The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1916-07-20

p oAeiNihE III iSNetFNii
worth, he once violated al
r the traditions of the legal profession
= by denouncing his client in court as al
cold devil' unworthy of winning tn,
, suit, not only won his clients suit blu
escaped any censure by the bar asso
E citation for doing it, 1t was Ions
, time before Leavenworth ceased t.
smile over his remarkable defense Of
, his client and the story is still gooc
for a laugh whenever lawyers gather
to swap yarns.
1t was back in 1898 that the case
came up in the district court al
Leavenworth before Judge Meyer
Col. d. r. Anthony, the fighting editor
of the Leavenworth Times, was At
woods client. Colonel Anthony was
being sued by John C. Douglass for
possession of a valuable lot on which
Colonel Anthony had paid taxes reg
ularly for thirty years. 1t appeared
that previous to that time Douglass
had obtained tax title to the proper
ty.
Now, Judge Douglass, as he was
known, and Colonel Anthony were I'M
doubtedly the most hated men in
Leavenworth, with the difference that
the editor also had lots of warm
friends. Those who didn't like Judge
Douglass called him a tax title
shark" which sufficiently explains the
regard in which he was held in the
community.
When John Atwood came to town
and hung out a single as a lawyer
and began practicing Democratic poll
tics until some law business came
along, it was inevitable that, holding
political views quite abhorrent to
Colonel Anthony's dyed-in-t he-wool
and yard-wide Republicanism, he
should come into conflict with the
editor 1t wasn't long before Atwood
became known pretty well through
Kansas as a "silver tongued" orator.
He had a gift of language that could
be fowery, satirical or denunciatory.
Having come, as per schedule, into
conflict with Colonel Anthony, he mad
frequent occasion and opportunity of
various political campaigns to "burn
up" the colonel, the colonel having
been doing the same for Mr.. Atwood,
and doing it plentifully. He left the
people of Leavenworth know that Mr.
Atwood not only was sad fizzle as q
lawyer, but was also mental, moral
and physical bankrupt, and total
human loss, with no insurance. The
colonel had somewhat the better of it.
speaking, as he did, to the whole
town, while the best Atwood could do
was to get a crowd of maybe several
hundred at political meeting to tell
them that what the town sadly needed
was a large funeral, starting. from a |
certain number on the North Esplan-
AIDE and winding up with the usual
ceremonies and pillow of flowers
with 1907 on it at Mount Muncie ;
Cemetery.
AS another famous Kansas lawyer
has written, opportunity knocks once
at every mans door, and sure enough |
she came around and pounded at the
entrance to John Atwood's private Of
flee. Originally Colonel Anthony had
retained Lucien Baker to defend his
side of the Douglass suit. Baker and
Atwood were law partners in the firm
of Baker, Hook q Atwood, of which
Judge William c. Hook, now of the
United States Circuit Court, was a
member. The three were the "big"
lawyers of Leavenworth. 1t happened
that Baker was elected United States
senator before the Douglass-Anthony
suit could come to trial. With Baker
in Washington, Hook refusing for per-
sonal reasons to handle the case, and
Douglass crowding him up in a corner,
Colonel Anthony was faced by COM
bination of circumstances, too long to
detail here, that prevented him from
obtaining the services of any other
lawyer except Atwood he thought
could win the case.
There was only one thing to do:
swallow his pride and employ Atwood.
1t was bitter pill, and being so he
probably wouldn't have swallowed it
had he known that the dose was to
be repeated. Finally the case was
called. Judge Douglass, acting as his
own attorney, and Atwood. with An
thony sitting at his side, fought the
case through the court. Judge Doug
lass made his argument first and then
came Atwood's long waited chance and
sweet revenge. Rising slowly to his
feet, he turned to his client and be-