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 The Supreme Court of Wisconsin. of John Olney, Esq., at Windham Center, in his native county, and in December, 1857, he was admitted to the bar. In the following winter, he came to Wisconsin and after a short sojourn at Ahnepee, Kewanee County, on the Michigan shore, he went further west ward and settled atTrempeleau, on the Mis sissippi River, and there entered upon the

practice of law. That beautiful and pictur esque region of Wis consin was then newly settled, and his prac tice extended to sev eral counties, where a dry goods box cov ered with a blanket well served the pur pose of a bench for the circuit judge. He was soon in fair practice. A modest man, never seeking official preferment, he has been selected by his fellow citizens to many positions of honor. In 1860 he was appointed county judge — which is the probate judge in the Wisconsin system — and was twice reelected to this office SILAS U. by the people. In 1 866 he was elected district attorney and served eight years. He was State senator in 1868 and 1869, and was elected circuit judge in 1876; in which office he served until elect ed to the bench of the Supreme Court. He won high reputation as a circuit judge. He listened patiently to arguments of counsel, seldom interrupting a proper argument, de cided promptly and so concisely and clearly that his decision was readily comprehended, and it generally stood the test of review. His long and varied experience on the circuit, added to an excellent legal education, well

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fitted him for the labors of the Supreme Court, and directed public attention to his name in connection with that office. In 1892, he presided at the trial, in the Dane circuit, of the cases against the exState treasurers. The facts in these cases are peculiar, and worthy of mention here. The State treasurers of Wisconsin from its early days had adopted the practice of depositing the State funds in their hands in banks throughout the State and receiving for the deposita small rate of interest, usually three per cent, which they regarded as a per quisite of their own, and did not account for the interest thus received. They con strued the law as not requiring them to ac count for or turn over any more than the principal sums re ceived, except where trust or educational funds had been loan ed in the manner pro vided by law for their investment. This practice was quite PINNEY. generally known in the State, and as generally supposed to be law ful. The legislature and the people had winked at the practice much as had been done in England in the last century when the paymasters of the forces had amassed fortunes by receiving interest on the im mense sums lying idle in their hands. Men of undoubted honor had followed this prac tice of making interest of the public moneys lying in their custody, and no steps had been taken to call them to account. AttorneyGeneral, afterwards Chief-Justice Kenyon had tried to make head against the practice.