Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1918-12-22
Views a1ad RevleUs
Sideligkts on the Activities
of the Late General CoWtn

VI tftO AUCO OCUOI W. OVWCD
The passing of John C. Gown takes man
whose name for many years figured Familiarity
in almost everything doing in Omaha
General Gown was not only leader at the
bar, but also prominent in politics, and in those
days politics meant republican politics, in which
he naturally mixed, as did all of the union vet
Grams of the civil war Had political fortunes
favored, he might have been United States sem
ator, for he was an active candidate when Man
derson was made and was seriously considered
in one or two later contests, but the break
each time was against him. with the result that
his chief public service was rendered as legal
representative of the government in the collec-
ton of the construction loans to the Pacific
railroads.
Having served in the same Ohio regiment
with Mckinley, General GOWNS personal rela-
tons with the martyr president were close and
continued. and when the preliminary campaign
for McKinley's nomination for president took
shape he got into the game with vim and vigor
and had no small share in lining up the solid
Nebraska delegation for his favorite In that
fight, which engendered no little bitterness, the
Mckinley forces here were organized through
combination at the time Aippantly referred to
as the four Johns" the members of this pot-
ieal' firm being John NJ. Thurston John L. Web
ster. John c. Wharton and John C. Gown.
Webster headed the Nebraska representation to
st. Louis as delegate at-large while Thurston
and Gown were commissioned as the two dis
trict delegates from this district. So far as my
recollection goes, that was the last political
campaign in which General Gown went to the
forefront of the firing line. He was named
colonies, and | remember his frequent joking
over it as backward promotion from the title
of General carried by him.
No true history OF the legal profession OF
Omaha will ever be written that does not put
General Gown near the top of the list of our
great trial lawyers. In his prime he was es-
in his appeals to the jury. One OF the most
exciting murder trials ever held here, one which
/ have referred to before, was the "Lauer case"
in the early sos, which held the boards for
week and riveted the attention of the whole
community worked up to the fever point. In
this case Gown was probably at his best.
Another sensational murder case that gave
full play to General GOWNS talents was the
Libbie Beechler. King trial in 1882. in which
the dashing defendant got away with an &C
quittal from deliberate killing by playing up
the retribution side of it and gaining the cJnl-
mon sympathy always accorded the social VIC
tim. In this trial the trump card of General
putting on single witness for the defense, de-
pending wholly upon his own oratory-re-
inforced by his fair clients beauty
That the just expired franchise under which
the Gas company has been operating in Omaha
Tor Is years was popular victory won through
stubbornly-fought battle is known to Old
timers, but doubtless unheard of by most of the
people living here today. 1t was, moreover,
chiefly newspaper-won fight, waged by The
Bee in the interest of the public. This was my
FIRST experience in taking hand personally in
matter of this kind, | having settled down to
my newspaper job only few months pre-
through the city council 5O-year blanket
extension of its privileges when The Bee
sounded the alarm and prevailed on Mayor
Bemis to nterpose his veto By a trick
OF adjournment without receiving the veto the
franchise promoters sought to finish the job,
Whereupon the contest was transferred to the
courts where the case on behalf of the people
was presented and championed by John L. Ken
edy, and William S. Poppeton volunteering
their legal services. Before the contest became
too tightly deadlocked the gas company sued
for terms and compromise was effected cut
ting the time down to rs years, reducing ma
terially the schedule of maximum rates and in
augurat1ng the policy of requiring percentage
payments to the city for franchise rights. It
was estimated at the time that the concessions
thus won measured against the franchise ordi-
nance passed by the council would aggregate in
value to city and private consumers more than
100000 in the rs years, and in point of fact
the amount is considerably in excess of that
figure. At the time the franchise was joyously
hailed as most advantageous to the people
that it has come to be viewed as gas COM
pany bonanza is due only to the then unlocked
for expansion of the city and the continued in
crease in the consumption of gas through its
use for cooking and heating.
IT, -