The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1921-02-18
A FRIENDS TRIBUTE

Following his death in Chester a
few days ago many tributes have been
paid to Judge George W Gage. Some
have spoken of him as great judge
on the Supreme bench, while others
have testified to their appreciation of
him as circuit judge. A good many
have told of his scholarly attainments,
while all have testified to his lofty
character, his lovable qualities, and
his high standing as a man and citi-
Zen. Nothing that has been said and
written Of him, We think, is any finer
than the tribute which James Henry
Rice pays to his memory in letter
to the News and Courier. Because Of
the fact that it So. we'll portrays
Judge Gage as a man and as a citi-
zen, we are reproducing it here. Mr..
Rice says:
The death of Judge Gage is State
loss, and likewise a loss to the hu-
man race. He was in full intellectual
vigor, ripened by experience and
study, capable of rendering the finest
serVice of his career.
In the summer of 1892 first made
his acquaintance. He was then chair
man of the school board of the city
of Chester; and that year / was
elected superintendent of the Chester
schools. Naturally our relations be-
came at once intimate, as they were
cordial. He was an attorney, with a
large practice, the firm being COM
posedof himself and Mr.. j. Killough
Henry. His home, in the heart of
Chester, contained superb collection
of pamphlets, bearing on South Caro-
lima history and industries. This home
was an intellectual, social and moral
center. Himself a Methodist, his wife's
family belonged to the Associate
Reformed Presbyterians, whose rec
ords are writ large on the worlds
history, for they were descendants of
"The Covenanters of Scotland"
Judge Gage was deeply read, al
though not widely read. His mind was
. analytical, not synthetic. 1t seized on
the salient points of an argument
with precision and mastered them.
No man in my acquaintance with men
could state a subject in more clear
and uumistakable language.
The late DR.. Edward S. Joynes was
so struck by Mr.. Cages presentation
of the claims of Chester for the loca-
ton yof Winthrop College that he
hunted me up to inquire who Mr..
Gage was. He told me that never in
his life-in this country or in Eu-
rope-had he listened to so powerful
a statement, which was as brief as it
was powerful. Had the location de-
pended on his statement of the case,
Winthrop College would have been
located in Chester; but there were
other things, notably the considera-
tions offered and these ruled.
After this Mr.. Gage was a member
of the Constitutional convention of
1898, the other members, as 1 recall,
being Hon. J. Lyles Glenn, Hon. A. G
Brice and Hon. T. J. Cunningham. He
made one of the strongest members
of that historic body, confning his
work to the judicial and financial
aspects of the convention, on which
he left enduring mark.
Some four years later l met him
at Georgetown and again at King
stree. His keen mind was thoroughly
aroused over the developments aris-
ing, but in letter after letter. he did
not cease to sound warming against
the encroachments of material sue
cess, fearing lest these crowd out
higher ideals.
Once at Conway he remarked to me
that Horny County presented a re
markable example of popular judg-
ments, uncontaminated by evil asso-
Citations. "The juries cf Horny rem
der righteous verdicts," he said and
this is tribute which the county
may we'll treasure. He had firm be-
lief in popular government, and
trusted the people. 81 have great res
pect for the ordinary citizen who
makes up the personnel of juries,"
he wrote me once, and from this con-
v;o+;on nothino cou1d shake hinli