The Wilmington morning star., 1945-03-18
Deep Tolerance Marked
Judge Meekins' Career
rmuhasized Duty And
Obligations All Citizens
Owe Government
GERTRUDE CARRAWAY

w.. snring. it will seem entirely
l 1itferpnt from its usual appear
o noe during the past 20 years, for
t s1tsl presiding officer will no longer
,ne GTudge Isaac Nelson Meekins,
W Elizabeth City, who retired
o. DIV, The bench upon reaching his
1 1lV+' birthday last month.
'VI al+boueh recognized as an ex-
.n+;onally able and impartial jur.
~. ~ strong supporter of te Con-
t Is;t,,tion and an outspoken propo-
s s Of tolerance and temperance,
H Tudoe Meekins was perhaps best
1,noyn and beloved for his en-
A A At every term of court upon
.,a dl,tv and obligations that all
s,t;zens owe their government in
This democracy.
If there was ever time In
.,a history of the world when men
ond women who contribute to-
Yards a the upbuilding of civiliza-
linn should be sympathetic and
tolerant of each other, should lend
helping hand to relieve the dis
.ress of others, and should speak
cheering words to the disheart-
ened under the true American
wav this is the time" he stressed
in recent address as keynote
Of his life philosophy.
"Tolerance can not be measured
in money nor does it have an abid-
;ng place on the best property.
II is found in a temple of beauti-
hi thoughts and noble aspirations,
whose foundations are as broad
and deep as human suffering. Its
home is in the heart. Love is truth
and tolerance.
Reluctantly
"Real charity is not the mere
giving Of aims. It is far easier to
give money to beggars than to
forgive others against whom we
NAV harbor prejudices. We shall
be Judged eventually not by creeds
but BY deeds; not by what We
have done or achieved or believed,
but by how w have dispensed
common charities"
Speaking of the necessity for all
citizens 70 support the letter and
spirit Of the laws of the land,
the Judge declared, The only way
to preserve the integrity of our
nation is for it's residents to be
law-abiding. We have a right to
exercise our personal liberties, un-
til they interfere with the rights
of others. -..
Personally, I don't hate boot
logger, although l enforce the laws
against bootlegging; I hate his
business. I do not hate a thief;
l hate larceny. have sympathy
for a defendant, and his family.
/ do not pass judgment because
of his name, or his looks, or the
color Of his hair; I sentence him
for the crime he has committed,
as a debt wich he has to pay
to society and as a deterrent in
preventing similar crimes by Of
ers."
Despite his advancing age
Judge Meekins expedited all his
courts with rare speed. At Wilson
some years ago he disposed of $50
cases in five days. Last fall in
New Bern he handled "a cases in
one day and 16 the next day. It
used to be his custom to hold
Bargain days." during the first
parts Of his court terms, offering
to be mere lenient with defend
ants pleading guilty to liquor
charges, thus saving time, trouble
and expense of jury trials.
Back Of all mis- serious purpose
and demeanor during his entire
judicial experience was a keen
sense Of humor. One of the out
standing memories of his two de-
cades on the bench is the time
when he was mistaken in New
Bern for the Pope during the
strenuous 1923 political campaign.
On the opening day OF a weeks
court term during October, 1898,
he walked in his black court robe
through a group of farmers in the
Federal building. A rural visitor
saw the robe, grabbed a compan-
ion, and whispered audibly:
Lord God mighty, there's the
Pope Of Rome himself done come
here already, even before Al
smiths elected
Frequently from the bench
Judge Meekins enlivened his SOL
enn court opinions and verdicts
with Illustrative jokes or anec-
dates, often at his own expense.
During court term at Whining
Ton 300-pound Negro sat around
me courtroom for two days wait
ing for his case to be called. He
heard Judge Meekins repeatedly
Tell lawyers: We'll if what you
say is the law, I say it ought
not to be the law. and, inasmuch
as | don't think it is the law,
I'm going to pursue the course
contrary to what you think should
be done
Grants Request
When the Negroes case came up,
ne pleaded guilty to the charge:
II was a second offense. He had
no lawyer, but urged that he be
paced on probation. Although this
was an unusual procedure, the
'uflst finally granted his request.
After the defendant had returned
hume, his landlord asked how he
nao managed to get the judge to
p pe him on probation again. The
Iesro replied, ''Thet OF jedge
oont 60 'cordin' to the law. He
Us goes 'cordin' to what he wants
10 do