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Show I- D' c" 0ct- 8- T,,c Eupromo court, which on Monday ill convene for Its annual session, S made a conspicuous factor In sent campaign. From the hustings 1 orators, great and small, arc itress upon the prediction that the tit elected next month will have ointment of enough Justices of this tribunal to fix its political "com-for "com-for years to come, prediction Is not groundless, the coming administration a ma-f ma-f the members of the highest court Innd will have reached or passed ent age. These are Chief Justice Democrat) and Associate Justices (Republican). Brewer (Repnbll-'cckham (Repnbll-'cckham (Democrat) and Holmes llcnn). On next Inauguration d.-iy ustlco Fuller will be 70 and Jus-larlan. Jus-larlan. Brewer and Peckham, re-sly. re-sly. 75, 71 and 70, and the law hat any member of the court may, rleslrcs, retire on full ' pay aftor S 70, provided that he has already ten years. Justice Holmes will be larch 8, 1011, In the middle of the ministration, but he will not have out his ten years on the bench 'ecember 4. 1012, which date will :wecn the election and Inaugurate Inaugura-te next President's successor, ow Two-Thirds Republican. I flirt oitrtT-mn sni-t lin In I illy out of and above politics. It may ild. for convenience, that It now s two-thirds Republican. That Is, its nine members Harlan, Brewer, una, Holmes, Day and Moody wcro llcans when appointed, while Fuller, i and Pcckham all Cleveland apses ap-ses were Democrats when they re-I re-I their gowns. Now. If Fuller, Har-Jrewer, Har-Jrewer, Peckham and Holmes should lire during the next administration hould that regime be Democratic the it composition of the cour could iverscd so as to stand two-thirds' cratic Instead of two-thirds Repub-as Repub-as now, whereas should Mr. Taft bo d and all possible retirees go out, juld rearrange tho court to stand ninths Republican, or with one icrat (Justice White) to eight Repub-5. Repub-5. : campaign orators to the contrary Ithstandlng, It Is as unlikely that anv icratlc member will retire In a Rc-:an Rc-:an administration, while his health as It Is that a Republican Justice etlre during a Democratic odmlnls-n, odmlnls-n, while he retains his health. In words, Chief Justice Fuller and :e Peckham are as unlikely to retire Taft administration as aro Justices .n, Brewer and Holmes in a Bryan ilstratlon, although, in the event of i's succession, Harlun and Brewer L retire between next election day lext Inauguration day, and thus give lent Roosevelt an opportunity to ap-younger ap-younger Republicans more liable to i'e until a possible future Republican ic. the remaining question Is as to the .blllty of these live possible retirees vlng tho next administration, at e close Fuller would be 80. Harlan rower 7C, Peckham 71 and Holmes 71'. Preferred It to Presidency. Ige Taft would not now be a candl-for candl-for President had Chief Justice Ful-etlred Ful-etlred during the present ndmlnls-n; ndmlnls-n; for t was well understood that dent Roosevelt wou:d have appointing appoint-ing chief Justice, whose office many vyer envies more than ho docs tho tloncy Itself- Chief Justlco Fuller not retained thN high office for clol reasons, be- use. as Intimated, resent salary o 10.500 would con-as con-as long as lr ved after retlre-our retlre-our six former chk-f justices, three to be older than Chief Justice Ful-'1)1 Ful-'1)1 be ovon at the end of the coming nlstrallon. John Tsty died at 8-!, Marshall at 80 and H.ogcr B. Tanoy I. Marshall and Tan y remained on ench until tho years of their deaths, remains on tho bench until as old as y was when he died in harness, Fulfil Ful-fil still be chief justice In 1920. the of the election of tho fourth Presl-aftor Presl-aftor Roosevelt; or, If ho equals Marshall's record of thirty-four years In office he must servo until 1022, or until S9 years of age. John Marshall's tenure of thirty-four years has boon equaled by only two associate asso-ciate Justices, Joseph Story of Massachusetts Massachu-setts and Stephen J. irleld of California, who served the same number of years. Two of our chief justices have left tho bench before death. John Jay resigned to accept the mission to England, and was afterward governor of New York., Oliver Illsworth, also appointed Tiy Washington, resigned on account of ill health' and t as sent on a mission to conclude a treaty with France the year before he left the bench. All subsequent chief justices have died In harness. Biggest Berth ill President's Gift. If the offlco of chief justice becomes va-vant va-vant before 10U' the next President will have the filling of tho biggest berth which I "can come Within the gift of the chief ex- 1 ecutlve, one that has not been glvable in ' twenty years. Chief Justice Fuller has now been on the bench o long that the public has forgotten tho widespread crlt- i iclsm aroused by President Cleveland's appointment of him at the end of that chief executive's first term. This criticism was based chiefly upon the fact that Fuller Ful-ler had had no previous judicial experience- T'c had practiced law. edited a Dem- ' ocra'! newspaper and bocome common cmi' .an and city solicitor of his blrth-pln- Augusta, Me.; had then gone to C'' go. where ho practiced law and cn-tfi cn-tfi politics, being a delogato to four Democratic national conventions. Ills only public service had been as mombor of the Illinois constitutional convention, back in 'c2, and as mombcr of the legislature from '63 to G5. Since the civil war ho had