THUB5BAY, JtJSt gl,'lB3.
PAGE SIX
PliTTSMOTTTH SE3II - JOTTRXfM.
Pay
s Tribute to
Samuel Maxwell
in law Journal
(Continued from Page 5)
rative offer in order to remain on the
bench of the supreme court.
Another proposition presented by
Maxwell at the convention was the
appointment of one or more commis
sioners who were to see that the laws
should agree with the provisions of
the constitution. These commission
ers were to be appointed by the su
preme court. This proposal, however,
was never placed in the constitution.
The question of yearly or of bien
nial sessions of the legislature was a
mucn debated question at me con-
vention. Maxwell favored biennial-
sessions on the ground that the gen-
eral laws should, not be changed of-'
tener than once in two years and that .
the expense of holding legislative tQ nomjnate him by acclamation
sessions would not justify more fre- Tne chairman of the convention
quent meetings. j however, called for another ballot
Thepart that Maxwell too in theMaxweH was nominated on this bal
debates of the convention discloses : ,ot and his nomination was made un-
a clear insight and a profound un -
derstanding of constitutional fund-1
amentals. His speecnes naci mucn
to do with shaping tne policies 01
the convention and many of his sug
gestions, which were not followed in
the convention of 1S71, were includ
ed in the later constitution of 1S75.
As chairman of the judiciary com
mittee he had much to do with the
haplng of TheTr 'ci; on the judi -
iarv. His work on other committees
- . . . 0 .
the people by a vote of S.C27 tc
7.9S6.
Maxwell's work in trie territorial
legislatures and the dominating part
he played in the constitutional con
ventions of 1S66 and 1S71 has close
ly interwoven his life into the early
political history of the state.
ijecuon 10 ine aupreme toun, 10
Maxwell was elected a justice of ;
the supreme court of Nebraska in
1S72, holding this position contin
uously until 1S94. His first term
was to last six years, but. was cut
short due to the adoption of the
constitution of 1S75.
As the supreme court of the state
was first organized there were three
judges. In addition to performing
the customary duties of a member
of the supreme court, each judge
was assigned to one of the three
judical districts into which the state
was then divided.- Maxwell was as
signed to t he Third District and
moved to Fremont in order to re
side in his district. When the su
preme court was not in session the
judges devoted their time in presid
ing over district courts in their re
spectice districts. At this time there
were only two railroads In the state.
It was possible to reach the county
seat towns along the Missouri River
by rail but in order to get to the
inland county seats towns is was
necessary to make long thips in stage
coaches. Thus a supreme judge spent
much of his time in his judicial
district.
Constitutional Convention of 1875
The constitutional convention of
1875 met at Lincoln on May 11.
Judege Maxwell was ameniber of this
convention, elected from Dodge Coun
ty. The new constitution was simi
lar to the one which had been pro
posed in 1871. Several changes were
made in the judiciary article which
affected the make-up of the bench.
A provision was made for the divi
sion of the state into six judicial
districts and for the election of dis
trict judges for each district. This
decreased the work of the judges of
the supreme court and enabled them
to devote their time to work on the
supreme bench. The three judges of
the supreme court were to be elected
at intervals of two years, each hold
ing office for six years. The salary
of the judges was also increased from
$2,000 to $2,500.
Elections to all offices created by
the constitution were to take place
in the fall of 1875. There were some
opposition to this, especially on the
part of the friends of the incumbents
of the supreme bench.. Judge Lake I
who at the time was serving as one
of the justicesof the supreme court,
believed that the new election in the
fall was " an unjust discrimina
tion." Nominations of 1875, 1881, 1887
Beginning with Maxwell was nomi
nated by the Republican party for
three consecutive terms as a judge
of the supreme court. In the repub
lican state convention of 1875, Geo
rge Lake and Daniel Gantt were
nominated on the first ballot and on
the sixth ballot Maxwell was nemed
as the third choice of the convention.
These three republican candidates
easily secured the election in the
fall of 1875.
Judges were to hold office for six
years, but one judge was to be re
tired at the end of each year. As
the three judges had been elected
at the same time, lots were drawen.
Maxwell secured the long term and
held office until 1881. On May 29.
1878, Chief Justice Gantt died and
according to the constitution. Art
icle VI, Section 6, Mexwell became
Chief Justice.
Attempts to thwart Maxwell's
tenomination were made in the re
publican convention of 1881 by a
small minority. A motion to vote on
nominations for supreme Judges by
secret ballot instead of voting viva
voce by the call of the counties was
made and( after a debate lasting
lover an hour, was defeated by an
overwhelming majority. The defeat
of the motion ended any furthed
opposition to Maxwell and he was
nominated on the first ballot.
