Evening star., 1936-04-05
STORIES OF EARLY DAYS
THROW LIGHT ON BORAH
Growing Up With Western State, Young
Lawyer Had Invaluable Experience
i'm Constitutional Theory.

1uCOIs
told me many years after the event,
Doubtless old Idaho records or mem
cries could tell the incident authen.
tically)
State Only One Year Old.
Idaho, in 1891, when young Borah
settled in the capital, WAS. as a State.
just one year old. Its total popula-
ton was about $4,000, including In
dians-a State geographically large
but containing fewer people than
many New England cities that would
be called small.
Whether young Borah, when he
reached Idaho, was a good lawyer,
do not know-his training had been
slight. That he became a good lawyer
everybody is aware. He had to be-
come good. The late Senator Thomas
J. Walsh of Montana once told me,
with humor that took all egotism
| from his words, that the three best
constitutional lawyers in the United
| States were himself. Justice George H.
Sutherland Of the Supreme Court and
Senator Borah. He said the reason
they were the best lay in the scenes
| of their early practice. All three
began in little Rocky Mountain towns.
In those frontier villages law, as law,
had little authority. 1t was not
enough for a lawyer to quote a legal
maxim or Latin phrase. nor sonor.
ously to belch the word "Constitu-
ton Not even was it enough to
recite the statute. The fact that a
law had been enacted by Legislature
at the State capital or, during terri.
torial days. by the Congress at WASH
ington, did not carry undisputed au-
thority unless the statute conformed
to local common sense. Those from
! tier settlements had very recently
been parts Of unincorporated terrific
ries. Not long before they had been
"lawleSs" in the sense that they had
no organized law. They had dealt out
| justice in their own way, sometimes
by spontaneous informality which
! the law might later sanctify as a
! posse comitatus," but which the
communities described as vigilance
committee" or, more colloquially. as a
''lynching bee" To such communi-
ties it was necessary that the lawyer
should be able to make the frontiers
men see the reason for the law. The
frontier lawyers, if they we're to be
good lawyers and successful, must
pass through the prisnls of their own
minds the whole process Of the evo-
luton of law from the time it began.
Granted a good mind to start with,
the frontier training was one to pro-
duce great lawyer.
Leading Lawyer in State.
Within a few years, young Borah
was the leading lawyer in Idaho. In
1906 he was prosecutor in one Of the
most famous murder trials America
has ever known. An Ex-Governor Of
Idaho. Frank Steunenberg. about $50
one evening, left his Office to 60 home
for supper. AS he opened the gate Of
his front yard, a bomb. exploding.
almost tore the flesh from his bones.
Steunenberg, while Governor. had in
CURED the enmity Of the Western
Federation of Miners by calling out
troops in a strike. The murder was
confessed by Harry Orchard, and he
claimed he had been melted to it by
leaders of the Western Federation. In
the trial, Borah, as prosecutor, was
matched against Clarence Darrow for
the defense The trial attracted to
Boise a number Of Eastern writers.
These we're so impressed by Borah
that they gave him national reputa-
ton. Their favorable opinion had
something to do with Borahs election
to the Senate for Germ which began
March 4. 1907, and, with four re-elec-
tions, has lasted to this day. making
Borah the Senator who has had the
longest continuous service.
When Borah came to the Senate.
the Republicans had control Of that
body. Leader Of the Republicans in
the Senate-leader to degree and in
a sense that no one since has matched
was the late Nelson w. Aldrich Of
Rhode Island. Aldrich, by virtue Of
his position, had the power Of assign
ing new Senators to committees.
Knowing little about Senator Borah
except that he was the leading lawyer
of his State, and assuming-ordinaril
a correct assumption-that the leading
; lawyer of any State is a conservative.
Aldrich put Borah on the Committee
on Judiciary.
The Judiciary Committee has much
power To it, among other functions,
go all proposed changes in the Con-
| ctf Pxy he
of the Judiciary Committee is deter
mined largely, whether the proposed
; change shall actually be submitted to
Congress and the people. or whether
it shall sleep in the committee.
Borah Proves Surprise.
, At this time, about 1908. there was
much urging of two proposed amend.
ments to the Constitution. One was
that Senators should be elected not
by State Legislatures but by direct
vote Of the people. The other was
that Congress should be empowered
, to enact an income tax with gradu.
ated rates. low rates on small incomes,
high rates on large incomes. Both
amendments have now been in the
Constitution more than 20 years. with
both the country is so familiar that
we take them for granted. Actually,
during the years about 1908, they
were novel proposals, hotly resisted.
Senator Aldrich, strong conservative,
did not wish the amendments to be
adopted. When he appointed Borah to
be q member Of the Committee on
Judiciary he assumed that Borah
would fall in with the notion of him.
self and Of a majority of the COM
mittee as 1t existed, that the proposed
amendments were undesirable. Borah,
however, turned out to be the one
| Senator who shifted the majority from
! anti to pro. Through Borah's presence
on the committee the two amend
. ments were submitted to Congress and
, the country and were ultimately
. adopted. Senator Aldrich making too
| late a more careful inquiry into