Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-12
Capital Sidelights
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

DIX WILL II. hENNEDA'
Just now when work Is being rushed
on the erection Of new home Tor the
Supreme Court as q memorial to the
services Of William Howard Taft, the
only man In the history Of the Nation
who occupied the position OF head OF
two Of the three great branches OF
Government, and while Mr.. TAFT him.
self has been forced to retire from his
duties as Chief Justice, the attention
Of Congress has been called to the
Nations outstanding legal talent, Rep
resentative James M. Beck, himself one
Of the greatest authorities on the Con-
stitution and law, formerly solicitor
general of the United States, Assistant
Attorney General and Acting Attorney
General, who has been lecturer before
the most famous legal organizations in
the world. a fellow of the Royal His
torical Society, London; an honorary
bencher of Gray's Inn, fellow of the
American Philosophical Society and
the author Of the standard work on the
Constitution of the United States, has
emphasized to his colleagues the out
standing place that Chief Justice John
Marshall holds in our history.
Representative Beck referred to the
Marshall statue dedicated last week in
Philadelphia. which is replica of the
statue by Story on the west front of
the Capitol. He emphasized that "dif-
ficult as Is the task of the sculptor,
who attempts to make an efigy of a
modern man, william w. Story, the
son Of Joseph Story, the great associate
Of John Marshall and himself q SCENT
ist, musician, poet, orator and sculptor,
gave the world in his Marshall statue
one Of the finest portrait statues of
modern art. mo one can look at the
statue of John Marshall" he said,
without being deeply impressed with
the benignant character Of the face
and the eloquence Of that appraised
hand. by which the sculptor meant to
signify the authority Of the law, Of
which, at least in our own country,
John Marshall was the greatest ex-
ponent."
Representative Beck narrated an
incident "of epic beauty" When John
Marshall died in the city of Philadel-
phia and committee of the bar es-
corted his body to Richmond, the Lib
erty Bell was tolled for the last time,
for the crack In the Liberty Bell then
developed and the iron tongue, which
had noted the birth of our Nation, was
silenced forever. How could it end
noting the passing of the greatest Chief
Justice that the United States has ever
known"
Mr.. Beck praised speech at the
dedication by Joseph Burlington, the
senior circuit Judge of the Third Circuit
Of the United States.
webster once said that the three at
tributes of q great grafton were the
man, the subject and the OCCASION" Mr..
Beck recalled. well, the occasion, the
dedication of this statue, was in itself
eloquent. The subject, John Marshall,
was of such eloquence that one might
say as Lincoln said of Washington, that
one need only name him and in its
naked, deathiess splendor, leave the
great name Of Marshall to shine on;
and in this case there was the man,
Joseph Burlington. Burlington was ap-
pointed to the United States district
bench in 1892, and has therefore served
nearly 80 years on the Federal bench.
This is not only the longest period Of
any Federal judge now living, but also
the longest period of any Federal judge,
living or dead. Marshall served for "a
years.
There may have been a Judge Of the
past who served longer than Marshall,
but the longest period Of service on the
public, unquestionably, is that Of Joseph
Burlington, who still presides in the
third circuit with great distinction to
himself and great value to the public.
In his incorruptible integrity and fine,
unwearying devotion to the duties Of
his great ONCE, Joseph Burlington, as q
jurist, Is of the breed Of John Marshall.
There was peculiar beauty in this
tribute Of the oldest circuit judge of
T..tk aA kaAA - ;aR
Justice" concluded Mr.. Beck in ask
ing to have printed in the Congress
sional Record, so all the people of the
country may have an opportunity to
read it, the noble tribute of Joseph
Burlington to the memory of John
Marshall and to express the pleasure
that it gives me to have made today
this modest tribute to a distinguished
living judge, a worthy follower Of Mar
shall in all the great traditions of the
bench.
Remembering his years and his long
service. voice the prayer of Horace.
that he may get late to Heaven and
in the meantime enjoy that which on
the authority Of Shakespeare is said to
be the just rewards of an honored age,
namely, love, honor, obedience and
troops Of friends"
The official history Of the World War,
which Is being prepared at the Army
War College as a comprehensive ac-
count of all the activities of the Ameri-
can troops who participated will not be
published for probably 10 years. The
first chapter Of this history. which was
made public more than q year ago, has
been found to be full of errors and will
have to be rewritten. This Is the teSti-
mony of Col. 8. c. Vestal, chief of the
historical section Of the Army War Col
lege, who Is in charge Of this work. Co
operating with him are % officers. They
are now engaged in carding and re-
pairing the records, and have sus-
pended for the present writing Of the
history until the records have been
carefully arranged. It Is expected that
eventually the history will comprise q
set of seven to nine volumes, each con-
tanning 800 to 700 pages.
Col. Vestal described the work as
mountainous" and said mo book
should be published until the records
issue them from time to time. and then
unearth new information and find you
were wrong puts the historical section
in very embarrassing situation" In
regard to the chapter already made
public he said ut should not have been
published"
The history will deal with the part
that the American Army played in the
World War. It does not attempt to
discuss the economic situation. or the
causes Of the war. but is handled strictly
from the military point Of view.
n
Senator James j. Blaine, Republican.
of Wisconsin. has just received an inter-
esting momento. an Indian nag made
personally by Mahatma M. K. Gandhi,
the famous poet. philosopher and po-
litical leader. The FIG is white, red
and green, the new national colors"
of India. proclaimed by the Indian Ma
tional Congress which at Lahore last
week adopted the resolution declaring
the independence Of India. The nag Is