Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 21.pdf/343

 318

The Green Bag

to a rival candidate who was his senior in point of service on the Supreme Court bench? The indorsement of the Lancaster County bar, while couched in terms highly complimentary, did not over estimate the merits of one who "by his high Christian character, his keen sense of justice, his uniform courtesy, his close attention to his duties, the clearness and logic of his decisions, has won for himself the admiration of the bar of our entire state, and a high rank among the distinguished jurists of the na tion." The action of the bar association was based upon his brilliant record as "a citizen, patriot, statesman, and jurist." The decisions of this judge have been distinguished by great clearness of rea soning and by a keen analytical faculty that delights in untangling complicated questions. Before he was elected to the bench of the Supreme Court ten or fif teen years ago, he served the state of South Carolina as chief counsel to the Attorney-General, and in the celebrated railroad tax cases which Gov. Tillman pushed so vigorously his advice was most valuable. When he left his place at the head of the state bar to take a prom inent part in the deliberation of the Leg islature, his ability as a lawyer was still at the disposal of his state in dealing with the more difficult problems of leg islation, and when in 1895 the Constitu tional Convention met, he added to his reputation as its vice-president. His Honor's oratorical gifts are shown in a well-prepared oration deliv ered at the unveiling of the Confederate monument at Lancaster, South Caro lina, on June 4, 1909. In this address he quoted the beautiful words of Timrod, the South Carolina poet,— In seeds of laurel in the earth The blossom of your fame is blown, And somewhere waiting for its birth The shaft is in the stone!

and added with fine poetic feeling: "God works in mysterious ways to perform His wonders. The germs of the flowers and evergreens which bedeck this mon ument today rested long before in the soil awaiting this hour to fulfill their most perfect mission." He continued:— "The sentiment which prompts a people to erect monuments in recognition of lofty char acter, or effort, or achievement, is noble and ennobling. No son can live a worthy life who does not honor his father. The so-called New South is great because its roots are in the Old South. All his life the Southerner had been taught that the Union was a federation of sovereign states and that any state could retire from the compact and resume its com plete sovereignty when it so resolved. Many of the greatest minds of the North long held this view. What could not be settled con clusively against the Southern view in the forum of the law and reason was not settled until grim-visaged war overthrew the Con federacy and decided that this shall ever be an indissoluble Union. And though we readily grant that the Confederate soldier was wrong, considered from the standpoint of expediency and the present and future great ness of these United States, he was ever lastingly right in his heart, and he defended his conception of right with unsurpassable cour age and devotion. What glory could the North take in her soldiers if they merely con quered men of whom the South should be ashamed? The more we laud the chivalry of the men of the South, the more we respect the tenacity, skill, and courage of the men of the North. The gigantic struggles and achieve ments of both armies inspire us all, as Amer icans, with greater pride of race and coun try." The other principal facts of Chief Justice Jones' life may be given in a few words. Descended from ScotchIrish ancestry, he was born in Newberry, South Carolina, December 29, 1851, his inheritance being described by the person nominating him to the bench as "a good name and honest character." He entered the Lutheran College at Newberry, leaving in two years to enter Erskine College. He then taught school