USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > Centennial history of the city of Washington, D. C. With full outline of the natural advantages, accounts of the Indian tribes, selection of the site, founding of the city to the present time > Part 74
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On July 21, 1828, a meeting was held at the City Hall for the purpose of organizing a society for the promotion of temperance. The
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president of the meeting was Hon. William Cranch, and the meeting was opened with prayer by the Rev. J. L. Skinner. A constitution pre- viously drafted was presented, and unanimously adopted. This society was named the Washington City Temperance Society, and when organ- ized, the president was Hon. William Cranch; vice-president, Rev. Dr. Robert B. Semple; treasurer, James L. Edwards; secretary, John Coyle, Jr., and directors, Revs. John Davis, Reuben Post, Obadiah B. Brown, Andrew Coyle, and James H. Handy.
The first temperance society organized in the United States was in 1808, at a small town in New York State, with forty-seven members. The second was in Massachusetts in 1813, called the Mas- sachusetts Society for the Suppression of Intemperance. Next came the American Temperance Society, of Boston, in 1826, under the direction of which State, county, and town associations rapidly formed, and in 1831 there were in existence nineteen States and three thousand local societies, with a membership of three hundred thou- sand. It is believed that the first temperance address in Washington was by Rev. Justin Edwards.
On December 31, 1831, there was held a large temperance meeting in the House of Representatives, presided over by the Hon. Lewis Cass, and addressed by Hon. Daniel Webster, Hon. Felix Grundy, Hon. Theodore Frelinghuysen, and others. The first Congressional Temperance Society was organized in 1833, with Hon. Lewis Cass as president. This society was revived in 1837, in 1842, in 1844, and in 1866.
The Washington Temperance Society was organized by six men who were accustomed to meet nightly for the purpose of drinking, while sitting in a tavern in Baltimore. They then signed the pledge of total abstinence. Three days after, William Mitchell and his five asso- ciates formed the Washington Temperance Society, which in 1841 had a membership of over one hundred thousand. This movement proved, however, to be but a great spasm of virtue, and soon passed away, but it led to the organization of the Sons of Temperance, the first meeting of which was held in New York September 29, 1842. The first division of this order in the District of Columbia was formed in 1844, and by 1858 every division of this jurisdiction had surren- dered their charters. On October 22, 1855, Good Samaritan Division, No. 1, was instituted, and in July, 1862, Federal City, No. 2, was formed. Equal Division, No. 3, was formed January 1, 1863; Armory Square, No. 4, soon afterward, and then Columbia, No. 5. Both of these last two were formed of soldiers in the hospitals. Within
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two years from the organization of Armory Square Division, No. 4, a branch of the order was formed and in successful operation in every hospital in the city but one, and from April, 1863, to April, 1865, more than seven thousand soldiers took up the cause of the Sons of Temperance in the District of Columbia. From January, 1863, to October 1, 1867, thirty-nine divisions were instituted in the District, and at the end of this time there were nineteen of them in successful operation, with four thousand five hundred members.
The first annual meeting of the Congressional Temperance Society was held Sunday evening, January 26, 1868, in the House of Repre- sentatives, Senator Wilson presiding. Hon. William Plants, of Ohio, Horace Greeley, Hon. Samuel F. Carey and IIon. Thomas II. Ford, both of Ohio, and General Hurlbut, of Illinois, made speeches in favor of temperance. Mr. Greeley's speech was very radical. This society is still in existence.
The Washington Bible Society was organized in 1836. Its fifteenth anniversary was celebrated in the F Street Presbyterian Church, May 26, 1851. M. St. Clarke was the president. A resolution was adopted in favor of supplying the parlors of hotels each with a copy of the Bible, and recommending that the board of managers supply a copy to such hotels as had proprietors willing it should be done. A resolu- tion was then adopted, on motion of Rev. Dr. Junkin, that, recognizing the Bible as the book of religion, the book of liberty, the infallible exponent of human duty and of human rights, the society regarded the free and universal circulation of the Sacred Volume as a most important means of maintaining and propagating among men the true religion and the principles and institutions of regulated liberty, etc.
