Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-08
Soldier, Statesman, Jurist

Der of the governors of Spanish Louis
ana-built in 1795.
The Csbildo is but a short distance
from the levee that holds back the Mis-
sissippi floods.
There is tide in the affairs of men
Which taken at the food, leads on to
fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shadows and in miseries. /"
A broken levee furnished the tide in
the affairs of young White. 1t is said
that one day Mr. Bermudez handed him
some papers with the remark, This is
forlorn hope, but you may win your
spurs with It," This was the defense
Of an action brought by the police Jury
Of neighboring parish to recover from
a war-ruined planter the cost of con-
structing levee in front of his planta-
ton. It had been the immenorial duty
Of the owners of land along the water
front to keep these levees in repair. The
trial court decided the case in favor
OF the defendant, and this was upheld
by the Supreme Court. This decision
lifted an unjust burden from the prop
erty owners and elevated young White
to high place in the estimation of the
bar and the planters along the innu-
merable waterways of Louisiana.
AS the years passed, Whites earnings
increased greatly. Making money,
however, was not his highest considera-
ton. 1t might be said of him as was
said of Lincoln-"If client was poor
he charged him accordingly and II he
was unable to pay asked nothing for
his services. 1t was one of his theories
that a lawyer, like minister of the
gospel or physician, was in duty bound
to render service whenever called upon.
regardless Of the prospects of compen-
sation, and In several cases he offered
his services without compensation to
people who had suffered injustice and
were unable to pay" Curtis on Lin
coin, Lewis Great American Lawyers
He loved his fellowmen and shared
pleasant moments with them in the
street cars, in the streets and in such
famous cafes as Galatoire's, Antoine Is
and La Louisiana, where conversation
ranged from the effect of the weather
upon the crops to the latest news from
the old world capitals. New Orleans
was then, as 1t is today, cosmopolitan
city, and in his contact with men his
knowledge of languages was a great
help. Mr.. Henry P. Dart, in a memorial
address said, He had two languages,
English and French, as his birthright:
Latin came to him early and he spoke
1t with ease and purity. To this he
added italian and Spanish, and he read
German and could speak it in emer-
gencies."
Through an ever widening circle of
acquaintance and sympathetic I'M
Outstanding of the problems brought by
the Civil War, Lawyer White was nat
urally drawn into politics. Recognition
OF the courage, learning and cool
headed reasoning displayed by him in
the fight against "carpet-bag" rule led
to his election to the State Senate, and
later, at the early age of "a, to his
elevation to the bench of the Louisiana
Supreme Court. The adoption of a new
State constitution in 1879 caused him
to retire from the bench the following
year, and he returned to active practice.
Judge White was sincerely attached
to his plantation, and Notwithstanding
the demands of the numerous clients
then surrounding him, he managed to
slip away at times for a brief visit
to Bayou Lafourche. On such occa-
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