The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-08
DE GRAFFENRE|D
 APPOINTMENT Consensus of Opinion O'Neal Made Wise Selection COMPLETE SURPRISE Governor O'Neaps Selection to Su- preme Court Topic of Much
 Favorable Comment in
 Official Circles
COMPLETE SURPRISE

Montgomery, October 7.-tSpecial)-Th appointment of Judge Edward de Graf fenreid as associate justice on the su- preme court. to succeed the late Judge Robert T. Simpson, furnished a topic for much favorable comment in official cir cles Monday The consensus of opinion was that Governor O'Neal had made a
 wise selection, and that he could not possibly have named more capable law yer for the supreme court vacancy. The friends of Judge de Graffenred be-
 lieve that he accepted the appointment
 not without considerable regret. He was deeply attached to his associates on the court of appeals, and 1t is declared that long before Mir. Knox of Anniston was
 named for the office Judge de Graffenreid had assured his friends that he preferred
 not to have his name considered for the vacancy
 It is known that shortly after the va cancy occurred. there was strong ef
 fort made on the part of Judge de Graf fenreids friends to have him appointed
 to succeed Judge Simpson, and 1t be- came current rumor that the appellate court justice would be named for tho l vacancy on the supreme court bench. Judge de Graffenreid used his efforts to | have his name withdrawn from considera- tion for the judgeship, and at the lime Of MT knox's appointment was one of the most enthusiastic lawyers in the state in praise of the governors selec- l ton.
 MT knox's refusal to accept the ap- continent came as great surprise to Judge de Graffenreid. who believed that the Anniston lawyer would accept the | position rendered him by the governor As late as Saturday afternoon Judge de
 Graffenreid was strongly of the opinion
 that MT. Knox would accept the appoint
 ment- and he did not know that he had declined until Governor o'Neal invited him to the executive mansion that night 1 and rendered him the place on the su preme court bench
 Tribute to Appellate Court In accepting the appointment on the supreme court bench, Judge de Graf fenreld paid q great tribute to his former associates on tine court of appeals, Judges Richard W. Walker and John Pelham. The appointment was a complete sur prise to me- said Judge de Grdffenreid and while I recognized the great dignity which was thus conferred upon me and fully appreciated the delicate task which US acceptance would place upon my shoulders, I accepted the appointment "lf l am able to meet, as they should be met. the responsibilities of this great trust, l shall always feel that my ability to do so was due in large measure to
 the judicial training which I have in
 the past year and a half, obtained under
 the wise guidance of those two great.
 careful, painstaking and laborous judges.
 Richard W. Walker and John Pelham
 The constitution of the state provides
 that justice shall be administered without
 sale, denial or delay. I practiced law for
 3o years before l was placed on the
 bench. and during all that period no court
 has been created In Alabama, which has
 so tended to quicken the administration
 of justice as the court of appeals Owing
 to the rapid development of the state in recent years, it Is impossible under the limitations imposed by our present constitution, for one court, no matter of how many judges composed, to dispose of all the appellate court work with any thing like reasonable dispatch, and the creation of the court of appeals has ren- dered it possible for the supreme court to determine it's cases within a reasonable time, and at the same time give to each case that careful attention which right and Justice, between the litigants, de- mands. I can say these things now, for I am about to leave the court of ap- peals and take the place which has been assigned to me on the supreme court
 While judge of the court of appeals l gave to the people of the state the best that was in me. I shall follow the same course on the supreme bench and I take heart when I know that in my efforts to declare the law as 1t exists in the books, shall have the cordial sympathy and kindly forbearance of the dis tlnguished men who ihat a..a,a,.t :,