The eighteenth anniversary of this society was celebrated May 29, 1854, John P. Ingle, president, in the chair. During the year then closing, the receipts of the society from the sale of Bibles and Testaments amounted to $1,426.13. Since the last previous report the entire number of volumes in the depository had been 3,992 - 1,512 Bibles and 2,480 Testaments. The total issue from the deposi- tory during the same period had been 1,196 Bibles and 1,801 Testa- ments. The agent of the society had visited during the year 8,459 families and places of business, finding 862 of them without either a Bible or Testament, and supplying by sale or by gift 647, while 215 of them refused to receive a copy of either. John P. Ingle was again elected president, together with six vice-presidents, and Mitchell II. Miller was elected secretary, Michael Nourse treasurer, and there were elected twelve directors.
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Without attempting to trace the history of this society minutely, suffice it to say that at present it meets at No. 1409 New York Avenue Northwest. The managers are the pastors of the several churches of the city, ex officio; life directors, and ministers of the Gospel who are life members. Rev. A. W. Pitzer is president at the present time, and William Ballantyne treasurer and depositary.
The Young Men's Christian Association was organized June 9, 1852, at a meeting held in Masonic Hall. At the beginning, this association addressed itself to the work of perfecting theories of uni- versal application, and in order to carry out its work it excluded sectarianism and denominational theology. Two well-lighted and pleas- ant rooms were rented on Seventh Street, near the post office, where the stranger was always welcome, and where a large number of papers and periodicals were always to be found. During the first six months of its existence, a library of several hundred volumes was collected - all donations, and nearly all from persons in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington. At the end of the first year, there were 350 volumes in the library; at the end of the second year, 1,040, 900 of which had been donated and 140 purchased. William J. Rhees was the first recording secretary.
The association is located at 1409 and 1411 New York Avenue, and its rooms are open daily from 9:00 A. M. to 10:00 P. M. The president is William B. Gurley; treasurer, J. C. Pratt; recording sec- retary, J. H. Lichliter; general secretary, James E. Pugh.
The Women's Christian Association meets at 1719 Thirteenth Street Northwest. The president of this association is Mrs. Justice Harlan; vice-presidents, Mrs. Chief Justice Fuller, Mrs. S. C. Pom- eroy, Mrs. John Rodgers, Mrs. William Stickney, Mrs. J. G. Ames, Mrs. D. W. Mahon, and Mrs. G. O. Little; secretary, Mrs. Thomas Wilson; treasurer, Mrs. D. A. Freeman, and register, Mrs. C. B. Jewell.
The patriotic orders of the District of Columbia are the following:
The Associated Veterans of 1846 and the various organizations com- ing under the general head of the Grand Army of the Republic. All of these organizations belong to the Department of the Potomac, hav- ing its headquarters at No. 1412 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest. The several Grand Army posts are as follows:
John A. Rawlins Post, No. 1; Kit Carson, No. 2; Lincoln Post, No. 3; O. P. Morton Post, No. 4; George G. Meade, No. 5; John F. Reynolds, No. 6; James A. Garfield, No. 7; Burnside Post, No. 8; Charles Sumner Post, No. 9; Farragut Post, No. 10; Charles P. Stone
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Post, No. 11; U. S. Grant Post, No. 12; John A. Logan Post, No. 13; Phil. A. Sheridan Post, No. 14; George II. Thomas Post, No. 15; W. T. Sherman Post, No. 16. The Union Veterans' Union has three commands-Hancock Command, No. 1; John A. Logan Command, No. 2; and Phil. A. Sheridan Command, No. 3.
Besides these, there are the District Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, the National Association Veterans of the Mexican War, the Society of Loyal Volunteers, the National American Woman Suffrage Association, the District Woman Suffrage Association, the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and St. George's Society -a benevolent society founded in 1870, for the relief of English-born people in distress.
There are six scientific societies in Washington, having an aggre- gate membership of about one thousand, two hundred and fifty. These societies are as follows:
The Anthropological Society, organized February 17, 1870, to encourage the study of the natural history of man, especially on the American Continent.