Efforts by a small minority of the
party were made o defea Maxwell
in he republican convention of 1887.
Candidates aspiring to the judge-
ship were active during the day of,
the convention with the exception of
Judge Maxwell. "No state eonben-
tion." according to the World-Her
aid, "with so fey offices to be elected
ever excited so much interest as this
one." Maxwell, however, although a
candidate, continued his work at the
capital and presided in the supreme
court on the day of the convention
Details of organization were easily
adjusted and the chief interest cen
tered about the nomination for judge
Maxwell was placed in nomination
by Judge O. P. Mason who "said that
the man he proposed as the repub
lican candidate for justice of the su
preme court was an old citizen, whose
name was a synonym for honesty
When he said "His name is Semue'
Maxwell," there was a tremenduous
oviation. J. R. Frick seconded the
nomination on behalf of Dodge roun
ty. Other counties seconded the nom
ination. C. J. Dilworth, A. M. Post
r p c00k, and T. L.
Nerval were
a,so piace,i jn nomination as can
ditlatP3 for the position.
0n (ne first nan0t Maxwell lacked
. , votes of securing the nom-
ination. Several motions were made
,.., - ,..., T, was eiertec at the fall
elect ion an(j served to the end of the
gix year term wnch ended in 1S94.
Judge Maxwell's Third Term
Maxwell, from the time of Lin
coln's election to the presidency in
1SC0, had affiliated with the Repub
lican party. His connection with the
nartv organization, however, had
een rather perfunctory and passive,
He never was an actire participant
Mn the party affairs nor was he a
or not he was a rather clever poli
ttcian in the matter of seeking and at
time receiving the popular acclaim
of the people, irrespective of party
affiliation, became a matter of much
diversity of opinion during the lat
ter period of his judical career on
the supreme bench of the state.
His dissenting opinion in the Tha
ver.3oV(1 oape in 1891 in which
'TftmPS R RoV(i contested the elec-
jton pf John M Thayer as governor
caused much comment throughout the
state in which public opinion waf
very much divided as to whether or
not his dissent was an honest ex
pression of his judicial conviction?
on the subject, or an appeal for the
applause of a disturbed and some
what turbulent and discontented ele
ment. He was entirely vindicated
in his position, however, upon the
reversal of the Thayer- Boyd case
by the Supreme Court of the United
States.
Within a very short time after the
reversal of the Thayer-I!oyd case by
the Supreme Court of the United
States, the supreme court of Nebras
ka handed down a decision in the im
peachment cases, in which impeach
ment charges had been filed against
certain state officers. The court dis
missed the charges against all the
officers. Judge A. M. Post, one of
the ablest judges to ever occupy a
position on the supreme bench, de
livered the opinion or the court.
Judge Maxwell refused to concur in
the opinion. He submitted a written
dissent, which bristled in bitter casti
gation of the accused oncers. Again
the charge was made that Maxwell
was using hie position on the bench
to curry the popular favor and that
his dissent was intended primarily
for the attention of the adherents of
the Populist party in the state.
These charges were without a
doubt unfounded. The bitterness,
however, which characterized the
political campaigns of those days
made possible the widespread cer
culation of the charges, resulting in
the loss of certain elements of sup
port in the Republican party, but
at the same time making Maxwell
particularly popular among certain
of the leaders of the Populist move
ment. Populist Convention of 1893
The Populist convention met on
September 5, 1893, and was the first
of the state conventions held that
year. There was considerable talk
about the nomination of Maxwell as
the party's candidate for supreme
judge. Several county delegations
had been instructed for him. It was
generally conceded, however, before
the convention met. that Maxwell
would be nominated by the Popu
lists. The World-Herald said that the
possibility of Maxwell's nomination
"died of too much Rosewaterism."
Maxwell had proviously been strong
ly supported by Rosewater and many
of the delegates refused to support
anyone who had ever had any con
nection with what they termed "Rose
waterism." P. H. Barry of Greeley county nom
inated Maxwell at the convention.
His nomination was received with
applause from certain parts of the
hall, but cries of "Let him announce
himself" and hisses were heard from
other parts of the hall. Mr. Randall
of Hall county in nominating Judge
Thompson said "the independents did
uitc iu bu iu mii enemy ior a
candidate." Maxwell's home countv
Dodge, cast four of its nine votes for
him. On the informal ballot he re
ceived nineteen votes.
