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Show B ELMO SCOTT WAT80N representatives has been challenged. "Uncle Joe" i J " " ,:?HB recent Installation of Charles Cannon, when speaker, refused to attend one of v Wff J Evans Hushes as chief Justice of the President Boosevelt's formal dinners because the NJfe "Jr " fafC I United Stntes Supreina court, sue- chief Justice was to be given a higher ranking IV ceedlng William Howard Taft, who place at the table. Roosevelt held a separate din- EffSljTar-w,.,. .(Sr IWk. resigned on account of Illness, has ner for the sneaker and since thnt time, bv mutual ,,,T 3isSSSJ- representatives has been challenged. "Uncle Joe" Cannon, when speaker, refused to attend one of President Rnosevelt'a formal dinners because the chief Justice was to be given a higher ranking place at the table. Roosevelt held a separate dinner din-ner for the speaker and since thnt time, by mutual agreement, the chief justice and the speaker are ranked equally. In the elevation of Mr. Hughes to the chief Justiceship, New Tork has given another o' her sons to hold that high position. The first chief justice was a New Yorker John Jay. He was born In New York rlt In 174ft. era diluted from By ELMO SCOTT WAT80N P"T? HB recent Installation of Charles 2 Evans Hughes as chief Justice of the United Stntes Supreme court, sue- y ceedlng William Howard Taft, who resigned on account of Illness, has twv added nnothcr chapter to the Inter-eating Inter-eating history of that high tribunal. jCjV Although the Presidency Is the high-iuhA high-iuhA est oWce In the Innd, In some re-spects re-spects It Is more of a distinction to chief justice than tt Is to be XOhI President During the 141 years of 'wv tne ellstent'e f tl,a nation, we have -J jy bad 81 Presidents. Mr. Hughes Is 4 only the eleventh chief Justice, so a part of the distinction In holding that (.fflce Ilea In the fact that In the ordinary course of events only a limited number of Americana can ever gain -that honor. of the highest Judicial authorities of the world." Marshall died July 6, 1835, and Americans have slways regarded It as significant that the Libert; Bell, which first pealed out the news of the lnde-1 lnde-1 pendence of this nation, should have been cracked while tolling for the death of the man who did so much to guarantee the permanence of the nation na-tion whose advent It heralded. Marshall la remembered re-membered for two other reasons. One Is that he presided over one of the most Important trials King's (now Columbia) college In 1764 and became be-came a lawyer. He was a member of the first and second Continental congresses, wrote the state constitution of New Tork In 1777 which remained the organic law of that state until 1822, and held office aa chief Justice of the state Supreme court while serving as a member of (he Continental congress. con-gress. Be served as president of the Continental congress from 1778-70 and then was sent to Spain as United States minister to that country. In 1782 he went to Paris and there with Franklin and Adams arranged the terms of the treaty of peace which ended the Revolution. After his return re-turn to this country In 1781 he was elected secretary secre-tary of foreign affairs by congress and retained that office until the Constitution superseded the Articles of Confederation. Jay was one of the originators of tie Fede-rl 1st. writing Ave of the weightiest of those essays which did so much to secure the adoption of the Coustltutlon. President Washington offered him his choice of the federal appointive of" -es and he chose the chief Justiceship of the Supreme court which he held until 171)5. Bis next service was to go to England at Washington's request to try to avert a threatened war between the two countries by making an adjustment of the boundary boun-dary disputes and concluding a commercial treaty. The result was the famous Jay treaty which brought down npon bis head such a storm of criticism crit-icism and prevented his being the Federalists' candidate for President at the end of Washington's Washing-ton's second term. However, be was elected governor gov-ernor of New Tork and agnln appointed and con-, con-, firmed chief Justice of the United States, but declined de-clined to accept the position. Be retired to private pri-vate life and died May 17, 1829. To him aa chief Justice Daniel Webster once paid this high tribute: trib-ute: "When the spotless ermine of the Judicial robe fell on John Jay, It touched nothing less spotless spot-less than Itself." The second chief justice, John Rutledge of South Carolina, appointed by Washington, but not confirmed by the senate, was succeeded by Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut, who became chief Justice Jus-tice In 1790. Be had served as a member of. the Continental congress and the Constitutional convention, playing a leading role In framing that great document lie wna one of the first senators ever held In this country the trial of Aaron Burr, former vice president and one of the leading political leaders of his day, for treason. The other la that he was the author of a "Ufe of Washington," a