The Biological Society, organized December 3, 1880, to encourage the study of biological science.
The Chemical Society, organized Jannary 31, 1884, for the study of chemical science, pure and applied.
The Entomological Society, organized February 29, 1884, for the study of entomological science in all its bearings.
The National Geographic Society, organized January 27, 1888, for the study and distribution of geographic knowledge.
The Philosophical Society, organized October 13, 1871, for the purpose of the free exchange of views on scientific subjects and the promotion of scientific inquiry among its members. This is one of the most important societies in Washington. It has published eleven volumes of bulletins. The annual dues are $5. It has a mathematical section, organized March 29, 1883.
A Joint Commission of the above societies was formed February 25, 1888, consisting of three delegates from each of the component societies, its functions being advisory, except that it may excente instructions on general subjects and in special cases from two or more of the societies.
The Blavatsky Branch of the Theosophical Society meets at No. 1006 F Street, Reavel Savage being the president, and JJ. Guilford White secretary.
CHAPTER XXII.
THE BENCH AND BAR.
The Peculiar Character of the District of Columbia-Laws of the States of Virginia and Maryland Continued in Force Therein - Rights Preserved - Appeals to the Supreme Court- The Circuit Court -The Orphan's Court - Police Court - District Marshal -The Jurisdiction of the Courts- Kendall versus the United States- Chief Justices of the Circuit Court-Thomas Johnson - William Kilty - William Cranch -George W. Hopkins-James Dunlop - Associate Justices-James Mar- shall - Nicholas Fitzhugh - Allen R. Duckett - Buckner Thruston - James S. Mor- sell - William M. Merrick -The Supreme Court of the District of Columbia - David K. Cartter-Edward F. Bingham - Abraham B. Olin -George P. Fisher - Andrew Wylie - D. C. Humphries - Arthur MeArthur - A. B. Hagner - Walter S. Cox- Charles P. James - Martin V. Montgomery - Andrew C. Bradley -The Criminal Court -Thomas Ilartley Crawford --- The Police Court-Celebrated Cases in the Courts of the District of Columbia -- The Lawrence Case -- The White Case - The Gardiner Case -- The Herbert Case -The Sickles Case -- The Assassination of President Lincoln -Hallett Kilbourn -- The Guitean Case -- The Star Route Cases - Members of the Early Bar - Francis S. Key - William L. Brent - Philip R. Fen- dall - Richard S. Coxe-Joseph H. Bradley - James M. Carlisle -- Henry May -- The Present Bar.
N TOTHING perhaps more significantly exhibits the abnormal charac- ter of the Territory of Columbia, as it was called by those who established it, than its peculiar judicial organization. From the very nature of the case, this Territory formed a community separate and distinct from every other portion of the Union. The constitutional provision that gave to Congress exclusive legislative authority in its affairs separated it from the States and gave it a distinct character. It was not a part of any State organization, and its government was committed to the care of the national legislature and not to that of the people who inhabited it. The very fact that a whole community was, by operation of law, taken from under the control of the govern- ment of the State to which it belonged and placed under an exclusive legislation in which it could have no part, was calculated to give to this Territory a character peculiarly its own. In nothing was this so remarkable as in the organization and history of the judicial system which was to regulate the most intimate relations of its citizens. In the very first act of Congress, passed July 16, 1790, establishing the
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temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States, provision was made by which the operation of the laws of the State from which the District was selected for the purpose mentioned in the act should continue in force until the time fixed for the removal of the Government to the territory so selected, and until the Congress of the United States should make further provision for its government. Congress in this way took care to provide against a sudden change in the law governing the territory selected, until the time should arrive when it could itself provide by positive and distinet legislation for the local necessities of the community. This state of things continued until 1801. Congress then passed an act entitled " An Act Concerning the District of Columbia," by which the laws of the States of Maryland and Virginia, out of which States the Territory had been carved, were continued in force as the body of law by which the people of that Territory were to be governed. The District itself was divided into two counties, one of which, embracing that portion lying cast of the Potomac River, was, together with the islands of that river, to be called and known as the County of Washington; the other part, embracing that part lying west of the Potomac River, was to be called the County of Alexandria. As by the subsequent retrocession of this last mentioned portion of the District of Columbia to Virginia, Alexandria County was incorporated into and became again a part of that State, it is not deemed necessary, in this history, to say anything more in reference to the laws and courts peculiar to it, and their jurisdiction therein, except that by this act it was made a part of the judicial system of the District.