Dodge County Convention of 1893
The Dodge County Republican con
vention met in Fremont on September
8. 1893. J. E. Frick. a lawyer of
Fremont, was a candidate for the
republican nomination for the office
of supreme judge. Maxwell was al
so a candidate. Both were residents
of Dodge county. Frick made a vig
orous campaign prior to the conven
ing of the convention; Maxwell, as
usual, remained inactive. L. D.
Richards, who still resides at Fre
mont, presided over the convention.
The delegates selected to attend the
state convention were instructed by
resolution of the convention to cast
their votes for J. E. Frick as candi
date for the office of supreme judge.
The resolution said , "in presenting
his )Frick's) name, it is done with
no sense of desrespect for the Hon-
nrihi Samuel Maxwell, who has
fnithfullv served for twenty years
nnd who will retire from the bench
with the respect and confidence of
his fellow citizens.".
A resolution was offered that if at
any time during the convention it
became apparent that Mr. Frick
could not secure the nomination and
the vote of the Dodge county dele
gates would secure such a nomination
for Mr. Maxwell, the delegates should
cast their votes for the latter. This
resolution was defeated by a vote of
75 to 30.
Republican State Convention of 1893
The pre-eonvention campaign or
1S93 was unique in that the political
interest was focused upon the nomi
nation of a candidate for the supreme
bench. The Republicans were aligned
for or against Maxwell. As the time
approached for the convening of the
Republican state convention, tne cam
paign developed into a personal at
tack on Maxwell. His party deser
tion was played up by various news
papers of the state. "His views,"
"asserted the Tecumseh Chieftain,
"are so diametrically opposed to the
views of the leading republicans that
Maxwell's name should not be men
tioned at the convention."
In-responce to an attack of the
Fremont Tribune on his party loy
altv. Maxwell openly declared his
position. "II I am to ue uenieu a re
nomination because I am not in full
accord with the corporate tendencies
and desires of Nebraska or because
I have not . . . placed party first
and conscience last, I shall cheer
fully retire to private life ... If
returned to the bench, I shall dis
charge my duties as judge without
taking into account the political ad
vancement of any set of men."
Judge Maxwell refused to make
any canvas for his renomination. He
stated that his judical reputation was
bound in calf" and could be found
upon the shelves of ev-ry lawyer of
the state. His failure to canvas for
his nomination is outstanding when
contrasted with the concerted ef
forts of other candidates seeking the
lomination at the hands of the Re
publican party.
The convention convened at Lin
coln on October 5. IS 93. There seem
ed to be little doubt that if Maxwell
were nominated he would easily se
cure the election in the fall. The re
pudiation of Maxwell in his home
county and the consistent attack car-
ied on against him by tne newspa
pers had tended to arouse the inter
est of every section of the state.
The day before the convention met
thirty-five county conventions of the
state had expressed their choice for
Maxwell. About one-half of this num
ber, however, changed their vote
after the balloting had continued for
a short time. The opposition to him
had been well organized before the
convention met. Three hundred seventy-five
votes were cast forhim on
the first ballot. This ballot marked
the height of his strength and from
then on the votes gradually shifted
to Harrison who on the fourth ballot
received enough votes to secure the
nomination.
After Maxwell's defeat In the re
publican convention, attempts were
made to nominate him by petition.
He refused, however, to allow his
name to go on the ballot. He openly
supported Silas Holcomb, the Popu
list candidate, at the election. Sev
eral of the papers had stated that
he was enthusiastically in favor of
Harrison's election. He denied this
in a letter to the Alliance Leader in
which he said that he regarded Hol
comb as the right man. Although
he for some time previous had indi
cated a sympathy with the Populist
movement, he now. for the first time
threw- his support to a candidate
nominated by that party. For Max
well the step was short from the
ranks of the Republicans to the ranks
of the Populist. From the day of his
defeat for the nomination of supreme
judge in the Republican convention
of 1893 he had been seriously con
templating aligning himself with the
Populist, movement. His political
viewpoint more clearly coincided with
the viewpoint of the Populists, and
by 1895 he became prominently iden
tified with the new party.
His name had been mentioned in
the Populist convention of 1893 as
the candidate of that party for judge
of the supreme court. Again in 1894
his name had been proposed as gov
ernor of the state by prominent mem
bers of the party. This proposal
however, was never seriously con
sidered at the Populist convention
of 1894.
