beauty and the incense of the fragrant magnolia which blooms over their resting place.
 There are number of very able law yers now practicing in Selma, most of
 whom came to the bar after the clouds had rifted. Of those who began the practice as young men in the years of looo-t tO, lne InOSL ulStIlBulSHeu IS lliS
 Hon. H. S. D. Mallory, who needs no in- troduction to the people of Alabama.
 Hon. George H. Craig, member of Con-
 gross and circuit judge during recon struction days, has large practice. Pro- bate Judge Pitts came to Selma some years ago, as did his brother Hon Alex ander Pitts, a member of the present house of the state legislature. Henry F.
 Reese came to Selma several years ego and he enjoys a lucrative practice. w. w. Quarles, who was for some years su- licitor, is practicing his profession and
 has a valuable abstract business. Ran
 dall D. Berry, an ex-Confederare soldier, who carries a crippled knee as mark of bravery, is a member of the bar who is going cheerfully through life with host l of friends.
 Maj. J. C. Compton, the Chesterfield ot Selma, a scholarlr member Of the Sefla.
 bar, was one time president of the sena e when that office was in line of succession l to the governor ship in ease of 8 vacancy. l Hon. William B. Craig, who for two 1 terms ably represented the fourth dis
 trict In Congress, has resumed the prae-
 tce of law in Selma. l.. F. Jeffries, who
 was associated with General Eettus, Is
 now continuing the firms business and
 has with him Edmond Pettus. Jr., son
 of the much lamented Francis l.. Pettus. Watkins M Vaughn, who went to the l legislature from Dallas, now enjoys T
 good practice. Partridge, the younger
 Mallorys associated with their father. a
 young scion of the house of Craig, Will
 kerson and others, are the hope of the
 future for the Dallas bar
 Sometime I hope to write of the days of
 the black belt when the men were ena bled
 to enjoy the leisure and the opportunities 1 for cultivation of the mind, while slaves
 cultivated the soil; of the women who
 made the hospitality and home life of
 that fair and fruitful section so delight
 full that the essence of it abideth yet and
 the story of it will someday form the golden warp, the silver wool of q social
 fabric founded on its traditions lest we