Henderson daily dispatch., 1939-10-30
Judge Seawell Celebrat-
ing 18th Birthday
Continued From Page One)

county, a title he won back in the
gay nineties when, as a State sena-
tor from Moore, his strategy and de-
termination put through the legisla-
lure over opposition SO strong thai
1t once beat him by one vote in the
House, a bill carving Lee from parts
OF Moore and Chatham. Henry NJ
London, legislature reference librar-
ian and himself one of the States
grand old men," can give a lot of
interesting data on that, and Mr.
London was on the, other side, too.
The SeaWell career has been note.
worthy for its many solid, substan-
tlal accomplishments for the people
OF North Carolina. Several times a
House member or a senator, his legis-
lative record indicates that few, if
any, law makers ever took a livelier
interest in education and the general
welfare of North Carolina young
sterS
AS a private practitioner he won
high acclaim at the bar. AS assistant
to Attorney General Brumlnitt his
services were SO notable that he was
universally conceded the logical APP
pOintee to succeed to the chiefs post
upon Mr.. Brummitt's death; and
when he was named to the Supreme
Court bench to succeed the late JUS
tice George w. COnnOr his worth was
so we'll recognized that there wasn't
a dissenting voice even from others
who had hoped for the honor.
AS a member Of the 1881 General
Assembly, which waged the longest
and stubbornest battles on legisla-
tive record in North Carolina, the
SeaWell light shone brightly. AS an
advocate Of better school opportun-
tiles for North Carolina youth he was
one ofethe leaders who finally forced
some concessions from the pinchpen-
ny economy bloc which would have
set back the educational clock by a
quarter He was in the front
ranks Of those who wrought changes
in the States system Of banking SUI
perVisiOn, changes now conceded to
have been primary reason some YES
tige Of sOlVency was salvaged from
from a crumbling, crashing debacle.
Today the justice is one of the
most active, alert members of the
States highest court. Exceeded in
actual age by only one member, JUS
tice HeriOt Clarkson, he writes as
many opinions, asks as many pierre
ing questions of pleaders, and gets
about as spryly as any one of the
seven judges.
AS to his attainments on the bench,
the present attorney general, Harry
Mcmillan, has this to say:
when Mr. SeaweI was appointed
as an associate justice of the SUI,
preme Court of North Carolina, it
was evident to those Of us who were
closely associated with him that the
opinions Of this court would be en-
rlched by the pen of thorough and
versatile lawyer, endowed with
versatility rarely found amongst us.
The anticipations Of the friends of
Judge SeaWell were quickly realized
IN the opinions when he has been
assigned to write, evidencing thor
ougn familiarity wit hthe precedents,
While at the same time displaying
an unWillingness to tie the progress
Of the law to the crust of the dead
past. This attitude of mind is we'll
illustrated in the recent case of Lilly
and Co. VS. Saunders, sustaining the
cOnStltutiOnality Of the North Caro-
lima fair trade act
with the hosts of friends of Judge
SeaWell, [ join in Fluctuations upon
his seventy-fifth birthday and salute
him as great judge and a fine pub
lie servant"
No provincial, Justice Seawell is
still North Carolinian first last
and all the time. He recognizes that
the Tar Heel State is a comparatively
poor one, when measured by the
financial standards usually applied;
but he firmly believes that no state
in the Union has made greater pro-
gress in educational affairs, in pro-
portion to its wealth, than North Car
Dina.
There's a reason for that, too"
he says firmly and with conviction.
"Tar Heels just naturally want to
know a little bit more than anybody
else, and they want to do just little
bit better, to-"
If it has been stated anywhere in
this piece that Justice Seawel is
seventy-five years old, that's wrong
he's that young.