Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-30
Capital Sidelights
az WILL 2. KENNEDY.


A Damon and Pythias, stalwart and
ruggedly obese, who were often taken
for twins on account OF their physical
resemblance. sat side by side on the
bench of the Supreme Court Of the
United States, the highest tribunal In
all the world, in the days following the
Civil war. They were Justices Swayne
and Davis They occupied the two chairs
at the extreme r ght Of Chief Justice
Chase. who was dignity personified"
They both loved &c ndy and 1t vas no
unusual thing for cne or the other OF
these physical giants to send q page out
OF the court room Tor q. olme WorIn 20, OF
the old-fashioned stick candy, which the
two would MUNICH while listening to the
argument before the court. They fire.
ouently grew tired Of sitting and would
stand for a time, leaning against one OF
the heavy pillars just behind the seats
for the justices.
Justice Swayne was slightly heavier
than his inseparable colleague, with
high. broad forehead and heavy
the too-close sin1ilitude BY growing a
sparse beard under his chin, In all
dealings with the attorneys they were
extremely courteous and seldom inter-
rupted by questions However, during
an argument they would frequently
whisper together, calling each others
attention to some point made by the
attorney. 1t was : rare occasion when
they did not come to the Capitol and
depart theTefrom in each others cont
pany.
Among the attorneys appearing most
frequently before ths court In those
DAYS was one Jere Black, who in all his
arguments quoted freely from shake
speare and the Bibles It u doubtful
If any member of the court or Of the
bar at that time, previous or subsequent
thereto, was as familiar with the Bible as
was Black When he was to speak he
always chose spot nearest to where
the great South Carolinian John C. CAL
houn occupied q seat while member
OF the senate. The Supreme Court
Chamber was formerly the United States
Senate Chamber Reverdy Johnson Of
Maryland, oT1e-eyed, historically elo-
quent even in arguing points of law,
also had q favorite position when .ad-
dressing the court-the place where it
is said Webster stood when delivering
his famous reply 10 Hayne.
Black was rather tall Of figure, and
was said TO wear q wig. His hair was
Black and always sleek and shiny. He
had q round full voice and was some
times referred to as "mush in his
mouth" On one historic occasion he
met his match in quoting from the
Bible. The question at issue was the
right of the Government TO exclude
papers or other matter from the mails.
Black appeared In opposition to the
Government. In the course Of his aRgu-
ment he called william Shakespeare
and The Book of Books TO hts aid TO
sustain his position.
Attorney General Speed began his
reply with the following words: Good,
patient, righteous Old Job once cried
out, oh that mine enemy had written
book 1 am in a better position than
was that good, old saint, for mine enemy
has written a book" He then held UP
before the court small volume OF the
decisions of the Attorney General made
when Black held that ONCE. From 1t
he read lengthy opinion wherein Mr.
Black had maintained the right even Of
q postmaster to refuse to receive or de-
liver certain papers. The bench and
bar both enjoyed this reply Of the Attor-
ney General, several members of the
court even yielding to the temptation
to indulge in broad smile.
Invariably upon concluding his argu-
ment Black would ask for a pinch of
SNUFF from the historic Supreme Court
snuff box, which had been purchased
by Roger fancy. when he first took his
seat as Chief Justice.
A&+
The earliest American apartment
houses are being carefully safegnarded
by Uncle Samuel from being despoiled
by vandals, while some Of the most note
worthy historic landmarks in the Ma
tiond Capital are being wiped out In
the pathway Of progress to give this
same Uncle Samuel proper housing for
the first time In history for his work
~n S.,k1t 10 he e
est industrial establishment In all the
| world.
The ruins Of community houses and
cliff dwellings Of Indian origin in ma
| tional forests Of the Southwest are be-
! ing protected by the Forest Service Of
the United States Department of AgTf-
culture, which recently evoked the law
in order to protect one particular an.
Client structure Coupled with this is an
invitation to the public to visit and
study these earliest American examples
of gigantic architecture.
y \
Even in the attitudes of the upper
air, United States Government sleuths
are now busily engaged in tracking to
| their lair enemies who prey upon the
welfare of the American people. Secre-
! tary Hyde called our attention the other
day to how some of his bright young
! detectives by scouting trips with air.
planes located scores of certain plant
diseases 10000 feet above the earth.
| Here is one explanation, the Secretary
said. for the spread Of such diseases
as black stem rust Of certain small
| grains.
Ground workers have confirmed these
| findings. Investigators working with
| white pine blister rust have reported
/ spores Of that disease falling In a per-
| fectly still atmosphere from q height
| OF one mile require SIS hours to reach
| the earth Such experiments make 1t
clear, the Department of Agriculture
specialists say. that plant disease
spores may be blown for long distances
unless brought down by rain or some
other agency.
They are engaged on an interesting
program to make the world safe for
plant life from storms Of such pests
| making their assaults from the limitless
space Of the ethereal blue"