Under the act from which we have quoted, a court was established in the District of Columbia which was called the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia, the judges of which were vested with all the powers conferred upon the judges of the Circuit Courts of the United States. This Circuit Court was to consist of one chiet justice and two associate justices, who were to hold their offices during good behavior, and to be qualified by taking the oath provided by law to be taken by the justices of the Circuit Courts of the United States, and who were also to have power to appoint a clerk and such other officers as were necessary to the establishment of a complete judicial system.
The same act made provision for the terms of the court in the two counties of which the District was composed, and conferred upon it a wide jurisdiction over all crimes and offenses and all cases in law and equity. It is not necessary here to go into any more detail
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with respect to the powers of this court or into its peculiar organi- zation.
At the outset, for the purpose of preserving the rights and rela- tions existing between the citizens of the territory so selected for the seat of the Government, Congress enacted that in all cases where judgments or decrees had been obtained or should be obtained there- after, in suits depending at the time of cession in any of the courts of Virginia or Maryland, where the defendant had property within the Territory of Columbia, the plaintiff might have execution for the purpose of enforcing his rights in those courts in such cases. It will thus be seen that while Congress was establishing a new system of judiciary for the Territory of Columbia, it took care to provide for all rights existing in the States by which the Territory had been ceded to the Government of the United States, before that cession took place. Under this condition of things the courts of the Dis- triet of Columbia were established, and entered upon their duties as the judicial government of the Territory of Columbia. By the laws enacted to carry into effect this new judicial system, Congress gave to the citizens of this peculiar Territory the right of appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States. At first this right of appeal was given in all cases where the amount involved exceeded $100. Afterward, this amount was increased to $1,000, but when it was so increased the right of appeal was preserved to litigants in all cases where the amount exceeded $100 and was less than $1,000, in which it could be shown to a judge of the Supreme Court that the questions involved were of so serious a nature as to authorize the interposition of that court. Under this system, the appeal to the Supreme Court being direct, and not as in the States, in which courts of appeal exist, a great many cases which under ordinary circum- stances would not have been carried to the Supreme Court at all were brought before it for consideration. This condition of things operated to bring a great many cases that had been decided by the courts of the District of Columbia to the Supreme Court for the final adjudi- cation. In the course of time it was found essential to enlarge the sum necessary to authorize an appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, until now no appeal can be had to this court, except in certain cases mentioned in the statute, unless the sum involved exceed $5,000.
Besides the Circuit Court, of which we have been speaking, pro- vision was made for the appointment, in each of the counties of Washington and Alexandria, of a judge to be called the Judge of the Orphan's Court, and of a Register of Wills, who were authorized to
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ยท perform all the duties incumbent upon officers of like character in the States from which this Territory had been taken. This separate Probate Court continued to exist until the change was made in the organization of the courts to which reference will be hereafter made, when the duties of the Probate Court were imposed upon one of the judges of the courts of the District of Columbia. The office of Register of Wills was not changed, and continues until the present time. It may be well to mention in this connection, that long subsequently to the time of which we are now speaking, Congress created another court in the District of Columbia, called the Police Court; but it is not deemed necessary to say anything further of these minor courts. In what is to be said hereafter, attention will be confined to those courts which compose the judicial system of the District of Columbia. We have said enough to show that, in 1801, when the territory set apart under the act of Congress had been selected, and the seat of government had been firmly established in that territory or district, Congress took immediate means to provide for it a permanent judicial system. It established a Circuit Court, organized as already described, with ample jurisdiction, and with all the officers required for such a court. Besides the officers already mentioned, provision was made for the appointment of a marshal of the District of Columbia, an officer similar to the marshal of the Circuit Courts of the United States.
