Show supreme caari by ELMO SCOTT WATSON HOWARD TAFT chief justice of the united states has always been known as a genial man but just now the smile on bis face Is a little broader than ever before for one of his long cherished plans Is about to be realized and the highest court in the land over which he presides Is to bae a home at last A part of the gov building program tor the national capital includes a magnificent structure for the united states supreme court the site for it has been selected and a commission has been created to provide plans for the building As every school boy knows our government has three branches legislative executive and judicial each presumably of equal importance it seems curious therefore that throughout the years of our nations ahls tory one of those three should be something of a step sister at least so far as its having a home bommen with its dignity and importance Is concerned the executive branch has always had its white house nc in solitary state as the saiu bol of its honor of housing the one man who Is the head of all of our government activities the president for most of those years the legislative branch has had its great domed capitol large enough to take care of the growing needs of the increasing membership of congress but the su preme court the judiciary branch of our government ht never had a place in which it could feel the pride of sole possession it has always been a ten ant in the home of the branch and the latter has sometimes been a very grudging but now the supreme court la to move out of that sometime chos home and set up housekeeping for itself in a new home which will be as distinctive as the white house and the capitol and will in its gleaming white walls the power that resides within the new build ing will stand near the po ali il congress aad the supreme court TV belll be nelga bors rhe site for the new hall of justice has been chosen after a long controversy in chief gustke anft tins been the victor to vi in that victory he and to over come the objections of enroe of the members of the KM if and of congress con giess to any removal of the ewt from the present qu arters hut when the bill to create the commission for planning the new building avns passed by congress the last obstacle was re moved and ohp naw home of the su preme court will alp the chief justice h ia it to lie on the plaza east of the and blinking he congressional library the first meeting atif the supreme court after the new republic VMS es took in fw tork which was then the patai if nn the nip cling liine was in tho royal Cc hame building nt the tw t of broad and lie dalp was ill auary 1 it continued to meet there until the f wui moved tn philadelphia then in february 1701 ue chief justice opened court in the city hall building net to In depend ence hall most of us remember from ou school histories who were the farst men to add the important positions in the new government hut how many of us know who were the first justices of alie supreme court those men upon the duty of interpreting the farst laws passed for the guidance of lie nation the irise court as appointed by president washington consisted of john lay of diew york as chief jua alce who was then in his forty fourth year and the following associate jus john blaar of virginia aged fifty seven william cushing of massachusetts also fifty seven james allson of pennsylvania and a native of scotland who was just ten years the junior of these two justices rob ert banson harrlson of maryland was next selected he was forty four years old and resigned the onice just days after he hud been confirmed to become chancellor of his state cameo iredell was appointed to judge place he was from orth carolina and was the youngest mem memi i her of the being but thirty eight ears old another appointee to the bench was john of south carolina who however never attend ed a session of the court in 1701 he resigned to become chief justice of his tate ills place was filled by the appointment of thomas johnson of maryland when the government was moved to the new capital on the potomac supreme court remained in philadel ama until august asoo and it was not until february 2 1801 that it fin illy put in an appearance at washington arriving there the cobit was given temporary ac commod on the first floor of the capitol in u room known as the senate clerks of fice and now occupied by the marshal of mhd court there it remained until agos but during one period of its his tory while were being nude to the capitol this solemn body held its meetings in a washington when the repairs were completed alie supreme court returned to the caal tol to find that it had been placed on the basement floor underneath the sn ate ch aber surely a good of subordinating the judiciary to legislative 1 it was still occupying this room when the war of 1812 brol e out and when the british army arrived in washington ribao boudinot clerk of the court the court rec to his home at avenue southeast for there in athla house which Is still standing the court held its until it moved back into the capitol in 1817 it was thin provided with quarters temporarily prepared for its ue in the less mined part of the north wing 0 the which had been burned by the british a place said to be tittle better than a dungeon this mr caldwell who was serving cs clerk of the supreme court at this exciting period of its history was an interesting character lie was named for of isea lorac known as the 1 arst president of the united states because he denul aa president of the united states in con gross assembled under the articles of confederation from 1781 to 1785 boudinot was also one of the first lawyers admitted to practice before we supreme court when it was established n 1791 of s astory john claggett proctor writing in the wash ington says mr caldwell s mother was one ot the martyrs of the american revolution having been wantonly blahn by n british ills father rev jacc caldwell of Ellzabeth towo N J waa chaplain to the jersey brigade and assistant commissary general from 1777 to 1779 just prior to the killing of mrs caldwell her huband moved rom to connecticut farma for safety hat ensued was told by hn granddaughter miss li wryght as follows when the british troops passed through the farms mrs caldwell with her maid retired to a secluded apartment with the children the girl looked out of the window and eald A redcoat soldier has lumped oer the and Is coming toward the house with a tun ilias I lias boudinot caldwell two beirs old plater plat nr on the floor called out let me sect and ran ta the window mrs arose from her chair and at this moment the soldier fired his musket through the win dow at ner it was loaded with two balls which paired through her body and she instantly expired it Is related of mr caldwell that in the battle that followed he showed I 1 the utmost ardor in the fleat as it he would avenge himself for the murder of his wife he galloped to the church nearby and brought back an armful ot psalm books to supply the men with warding for their alre locks and shout d now put watts into them bayal boyal put watts into them although the supreme court during its long history has more or less win acred about aiom place to place watt no home of its on th t recent move to glie it one was not i As carli as 1700 a commet ace of the house of ie ported tant a building for the ju delary was among the objects id to he accomplished indicating that it the need for providing this important branch of the government with a home it has often been suld eliat congress set a record for slow ness in regard to erecting the washington monument that monument was authorized authorised by a joint resolution passed in 1799 but nearly balf a cen ury passed before the corner stone was laid and it took 37 beira longer to complete the structure ag we bee it today however congress record in regard to a supreme court build ing beats even that for it hm fateen our legislators exactly years to get around to providing a permanent home for the greatest and most powerful tribunal in all the world 1 |