quietly practiced law and taken a small hand hi politics. But he wa5 unknown un-known outside of Chicago, and his earlier haunts In Maine. However, he has made good, and there has been no criticism of him since he threw the black i-obe across his shoulders. Power of Perquisites. A lot of big lawyers havo covetous eyes upon this third hlghost office In the land. Many think that Ellhu Root stands a good chance for It, If Taft has the giving, and If Bryan has It to fill tho intimation has gone forth that ho will honor Judge George Gray of Delaware. The salary amounts to $S7S per month, S2S.77 per day. A big lawyer often makes more than Its annual lump of 510,500 by signing sign-ing hl3 namo once, and It Is said that Fuller gave up an income four times as great to become chief Justlco. But his present Balary keeps tho wolf from ' the door very well, and Isn't a bad annuity when It is considered that there would be no docking of a fraction on retirement, retire-ment, as in the army. Tho government supplies a private secretary at $1C00 a year. ( Aspirants failing to become chief Justice Jus-tice will, almost any of them, be satisfied satis-fied with a seat of one of the four asso elate justices liable to retirement, within the approaching administration. The annual an-nual salary Is out J500 less than that of chief Justice, and therefore amounts to 510,000 a year, ?S33 a month, $27.-10 per day. Tho same amount ($16001 as allowed al-lowed tho chief Justlco Is given for a private pri-vate secretary. Tho roporter of the court gets 57500 a year, tho clerk 50000 and tho I marshal, 5-1500. Botalrts Monarchial Ceremony. The great court retains more relics of monarchial ceremony than any other Institution of our government. Aside from tho fact that it has tho last eay In our government, it has much to gratify the personal vanity of its memboro. Next Monday when the tribunal convenes a crowd of sightseers will bo gathered at that narrow corridor of tho capltol which separates thn courtroom from tho robing room of tho Justices. A few minutes before be-fore noon two attendants will fasten ropes of red cording to the Jams of tho doors I through which the Justices may pass. Through tho lane thus formed, thn solemn procession of black-robed Justices will then pass, In single fllo. with clow. Btatoly tread llko that of a surpllced choir. Mounting the bench, tho chief Justlco will take his place In tho center, the ranking associate Ju3tlco (Harlan) sits on hla right hand, tho next In rank (Brewer) on hl3 left, and eo on down the line, tho youngest two Justices, In length of service, serv-ice, occupying tho end seats. Tho court crier will then rlee and open i proceedings with his "Oyczl Oyea! Oyen! All persons having business with thn honorable hon-orable supremo court of tho United States are admonished to draw near and glvo attention, as the court Is now sitting. sit-ting. God save tho United States and this honorable court." He will emphasize the last woid3 with a vigorous pound of the gavel and the chief Justice, after asking ask-ing if there are any ccwidldates for admission admis-sion to the bar of tho court and aftor swearing them In. If tliera be nny, will then nod and preliminary business will be takon up. The court will then adjourn ad-journ to call formally upon tho president, nR It alwuya ,does on the first day of a new aeislou. Tho call will bo rnodo in ordinary street garb, and, according to custom, each Justice will be accompanied by his body servant, who will sit on tho box of his carriage, alongside tho coachman. coach-man. other Queer Old'Customs. Quill pens, such as used by the court a century n50, aro upon the desks reserved within the rail for counsel, and many lawyers practicing before tho court prefer these to the finest gold pens. An employee em-ployee of the court Is regularly charged with the purchase and dally sharpening of thc30 quills'. Each new justice of the coming administration admin-istration will bo Inaugurated In an old robe. This Is another old custom rell-gloush rell-gloush idhercd to. A woman makes each 11 ' robe, and the price Is lnvarla-blv lnvarla-blv $10' u is made of largo, straight widths of black silk with a narrow hem at the bottom, a broad yoke with a deep scallop at the back, and full sleeves a yard wide. When a new member of the court Is sworn In. the chief Justice will call upon tho- clerk to read the appointee's rommlsslon, after which the clerk will also administer the oath, the new Justice kissing the antique Bible which has been used for this purpose for more than half a centurw The newly Initiated member, In his borrowed gown, will then be escorted es-corted by the marshal to h'.s new seat on tho bench, where ho will be received bv the other members standing. After bowing to his colleagues and receiving bows from them In return, ho will bow to the bar and be seated. Chief Justice's Functions. The chief justice has special function's not given to his associates on the bench. He not only presides over the court, but w cars in presidents on Inauguration day, and presides at Impeachment trials. Every Saturday night, during session, tho chief justlco sends his meFsenger to thq homes of the associate justices to deliver scaled envelopes containing tho cases In which each Is to write opinions; for each, after hearing the arguments, studies the cases Individually, and on "conference day" which Is every Saturday they meet In tho "consultation room" In tho basemont of the capltol. to Join In discussing dis-cussing them. One