It will appear from what has already been said that while Con- gress had taken care to establish within the Territory of Columbia the courts designated above, and had conferred upon those courts ample jurisdiction, and had provided for them the officers necessary for the proper conduct of their affairs, the law by which those tribu- nals was to be governed was the law as it existed in the States from which that Territory had been carved at the time of the cession. It is somewhat remarkable that through all the years that have since elapsed, Congress has found so little time to attend to the organic law of the District of Columbia that it remains to-day to a remark- able degree as it did in 1790, when the territory was ceded by the two States of Maryland and Virginia. This condition of things is not due to any want, on the part of the citizens of the District, or of Congress itself, of a desire that proper laws for the government of this Territory should be enacted, but more, perhaps entirely, to the fact that the special legislature of the District is at the same time the legislature of the Nation, and that this national legislature is occupied with matters so important as to render attention to the affairs of the District impracticable.
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Congress in 1802, by an act passed April 29 of that year, author- ized the chief judge of the Cirenit Court of the District of Columbia to hold a District Court of the United States in that District, and gave to that court the same powers and jurisdiction which were by law vested in the District Courts of the United States. This gave to this chief judge, among other things, jurisdiction in admiralty and bank- ruptcy cases.
Enough has been said already about the history of these courts. The jurisdiction of the courts in all its details has been established by many decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, which can scarcely be said to form a part of the history of the city of Washington. It may not be amiss, however, to call attention to one case which went from the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia to the Supreme Court of the United States, a case of great importance and interest to all the citizens of the United States, and of special interest to those of the District of Columbia, because it determined in the most comprehensive and at the same time in the most precise manner the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia. The case referred to was that of Kendall versus the United States ex rel. Stokes, et al., decided in 1838, and reported in the twelfth volume of Peter's Supreme Court Report on page 524. This case came before the Supreme Court of the United States upon appeal from the Circuit Court under these circumstances: Stockton & Stokes, who were contractors for carrying the mails of the United States, applied to the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia for a writ of mandamus commanding the Postinaster-General of the United States, Hon. Amos Kendall, to credit them ( the said contractors) with money which had been found to be due them upon a statement made by the officers of the Treasury Department. The Postmaster-General refused to obey the writ npon the ground that the officer of the Treasury who had stated the account had transcended his authority in delaring the balance due to the contractors. The questions which arose in the case were, first, whether there was any cause for the writ of mandamus; and second, whether the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia had authority to issue the writ. The Supreme Court said that the act of Congress of February 27, 1801, concerning the District of Columbia, by which the Circuit Court was created and its powers and duties defined, established the fact that in the District of Columbia there is no division between the General and the State Governments. Congress has entire control over the District for every purpose of government, and it is reasonable to suppose that in organizing a judicial system
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in that District, all powers necessary for the purposes of government were vested in the courts of justice. The Circuit Court is the highest court of original jurisdiction in that community, and if the power to issue a mandamus exists in any court it is vested in this Circuit Court of the District of Columbia. The first section of the act declares that the laws of Maryland as they then existed should continue in that part of the District which was ceded by Maryland, and it is admitted that at the date of this act the common law of England was in force in Maryland, and continued in force in that part ceded to the United States by Maryland, and that it had been determined that the power to issue a mandamus in a proper case is a branch of the common law. After arguing the constitutional question at considerable length, the distinguished Justice delivering the opinion of the court said:
" We are then to construe the third section of the act of Febru- ary 27, 1801, as if the eleventh section of the act of February 13, 1801, had been incorporated at full length, and in this section it is declared that the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia shall have cognizance of all cases in law or equity arising under the Constitution and laws of the United States and treaties which shall be made under their authority, which are the very words of the Constitution, and which is, of course, a delegation of the whole judicial power in cases arising under the Constitution and laws, etc., which meets and sup- plies the precise wants of delegation of power which prevented the exercise of jurisdiction in other cases cited, and must, on the principles which governed the decisions of the courts in those cases, be sufficient to vest the power in the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia."
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