By 1895 the Populist party was
already rapidly declining. It was
therefore, necessary for this party to
find a candidate that would not only
draw a heavy Populist vote but would
also secure a substantial vote from
the other parties as well. "To the
close observer the decline and fall of
Populism was as plainly written on
the wall as the handwriting of old.
interpreted by the prophet." The
Populist leaders felt that Maxwell, in
addition to obtaining a large majority
or the Populist vote, would attract
no inconsiderable support rrom many
Republisans.
Independent Convention of 1895
The state convention of the Ponu-
list party was held at Lincoln on
August 28, 1895. Maxwell had pre
viously stated that he would not be
a candidate at the convention for the
nomination of supreme judge. The
delegates in attendance at the con
vention believed that, Maxwell was
the one man who, If nominated, could
be elected at the fall election. At the
time of the convention Maxwell had
made no public statement in respect
to his adherence to the principles
enunciated in the party's platform.
As a result of this, there was some
opposition to his nomination at the
convention. This opposition was led
by Paul Vandervoort, who was
against nominating anyone not
konwn to stand squarely on the par
ty's platform. This group, however.
(was decidedly in the minority. On
tne informal ballot Maxwell obtained
665 out of 707 votes. His nomination
was than made unanimous by ac
clamation. In his letter of. acceptance he de
clared his position as follows: "The
business of the state must Tie conduct
ed cn busines principles and the same
degree of integrity and accountabi
lity required a in a first class busi
ness establishment ... If the court
even indirectly sanctions the larceny
or misappropriation of public funds,
its influence will be felt in every
department by lowering the standard
of official duty . . .."
After Maxwell had accepted the
nomination he was asked whether he
would accept it as a Populist. To this
he replied: "I think that question
was not asked in the convention
which nominated me." He treated
hi:, nomination as a non-partisan
nomination. It was as a non-partisan
candidate that he desired to present
himself to the people.
Maxwell's nomination by the Popu
lists contained an element weakness
as well as of strength. Some of the
Populists were unwilling to support
him because he had not definitely ac
cepted their platform. Partisan Re
publicans accused him of deserting
his party, and thus refused to vote
for him. At the Republican state con
vention, J. M. Thurston had denounc
ed him "as one who unmindful of
his obligations of gratitude, turned
his back on the party, whose bread
he had eaten for twenty years, when
he failed to be renominated by it."
His nomination was a bit inconsis
tent with the previous stand of the
Populist party In 1893. when that
party could have nominated him and
forced the Republican party either
to accept him or to suffer defeat,
lioweved, the majority of the Popu
lists had at that time refused to go
outside of the party to secure a can
didate. In 1S95 they were willing to
accept a candidate who had been de
feated by the Republicans two years
earlier. This was a confession of
weakness on the part of the Populists,
for Maxwell had never publicly pro
claimed his belief in their doctrines.
Without a doubt, they realized that
Maxwell was the only wan who pos
sibly carry the state for them.
The Campaign of 1895
The campaign was one of person
alities. The Republicans argued that
Maxwell was too old to assume the
arduous duties of the bench. The
State Journal asserted it to be poor
policy to keep a man in office for
than a generation. "This," it remark
ed, "is the chief fault with a mon
archy."
The Populists replied that during
the last two years that Maxwell had
been on the bench he had 'written
299 opinions as compared with 2S4
opinions written by the other two
members of the court. T. L. Norval
and A. M. Post, and that. In addition
to this work, he had rewritten the
sixth edition of his work on Plead
ing Pracice. whlrh 'resuired the ex
amination of some 8,000 cases.
Maxwell- did little campaigning.
He believed that his past record was
sufficient proof of his judical ability
and official integrity. Besides Max
well there were three other candi
dates in the field. T. L. Xoval. Re
publican; C. J. Phelps, Silver Demo
crat; and T. J. Mahoney, Gold Demo
crat candidate, l
Rosewater, of the Omaha Bee.
threw his support to the Republican
candidate. Norval. Rosewater had
strongly advocated Maxwell's renomi
nation in 1SS7 and in 1893 but had
considered it unwise in 1895 for him
to have accepted the Populist nomi
nation. W. J. Bryan urged the elec
tion of Phelps.
Norval succeeded in polling the
most votes in the election. The final
vote was as follows: Norval, 79,156;
Maxwell. 70,566; Mahoney, 18,636;
Phelps, 10,214.
Several factors contributed to Max
well's defeat in the election of 1S95.
The steady decline of the Populist
movement brought about Ty the era
of prosperity had caused many peo
ple to vote tte Republican ticket. The
fact that Rosewater. a Republican
leader, withdrew his support from
Maxwell and gave it to Norval. the
Republican candidate, also weakened
the Populist cause. A fusion between
the Democrats and the PonulistF
would probably have resulted in
Maxwell's election.