Justice writes tho court's opinion on each case unless there bo dissenting voices, when another justice jus-tice writes the dissenting opinion. The decisions are prepared at the homes of tho justices to whom assigned, and the decisions arc read over In tho consultation consulta-tion room beforo being road In open court. Those approved by a majority of tho court are then handed down on Mon- day, which is always "decision day." Certain Cer-tain classes of cases are assigned to certain cer-tain justices considered specialists In. that line. Thus one Is given patent cases, another an-other land cases and so on, But eventually the opinions of the wholo court are combined com-bined and every litigant, however humble, mav rest assured that his case will receive re-ceive tho opinion of every one of the Justices, Jus-tices, The coming session will bo a most important im-portant one, for the matter of the 529,-000.000 529,-000.000 fine against the StandM-d Oil company com-pany will reach the court before Christmas, Christ-mas, and will probably bo decided by that time. The same session may decide tho constitutionality of the commodity clauso of tho Hepburn aot. Senate Must Confirm. As to the qualifications which tho next presldont will deem essential for new members of the court If the expected vacancies va-cancies arise little can be said, save that an uproar would break out In the land were any men appointed save attorneyn ranking high In tho Judiciary or legal branches or our government, either stato or federal. Tho senate, however, will have the Inst say as to whom shall receive re-ceive tho honors. It will be remembered that Senator David B. Hill held up In tho senate for two years the appointment of Wheeler H, Peckham of Now York. President Presi-dent Cleveland then withdrew the appointment ap-pointment and cKse f.ic rejected appointee's ap-pointee's brother, Rufus W. Packham, who wa3 Qonflrmed and who Is ono of the few Democratic Justices remaining on tho bench. Tho senate also rejected former Associate Justice John Rutledge when appointed ap-pointed chief justlco by Washington In 17D5, What In recent years -has been considered con-sidered the propsr equipment for membership mem-bership to this august tribunal can best bo Judged by scanning the careers of tho present Justices In the order of their rank following tho chief Justlco, whoso career we have soen. Harlan was brought by Hayes from Kentucky, where he was Republican leader lead-er and where ho had served on tho bench ns county Judge and whero hu was a man of prominence, his parly having nominated nomi-nated him onco for congress and twice for governor, as well as Indorsing him for vice-president. Ho was a union colonel lu the civil war and his nnmo was beforo tho sonato for confirmation as a brlgudlcr general when his father dlud and ho had to resign from tho army- Othcrwlso ho would doubtless bo today a rotlrcd major general of reculnrs. He waa but 4i when ho ascended tho supreme bench, where ho has romalned for thlrty-ono years, or eleven years longer than the chief justlco. His christening chris-tening was oomewhat prophetic, for he Is tho namesako of John Marshall, tho great chief justice. Undo and Nephow Sat Together. Harrison appointed Justlco Brewer from Kansas, whftro ho had served as district attorney and Judge of tho county, district, ctato 6uprcmo and United States circuit courts. Ho was. born In Smyrna, Asia Minor, whoro his father was missionary,- and his mother was tho sister of both Cyrus W. Field, who laid the Atlantic At-lantic cable, and Stophen J, Field, who , I A B!G FACTOR IN THIS CAMPAIGN Copyright, 190S by John Elfreth Watklns. served on the United States supreme court thirty-four years, and thus broke the record for tenure. Justice Brewer and his uncle sat 011 the bench together for eight years. Justlco While was appointed' by Cleveland Cleve-land from Louisiana, where he had been Confederate soldier. Justice' of the 'stale supreme court and T.'nlted States senator. Peckham had been 011 tho supreme bench In New York state and also on the state court of appeals, where his father lost In the famous wreck of the VIllo du Havre had sat bcrore him. McKln-loy McKln-loy promoted Justice McKenna from his cabinet, whero he was attorney-general. Ho had also been In congress from California, Cali-fornia, and United States circuit Judge. Like his Democratic colleague, Justice White, he Is a Roman Catholic. Roosevelt Roose-velt brought Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes from Massachusetts, where ho had been associate Justice and chief Jus-lice Jus-lice of tho state supremo court. He Is the son of tho poet and essayist of the same name, and. like Harlan and White, fought In the civil war, where, on three different battlellclds, he was wounded In tho foot, neck and breast. Justice Day was brought by Roosevelt from Ohio, where he had been county, district and United States circuit judgo. Ho had also served In tho McKlnley cabinet as secretary secre-tary of state, and was ono of the peace commissioners who ended the Spanish war. Roosevelt took Moody from his cabinet, cabi-net, where ho was attorney-general, after having served also as secretary of the navy and representative from Massachusetts. Massachu-setts. Of the justices who will not bo possible retirees In the coming administration, adminis-tration, McKenna will not reach retirement retire-ment age until 1913; White, not until 1915; Day, not until 1919: and Moody, not until un-til 1923. JOHN' ELFRETH WATKINS. |