monumental work which was the first Important biography of the Father of His Country and which stands today aa one of the best. Marshall was succeeded as chief Justice by a man who was second only to him In length of service and Importance In making Judicial history. Roger Brooke Taney was his name and of Marshall Mar-shall and Taney It has been said that they "were more Important than most of our Presidents." Taney was a native of Maryland where he waa born March 17, 1777. Be was admitted to the bar In 1709 and later elected to the state legislature. Falling of re-election he settled In Frederick, Md In 1801 where he soon became the leading lawyer of the state. In 1827 he waa appointed attorney general of Maryland and In 1831 President Andrew An-drew Jackson called him to his cabinet As attorney general Taney participated In the bitter political strife of the Jacksonlan era and attained bis first fame. Be supported Jackson In his fight on the United States bank and In 1333 when Duane, secretary of the treasury, refused to remove government deposits front the bank, be was dismissed and Taney waa made secretary of the treasury. Be Immediately ordered the removal of the government deposits and this action was declared by Jackson's enemies to nave caused the financial depression which followed. It resulted In a bitter debate In congress and that body refused to confirm It Soon afterwards he retired to private pri-vate life but, after the death of Marshall, Jackson Jack-son appointed him chief Justice and, despite the opposition of Clay and Webster, he was confirmed by the senate. Taney's chief claim to fame lies In the fact that In 18.17 he handed down the famous Dred Scott decision which seemed to open np all parts of the United States to the extension of slavery, and Involved In the recent change were aome teres! ter-es! Ing "historic firsts" and "historic pnralleis." The previous chief Justice, William Howard Taft, was the first American to have served both aa ('resident and as chief Justice. He was President from 1908 to 1912 and chief Jusllce from 1921 to Ill.'iO The new chief Justice, Charles Evans Hughes, Is the first American to have served aa an associate Justice of the Supreme court, to have retired from that position by resignation and then to have returned to the court as chief Justice. Two associate justices have beeu elevated to the position posi-tion of chief Justice while members of the sitting bench John Rutledge In 1705 and Edwin P. White In 1010. Mr. Hughes also shares with John Marshall the distinction of being the only Americana Ameri-cana who have served In the Important post of secretary of state as well as chief Justice. Marshall Mar-shall served as secretary of state under John Adams and Hughes held the same position In Harding's cabinet Three other chief Justices have served In other cabinet posts. Roger B. Taney waa secretary of the treasury and attorney general gen-eral In President Andrew Jackson's cabinet; Salmon Sal-mon P, Chase was secretary of the treasury for Lincoln and William Howard Taft was secretary of war for Roosevelt Chief Justice Taft's nine-year term of service la less than the average term of a chief Justice which baa been fourteen years. The longest term waa that of John Marshall who presided over the Supreme court for 34 years. The second longest waa Taney'a with a record of 28 years. The shortest short-est term waa that of John Rutledge who served less than six months. In view of the opposition to Hughes' appointment by President Hoover, as expressed by the debate In the senate over the confirmation of the appointment, It Is Interesting to note that only once In history has the senate refused to confirm such an appointment Rutledge Rut-ledge was appointed chief Justice by President Washington on July 1, 1795, when the first chief Justice, John Jay, retired. Because of Itutledge'a attitude toward the Jay treaty with England, the senate In December of that year refused to confirm con-firm the appointment and be retired. Although most Americana probably will refer to Mr. Hughes aa "chief Justice of the United States Supreme court," his exact title la "chief Justice of the United States" and the body over which be presides IS "the Supreme court of the United States." This formal appelatlon Is followed to suco an extent In- government circles that In telegraphers' telegra-phers' code the court's name Is sent as "scotus" a combination of all the first letters In Its designation. desig-nation. While the Constitution referred to this body, when creating It, as "one supreme court" and mentions the head as "chief Justice," It specifies speci-fies his colleagues as "Judges." But In late years the official reference to both the chief Justice and his colleagues have undergone a change. The first seven chief Justices were commissioned as "chief Justice of the Supreme court," but since 18SS they have been commissioned and referred to by the proper appellation of "chief Justice of the United States" and the "Judges" have become "associate Justices." The chief Justice's vote on a decision carries no more weight than that of any of the