Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-17
SUPREME COURT IN LIGHTER VEIN
BY EDWARD RIDDLE pADGETT

entrance of saloon across the street he ac-
costed the proprietor, short haired, freckled
faced 1rishman, with the frantic inquiry:
Do you know meo"
Sure do, yer Honor" said the man be-
hind the bar. .'Ye are wan of the bosses
OF the Supreme Coort. see ye livery day
goin by here on the cars
viii YOU cash a check for meo Quick!
I have no time to explain!" And the excited
Justice grabbed pen from the desk nearby
and began to write like mad.
Sure will, agreed the Irishnan prompt
" Il have seen ould b'ys off on tear be-
fure git out OF money. Trust me, Sor, III
say nothin. Is it a twinty We wanto Here
ye are. Will We have dhrink befure We go?"
But the Chief Justice was on his way
across the street, and he just managed to
catch his train.
ON cold October night in 1882 tall,
~ elderly man with white side whiskers
and almost ministerial dignity hurried noise
lessly up to the desk of the Arlington Hotel.
He seemed to be laboring under intense
emotion He caught his breath and asked
hoarsely:
Have you heard the score of the Yale
Harvard game?'
Yes, Sir replied the clerk. yale. 6;
Harvard, O."
The old mans face became wreathed in
smiles. He fairly Rugged himself with de-
light Just as | predicted" he chuckled
Wont | rub it in on Shorty Gray, though"
And he danced out of the lobby like a
two-year-old.
He was the late Justice Shiras, and Shorty
Gray was his colleague, who had insisted
that Harvard would win.
JUSTICE HARLAN and Chief Justice
, Fuller were riding home one evening
on the back platform OF a car, preferring
that to seat in order to smoke. The door
OF the car was open, and at intervals smoke
from their cigars drifted in. Noticing this,
the conductor informed them that smoking
was prohibited.
- But" objected Justice Harlan, the wind
carries the smoke to the south and we are
travelling north
That's all right, Mister; but them's my
orders, insisted the knight of the belrope
During the conversation Justice Fuller
had stepped down on the car step and hid
den himself behind the mammoth physique
of his argumentative friend. He was enjoy
ing his cigar to the fullest extent
"Orders are orders, | KNOW continued
Justice Harlan, determined to convince the
conductor by logic OF the folly OF blind obedi-
ence; but there are cases where a law CO.
ercive at one time may at another be void
Allow me to cite certain case in our COM
mon law statute book"
I takes my orders from the Supe, and
don care about no law!' persisted the con-
ductor stubbornly.
The car had turned into l5th-st by this
time.
The little Chief Justice was Just lighting
his second cigar, entirely disinterested in the
plea OF his learned colleague.
Now just listen to the logic of what | am
saying continued Justice Harlan, thor
oughly warmed up to the subject the more
so because his cigar was out and he saw no
chance OF relighting it. a wind moving in
a southerly direction cannot possibly carry
smoke north, can it,
To all OF which the harassed and puzzled
conductor tried to turn a deaf ear. He
sought refuge in a superior sort OF silence.
since the Justice was too large a man to
make a personal encounter entirely safe.
As the car reached their destination, Just
above list. on 14th, both men alighted.
Chief Justice Fuller stepped down from the
car and gravely offered Justice Harlan the
stump OF his cigar as lighter. 1t was his
third! To his credit, though, he did not
smile nor make anv reference to that fact