The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1921-05-19
Louisiana Lawyer, Ap-
pointed by Taft, Pre-
sides Over NJ any
Cases Of Vast Import
ance, and Helps to In
terpret and Construe
Most Noted Statutes
of United States.

Washington, May 19.-The death
here early this morning of Edward
Douglas White, veteran chief justice
or the United States, cast a shadow
of sorrow today over the nationl cap
ital where during his long years of
service on the supreme bench he had
grown in the admiration and esteem
rot only of his official associates but
of the entire community.
Although hope for the chief JUS
tice's recovery, following an operation
last Friday, had been abandoned since
he took critical turn for the worse
two days ago, the news of his death,
which occurred at 2 o'clock this
morning, came as shock to friends
and associates. The chief justice, who
was 76 years old, had enjoyed rugged
health up to the time he was forced
to submit to the recent operation for
bladder trouble and his record of at
tendance on the supreme bench was
traditional.
Relatives at Bedside
At the bedside, when death came,
were the wife of the chief justice, his
two nieees, Misses Ann Montgomery
and Mary Lee Broussard, and the Rev
Father S j. Creeden, of Georgetown
University, who had administered the
last sacrament during the early even
ing.
According to tentative funeral ar
rangements announced today by
Frank X. Green, marshal of the su-
preme court, who has taken charge,
interment will take place here in Oak
Hill cemetery, following simple SER
vices under the Catholic ritual, to be
held at st. Mathews church at 10
o'clock Saturday morning.
The body of the late Chief Justice
was removed to his local residence
today from the hospital where he
died.
Giant at the Bench
Chief Justice White, who was q
massive figure, had been character
ized as 'the intellectual as well as the
physical giant of the bench One of
the greatest privileges of his position,
he often said, was that of dissent and
he frequently used that prerogative
with great force and clarity.
Born in Louisiana and serving in
paigns of thesCivil war; he became q
central figure in 1891 upon his cleo
ton to the United States senate. He.
served only three years, however,
President Cleveland appointing him
to the supreme court in 1894.
Appointed By Taft
He was made the chief justice in
1910 by President Taft, who boldly
disregarded the custom of selecting
the justices from his own party and
it was Justice White who administer
ed the oath of office to Presidents
Wilson and Harding.
Unswerving in his devotion to duty
the chief justice was constantly in at
tendance at all sessions. His physi-
clans said this high concept of his
duty perhaps fastened his death.
They advised him four months ago
that he7 not we'll and should leave
his work for rest and treatment, but
his reply was that he would rather
die than foresake the bench at a time
when so many important cases were
before the court.
Six weeks ago the venerable chief
justice contracted a cold which made
it necessary to absent himself from
the court, but he returned within two
weeks and on May delivered Wig
orous dissenting opinion in the New
berry case This was the last opinion
he delivered and it also was his last
appearance In court on decision for
before the Iext decision day came last
Monday he found it necessary to sub
NIT to an operation.
Belonged to Marshall's School
Mr.. Whites first opinions on the
bench indicated he was a strong ad
herent of the school of Chief Justice
Marshall. The hope of the republic
he insisted at every opportunity, was
in the supreme power Of the federal
government to control its affairs an6
his dissenting opinions to any decis'
ions which seemed to him to have tht
least tendency toward undermining
that power are cited by lawyers ant
court attendants as masterpieces o.
logic and eloquence.
AS recently as the Newberry case
I the chief Justice departed from tn,
usual tenor, lot the bench to war;
against political power The pre-
sumption, that congress could not reg
= ulate the, election of United State
senator's was a. Suicidal one and h,
predicted that legislation to cover tn
point would be enacted. His use o
reason" decision in the, tobacco ant
Standard Oil anti trust cases Gale,
the attention of the public to the fac
that he intended to interpret the lay
according to the formulae of reasol
as we'll as cold logic.
The chief fuatice refused to con