other eight His task Is to'preslde over the court and over the secret conferences In which the court reaches Its decisions. It Is also his task to assign the cases, after a decision has been reached, to the Justices for the writing of the opinions. His prestige Is of the very highest both officially and socially. His social position was settled by President Washing-ton Washing-ton In the early days of the nation when be announced an-nounced at a state dinner In the executive mansion, man-sion, "The chief Justice of the United States will air at my right hand.' From that time on the chief Justice took precedence over cabinet officers, congressmen. In fact every one, except the President Pres-ident and vice president. In recent years, however, the precedence of the chief Justice over the speaker of the house of brought down upon nis head a storm or denunciation denun-ciation from the North. Tills decision widened the gulf between the North and the South and was one of the prime factors In hastening the Civil wsr. "From this time the chief Justice, If not bis court was practically In abeyance. In May, 1801, he attempted to release a prisoner from Fort Mclienry and to attach the commandant for Ignoring his writ, although he expected to be arrested and Imprisoned for his action. The authorities au-thorities had no wish to molest the veteran, lagging, lag-ging, superfluous, on the stage; they simply disregarded dis-regarded him and his technicalities and he died In Baltimore October 12, 1SC4, lamenting the low estate Into which his court had fallen." Taney was followed as chief Justice by Salmon P. Chase, born In New Hampshire January 13, 1S0S. Chase emigrated to Ohio at an early age, practiced law In that state and became an authority author-ity on financial affairs, tie took a prominent part In the slavery dispute and waa' counsel for so many fugitive slaves tliitf he became known as the "attorney-general for runaway negroes." After Aft-er serving as United States senator and governor of Ohio, be waa one of the leading candidates for the Republican nomination for President In 1800. Lincoln, however, secured the nomination and when he became President he appointed Chase as his secretary of treasury. He resigned this post In 1804 and was appointed chief Justice soon afterwards, serving until 1873. He was succeeded by Morrison It Waite, born In Connecticut November 23. 181Q. but like Chase an emigrant to Ohio where be rose high In the legal profession. He was sppolnted chief Justice by President Grant In 1874 and served until his death March 23. 18S8. His successor was Melville Weston Fuller, born in Maine February 11, ISTVS, but appointed to the chief Justiceship by President Presi-dent Cleveland from Illinois, where he went to practice law in 1ST)8. Chief Justice Fuller died July 4. 1010. and was succeeded by Edward D. White of Louisiana who served from 1910 to bis death on &iy 10. J!)21. when be was succeeded by William.- -i)ward Taft. appointed by President Harding. ' rrom Connecticut nnaer tne constitution, was reelected re-elected and was first to bear the title of. "Watchdog "Watch-dog of the Treasury." He served aa chief Justice from 1790 to 1S0, was sent aa envoy to France and died November 20, 1807. Historians are virtually unanimous In character Izlng John Marshall, the fourth chief Justlc --the --the greatest of them alt His strong Federalism did more to entrench that policy in the law of the nation than did the famous Alexander Hamilton, despite the fact that most of his service was during dur-ing the years when the Jeffersonlan leaders dominated dom-inated the nation, and the strength of the federal government today Is founded on his Interpretation of the Constitution. Boro in Virginia September' 24, 1755, he served brilliantly as an officer In t' e Continental army during the Revolution. After the war he studied law and had no sooner begun to practice It than he was recognized as the equal of any of the great attorneys of Virginia, not even excluding Patrick Henry and Edmund Randolph. After several terms as a state legislator, during which be further added to hta reputation and experience ex-perience aa an envoy to France, he was offered successively the positions of attorney general In President Adams' cabinet and associate Justice of the Supreme court both of whlcb he declined. At the request of Washington be ran for congress con-gress and was elected in 1799 and 'n 1800 was appointed ap-pointed secretary of state under Adams. While still holding that office be was appointed chief Justice of the United States and for the next 34 years be "continued to be the absolute bead of the supreme Judicial tribunal of the United States wttb a published result of filling thirty volumes of reports. His decisions are monuments to the vast Judicial powers and learning whlcb he possessed. They are referred to constantly at thla day as standard authority on constitutional questions. Displaying as they do, a clearness of thought and Impregnable logic rarely met with, combined with a grasp of great public questions, which waa that of a statesman, these decisions rank with those |