The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1922-04-06

rendered such a man is the simpl
recital of the truth concerning hin
We may truly say of Peter Fisher whs
Emerson said in eulogy of his frien
Theodore Parker, AT the death of
good and admirable person, we NEE
to console and animate each other b
the recollection of his virtues 1 hav
the feeling that every mans biograph
is at his own expense. He furnishe
not only the facts but the report.
mean that all biography is autobiogra
ply. 1t is only what he tells of him
self that comes to be known and be
lieved. He whose voice will not
heard here again, could well afford
tell his experiences; they were al
honorable to him.
81 have worked with Peter Fisher 1,
this court for twenty years. Never, i
any instance or under any circumstan
ces, have I had occasion tot.question i
the slightest degree his absolute in
tegrity. He was truly what every law
yer should be, dependable 'arm of tn
court He was always fair eminentl.
so. Many times have I heard him sa.
after an earnest, honest argument, %
course may not be right about this
but have given my view Of it? Tha
such statement from a man In whom
court has complete confidence i
likely to inspire special regard 70:
what he says is illustrated by what tn,
supreme court said of Mr.. Fisher il
the case State VS.. Komp, tried12in THU
court in 1905. The defendant wa;
charged with making a false affidavit
that 50To of the capital stock of
banking corporation organized by hin
in this city had been paid in. The aft
davit was signed by the defendant ant
purported to have been sworn to be.
fore Mr.. Fisher. The defendant denied
that Mr.. Fisher ever administered the
OATH On the other hand, Mr.. Fisher
testified after examination of the paper
that to his best belief and judgment
he administered the oath on or about
the date of the jurat. On cross exam.
ination he testified that he. was busy
man and administered many oaths;
that he kept no record Of them; that
he did considerable work of this nature
for the defendant; that his testimony
was based upon the fact that he made
practice not to put his name to a
iurat unless he swore the affiant, and
upon the fact that he found his name
signed to the jurat and atlantis name
signed to the affidavit; that he had no
definite recollection independent of the
papers, and that his best judgment,
based upon the facts stated was that
the oath was administered After hear
ing the defendant testify Mr.. Fisher
again testified in rebuttal, gave the
circumstances as he remembered them
and said, 4 am not absolutely sure Of
this, but from his statement this fore
noon it seems to me that is the way
the transaction took place Upon cross
examination the question was asked,
Standing alone on your recollection Of
the transaction, will and can you deny
| positively that what Frank S. Komp
stated here is not true?' Mr.. Fisher
answered, 4 deem my answer too inn
portant in this case to say that cane
It is my best judgment that it is not
! true, but it is important, and | will not
say that he cannot, in any event, be
right The court, by Mr.. Justice VIM
slow, after discussing Mr.. Fishers tes-
timony said, Such a man will rarely
have personal recollection of the fact,
and the best that he can do will prob~
ably be to testify generally to his
practice and his recollection, as aided
by the document before him. The tes-
timony of a careful, conscientious Off
GER, one who desired to state exactly
the facts within his recollection, no
more, no less. 1t really is more per-
suasive than to attempt to testify to a
distinct present recollection of the ex-
act facts of transaction occurring in
the midst of actual business affairs
some three years before. I'VE enter
tain no doubt of its sufficiency, in con-
nection with the official certificate, to
sustain the verdict rendered
"Peter Fisher was a modest man. He
was a man of peace. He disliked con-
troversy and ever commercially sought
amicable adjustment of differences in
which he was engaged and obligated
only as a last resort He carried no
advertisement of his worth upon his
sleeve There was no pretense about
him. He was man ofSbrosd, pacific
views, of good understanding Of the
fundamentals of truth and justice. He
was large enough to always seek sub
stantial justice on the merits of the
cause and despised technicalfties which
might interfere with just determine
ton. He was always frank and honor
able in his dealings with the court. He
appreciated that the true function Of
the lawyer is to render all the honest
assistance he can to the court in reach
ing the right conclusion and not, by
technical or uncommendable practices,
to gain unwarranted advantage or to
defeat justice am sure no thought
of evading honest answer to an inquiry
from the court, or of misleading the
court in the slightest degree was en-
tertained by him. ' ~.
''In common with all who knew him
I always entertained the greatest re-
spect for and confidence in Peter
Fisher. We miss his genial presence
here, we miss the Inspiration of his
high character as man and lawyer. May