Election of 1896
In 1896 Maxwell was nominated
by the Populist party as its candidate
for Congress from the Third Congres-
sonal District. Rosa L. Hammond
editor of the Fremont Tribune, was
nominated by the Republicans. The
campaign in the Third District, as
well as in all other congressiona'
districts in the state, was extremely
mild compared with previous cam
paigns. This was due to the fact that
the presidential campaign of 1896
overshadowed all other political con
siderations. The Republicans acain
harped upon Maxwell's party deser
tion. It was pointed out that "it
never occurred to him (Maxwell) that
the policies of the Republican "party
were harmful to the people until it
requested him to abandon the bench
for a more able bodied man." Max
well's friends claimed that he had
been gradually drawn into the Popu
list movement, not because he had
been defeated for the renomination
in 1893, but because hl3 ideas coin
cided more closely with those of the
Populists. A week before the election
Maxwell, in a letter to the World
Herald, declared himself In favor of
free silver, and threw his support to
Bryon for president.
Maxwell, although absent from the
state during the campaign, carried
both his county and district by sub
stantial majorities. His victory was
undoubtedly due to the fusion which
had been effected by the Democrats
and the Populiste in the state.
Maxwell in the Fifty-fifth Congress
While In the Fifty-fifth Congress,
Maxwell was never considered as one
of the prominent members. He ser
ved on several Important committees.
He had declared himself in iavor or.
free silver in the election of 1896.
pMMnl'",''l''ll,l,'
with
Y OU will sense a real difference
in performance when you drive
a Graham-Paige six equipped with
four speeds forward. There is nothing
new to learn the gear shift is
standard. A car is at your disposal.
Main Street, between
In Congress he urged its adoption of
the double standard. He stated his
belief to be that the coinage of gold
and silver at the ratio of 1G to 1
would 'furnish sufficient money for
the wants of the people, revive all
kinds of busines, and bring prosper
ity and happiness to every person in
the land."
He favored a liberal pension for
war veterans. He proposed an amend
ment to the pension bill raising the
appropriation from $140,000,000 to
$165,000,000. His proposal, however,
was rejected by the House. As a
member of Congress he consistently
opposed any unnecessary expense in
the conduct of governmental admin
istration as he bad done in the terri
torial legislatures, and constitutional
conventions, of which he bad been a
member.
His services in the Fifty-fifth Con
gress marked the end of his political
career. After the adjourn me-rjt of
this session of Congress, he retired to
private life and during the interven
ing years spent his time in revising
hio writings until the time of his
death in 1901.
PURCHASES HOSE CARTS
The hand drawn hose carts that
for many, many years served as the
chief aid in the fire fighting appar
atus of the Plattsmouth volunteer
fire department, .is to find a new
home and once more serve to aid in
the saving of property from destruc
tion by fire, they having for a num
ber of years been out of active ser
vice here since the purchase of the
auto fire truck.
The installation of a water system
at Union has resulted in that place
having the opportunity for fire pro
tection that they have badly needed
for years and now having fire hy
drants and a good water system will
have a fire fighting organization and
here is where the hose carts from
this city will play a part. The vil
lage board of Union has made the
purchase of two of the carts and
which will serve very nicely in caring
for the hose that will be used in
the Union fire department and mean
a great saving in property loss in
time of fire.
The town of Union has had several
fires in the past that would easily
have paid for the waterworks system
in the loss that was sustained and
with the system of water service in
stalled the town should have a rea
sonable safety from the fires that
have in the past gutted whole sec
tions of the town.
The hose carts that the Union
board has secured from this city
were the pride and joy of- the fire
department for many years and were
used frequently in cart races and
other features at the tournament of
the state firemen's association.
RETURNS HOME
From Tuesday's Dally
Mrs. Ruth Thomsen who has been
at the Immanuel hospital at Omaha
for the past two weeks, has so far
recovered that she has been able to
return home to this city and is now
here to recuperate from her illness
and operation. Mrs. Thomsen has had
KJS f Sri 0 4 3 v b
4 speeds forward
GsraS&aasa Paige Agestssf
Fred G. Ahrens, Manager
4tli and 5th
Plattsmouth, Nebraska.
A
a very serious operation and her
many friends over the county will
be delighted to learn that she is now
so well on the way to complete re
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Telephone 61 Plattsmouth, Neb.
Five chassis sixes and eights
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