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