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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 1899)
The Conservative , Nebraska was MANDKKSON. highly honored four yenrs ago when the American Bar Association mndo our distinguished cit izen , Jnmes M. "Woolworth , its presi dent. That tribute to the ability , loom ing and worth of Mr. Woolworth was an inspiration to every younger member of the noble profession of law to seek fame by diligent devotion to his profes sion rather than in the arena of politics. And now in Gen. Chnrlcs F. Mandergon the American Bar Apsociatiou has recog nized another eminent and worthy cit izen of this commonwealth by having him deliver the annual address at its meeting in Buffalo , N. Y. , on Monday last , the 28th instant. Every good man and woman , in Ne braska rejoices because these compli ments are evolutions from a respect for the high intellectual character and gen uine achievements of two of the finest types of our political and social life. No caucus , no convention , created these distinctions. But they came to their recipients with spontaneity as the recog nition and reward of honest merit. THE CONSERVATIVE would , did space permit , publish all of General Mander- Bon's speech , but must content itself with only a few short extracts. Refer ring to eminent members of the bar who have recently deceased he said of Thomas F. Bayard : ' Born in the American purple , of an ancestry ever distinguished for patriot ism and rare mental , moral and physi cal endowments , he was easily the first of his illustrious name. The leader of the bar of his state while yet a young man , he would have stepped to the front rank of his profession had not his capacity for political leadership , and his many graces of mind and body brought him naturally into public life. He suc ceeded his lawyer father in the senate of the United States , being the fourth of his family to reach that exalted station. For sixteen years in that body he led his side of the chamber with gracious courtesy and masterful ability , becom ing president pro tempore of the senate. He resigned to be secretary of state , surrendering the portfolio to his successor ser after a most creditable career. "During the last term of President Cleveland he served his country most acceptably as ambassador to Great Britain. In all stations of life he did well his part , and of him it can well be said as of the Chevalier Bayard of the olden time , he was 'sans peur et sans reproche. ' " Of Judge Stephen J. Field , of the su preme court , he spoke as follows : "On March 10 , 18G8 , President Abra ham Lincoln appointed as associate justice of the supreme court of the United States Stephen J. Field of Cali fornia. "Of a family noted for vigorous abil ity and virile powers , he brought to his high place a ripe experience , having been distinguished at the bar and on the bench. For nearly six years ho had bcpn a justice of the supreme court of California. Ascending the bench of the highest federal tribunal on March 20 , 18(58 ( , in the 'midst of war's alarums , ' duiing all the time of the fratricidal conflict , the great period of reconstruc tion , while the 'effort to reestablish the nation and adjust all things to the changed political , social and economical conditions' was on. and continuing through the years of enterprise , inven tion , investment and marvelous mater ial development that followed the war for thirty-four years , six months and eleven days , or until December 1 , 1897 , this remarkable man remained upon the supreme court bench , meeting the grave questions that arose with such persever ing industry , brave disregard of popu lar clamor , rugged honesty of purpose and sucli marked ability that even those who criticised and condemned some of his decisions were compelled to give their respect to the great power of the venerable jurist. He wrote during his service 620 opinions , and if to these are added those published in the circuit court and the supreme court of Califor nia it will be seen that he voiced the decision in 1,042 important and leading cases. In President McKinley's letter accepting his resignation are these words of appreciation. 'I congratulate you most heartily upon a service of such exceptional duration , fidelity and dis tinction. Upon your retirement both the bench and the country will sus tain a great loss , but the high charac ter and great ability of your work will live and long be remembered , not only by your colleagues , but by your grate ful fellow countrymen. " "On April 9 , 1899 , at the age of eighty-two years , full of honors as of years , he passed away. Meet and fit ting is it that we should pay tribute to his memory. " But THE CONSERVATIVE cannot re frain from reproducing the eloquent and timely remarks Pence mid Gooil Will. . , of General Maii- derson , himself a gallant and well-tried soldier , in regard to the peace confer ence at The Hague : ' 'Nature in her evolutionary proces ses moves with a deliberation only equalled by her precision. Her motto seems to be 'make haste slowly. ' The reaching of man's best estate , that mil lennium of peace that lies under the rainbow of promise , seems to our im patient souls to be much delayed. In the presence of the mighty armies of the great European powers ; the upbuilding and maintenance of the gigantic navies ; the annual increase of the budgets to keep the navies upon a war footing ; the piling up of their stupendous indebted ; ness ; the development of more de structive fighting machines ; the increase in force and power of the great guns ; the forcing of more and more velocity and penetrative power into the enor mous projectiles ; the invention of now and fearful explosives ; in short , as we behold all the power of civilization turned into preparation for war , more destructive than the world has ever known , it seems as though the dove , bearing the olive branch , will never re turn to the ark , but that mankind would continue the struggle for national supremacy in a sea of blood. "We feel that DeMaistro spoke truly when he paid , 'History unfortunately proves that war is , in a certain sense , the habitual state of mankind ; that is , that human blood must bo shed , here and there , without interruption upon the earth ; and that a state of peace is , for each nation , but a respite. ' Said the fiery Mirabeau to the Quaker : 'Thou wantest peace ? Well , it is the weakness which invites war. ' "The student of history reads of the slow steps from the 'pure savagery of the individual man , " when he slew his fellow from rnpre appetite for blood , or hope of personal profit , down through the ages when the will of the family and then of the tribe was substituted for single caprice ; or the long period that followed before the civic federa tion , called by whatever name , came to control bloodthirst and of the still longer time before the 'command of the decalogue , " 'Thou shalt not kill" could be set aside by a few , the very few that , as the representative heads of great nations , hold in their hands the power of life and death , and reaching near unto the end of the nine teenth century , looks upon the state of Europe , with every city a fortification and every hamlet a garrison , with boundary lines marked by guns and governments held in place by bayonets and despairs of the coming described long time ago 'how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that briugeth good tidings , that publisheth peace. ' "But suddenly in the East while men despaired , there shone a great light , like a new Star of Bethlehem. The greatest autocrat in the world , the su preme ruler of one hundred and thirty million subjects who do his bidding , the all powerful commander of over four million drilled and disciplined soldiers , sounded the recall to armed Europe. The great Czar of Russia , head of a mil itary empire so mighty as to be uncon querable , invites the civilized world to meet in conference that armies may be reduced , navies be lessened , oppressive taxation for war budgets be relieved and peace , blessed , lasting peace , dawn upon the nations. "It was but three years ago that our distinguished guest , Lord Russell of Killowen , in his superb argument for the settlement of international disputes by arbitration , while expressing hia
