The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-07-27

in interstate commerce to dry territory, which for the first time made that form of prohibition effective.
 During his service in Congress MT. Davis attracted much attention by the force and clarity of his speeches, es- pecially in attacks on the Payne-Al. drich tariff. His legal ability displayed in the House won him the support of the whole judiciary, but he didNn not de- sire the post.
 At the request of President Wilson MT. Davis resigned his seat in Congress to accept the appointment on August 30, 1913, of solicitor general of the. United States, spost in which ne served for five years. During thls period he also was counsel for the na- tional organization of the American Red Cross at Washington.
 MT. Davis handling of cases for the government as solicitor general won him widespread recignition as one or the leading lawyers of, the country Among the important cases in when ne won aecisions were in uphoidlng the eonstitutionality of the Adamson Eight- Hour law and the Service act. lie con, ducted the unsuccessful, but determlhee and hard-fought prosecution or tne steer trust and handled many otner HUI portantant litigations.
 Among other cases in whlcn N.r. Davis appeared for the government while soLcitor-general were the argu- ment on the cOnstitutionality or the child labor amendment, the antitrust suits against the Reading Railroau. ln- ternational Harvester company ana the anthracite coal mine operators tue first income tax cases, the arugmene nm the validity of the federal reserve act. and the tank car cases, deai1ng Wltn fine power of the Interstate commerce commission to order the raAroaus |" increase their tank car equipment.
 Mir. Davis was particularly noted as solicitor general for the conclseness' luc;dity and aptness of his arguments and briefs. He seldom spoke more il an half an hour, even in DE cases, but his words were so much to ne point that judges made unusuaiiy coPl- ous quotations from his br1efs HI theAr decisions.
 Former Chief Justice White is said to have declared that MT. Davis had one of the ablest minds in America.
 Secretary of State Hughes, who was a supreme court justice when MT. DaVls was solicitor general, said:
 "John w. Davis is the ciearest thinker and the best informed man wno comes before the supreme court to plead a case."
 In September, 1918, Mir. Davis went to Berne, Switzerland, as member or the American delegation to confer with the Germans on the treatment anu eA- ,E Of
 Made Ambassador by Wilson
 President Wilson appointed him in 1918 as Ambassador to Great Britain, succeeding Walter Hines Page, Wno died. L.,
 The New York Times made the fol- lowing editorial comment on the ap- pointment:
 "He has been in the state department for five years, in such relations W1th the secretary of state and w1tn !ne President that they cannot escape pennS intimately acquainted with his cnarac- ter and abilities. That they nave con ferred on him this dazzling promoIioh is conclusive on both points;
 Mir. Davis did much in behalf or cor dial relations between Great brltah and the United States during his three wear as Ambassador. In an address on Ianuary 17. 1919, to the American society in London, he said
 "It is on the firm rock of friendship and understanding between the English | speaking peoples that the foundation of A league of nations must stand. Tells Of Treaty Making Troubles In an analysis of the reaty-makng | mower in the United States in an ad- dress at Oxford in 1920, Mir. Davis ex- pressed as a matter of history. the great l difficulties in the way of a president and a senate getting together on a treaty and a full appreciation of the Senates power,' quoting from John Hays letter of May, 1898
 "eI have told you many times that did not believe another important treaty would ever pass the Senate. The man who makes the treaty of peace with Spain will be lucky if he escapes lynching'
 But free and unfettered as is the President at every stage of the negotia- tions," ,cOntinuel MT. Davis, 'the Sen ate is not less so when the results of his efforts are laid before it. If then becomes not only the right but the duty of all senators to give expression to their impartial and independent judg- ment and save for moral susian the President is powerless to influence their conduct as they were to dictate his own.
 "Such in meagre outline is the treaty making power of the United States and the machinery by which it operates. An unfriendly critic might denounce it as complicated and cumbersome, ill adapted to the complex demands of in- ternational intercourse, slow in action and uncertain in outcome. The require ment of a two-thirds rather than a majority vote in the Senate he might criticize not unjustly as a dubious ex- cess of caution. He might point his moral and adorn his tale with many