USA > Pennsylvania > Westmoreland County > History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Vol. I > Part 39
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tation. In 1870 he was appointed local solicitor for the Pennsylvania Railroad company at Greensburg. That corporation was at that time involved in some important litigation, of which the new solicitor assumed charge. Among the suits was the celebrated case of John Snodgrass and Israel Painter, contrac- tors for furnishing the Union army with beeves, who claimed that the railroad company had overcharged them a large amount on their shipments of cattle. ' The case was referred to arbitration. The arbitrators appointed were Judge Buffington, of Armstrong county ; Judge J. K. Ewing, Hon. James Veach and Hon. Daniel Kane, of Fayette county, Hon. Hugh Weir, of Indiana county, rep- resenting the best legal talent in Western Pennsylvania. Eminent lawyers were retained by the plaintiffs, and a stubborn fight was made. Mr. Logan sub- stantially won the case.
In 1871 Judge Buffington resigned, leaving a vacancy on the bench. The governor selected Mr. Logan for the position. He was at that time thirty-one years of age, and was perhaps the youngest judge on the common pleas bench, and presided over the largest judicial district, both in population and area, in the state. The following year he was unanimously nominated by his party for the full term of ten years. The Democratic candidate was Hon. Silas M. Clark, a resident of Indiana county, who subsequently became one of the jus- tices of the supreme court of the state. Judge Clark was very popular and widely known in the district, but Judge Logan was elected by the usual ma- jority. His judicial career was eminently successful. When he came upon the bench a lawless class had for some time infested the coal regions of Armstrong county, and was growing dominant. By vigorous and fearless administration of the criminal law Judge Logan restored authority, and brought the county back to quiet and good order.
In 1875 occurred what were known as the Italian riots in Westmoreland county. A large number of persons, some of them prominent in the county, were concerned in fomenting disturbance, which resulted in the daylight slaughter of four Italian miners. The judge did not halt or wait for others to move in the enforcement of the law. He called the grand jury together and submitted the facts to them. A number of indictments were immediately found. The moral effect of this energetic course was long felt in the county.
He served on the bench until 1879, when he resigned to accept the position with the Pennsylvania Railroad company, as their assistant general solicitor, and was shortly afterwards promoted to the office of general solicitor.
During his service on the bench Judge Logan won an enviable reputation as a judge. Prompt and vigorous in the dispatch of business, the work of the court was pressed forward and the interest of the people promoted. He was courteous but firm, severe but dignified, and enjoyed the fullest confidence of the bar, and the respect and esteem of the public. His judicial opinions, when orally delivered, were clear, concise and to the point, and when written, force- ful, lucid and admirable in every respect. Upon his retirement the people were
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unanimous in expressions of regret at the loss of his valuable services on the bench.
An adequate sketch of his career as a railroad lawyer is not possible without considering with more detail than is here practicable the functions of the legal department of a great and growing railroad corporation. Railroad and corporation law demands for its successful prosecution, from the practical side to-day, the same high order of talent in the lawyer that the law of real property demanded of its successful practitioners during its formative period, and which constitutional law as a branch of jurisprudence has required in all times. And, indeed, railroad law has so much to do with constitutional law that, to be a great railroad lawyer, a man must also be a great constitutional lawyer.
Judge Logan's connection with the litigation of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and its more than one hundred associated corporations has been in- timate and direct, and much of the success with which it has met has been also his success. In the famous suit which Attorney General Cassidy brought against the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and other lines a few years ago, known as the South Penn Equity Proceedings, he took a prominent part. The cases of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company vs. Lippincott, and the Pennsyl- vania Railroad Company vs. Marchant, known as the Filbert Street Extension cases, were argued by counsel and decided by the court upon grounds which he suggested. Those cases which were decided in 1887 and 1888, and are al- ready leading cases in the law, established that the property of a railroad cor- poration is governed by the same rules as to liabilities in its user as that of in- dividuals. It declared that the Pennsylvania Railroad Company was not liable for the depreciation of real estate values on the north side of Filbert street in- cidentally caused by the lawful operation of its trains on its own property on the south side. The declaration of this principle, it is needless to say, was worth a great deal to corporations throughout the state. At least fifty suits for damages against the Pennsylvania Railroad Company fell with the de- cisions in which it was announced.
Since the formation of the Inter-State Commerce Commission, Judge Logan largely represented the corporation in the contested cases before the commis- sion, as well as in many conferences with the commission. In the line of official duty he has been brought in contact with the most distinguished law- vers from all sections of the country, and his reputation as a lawyer has not suffered by the contact. Judge Logan's duties required general supervision of all the litigation of the company and the lines it leased or controlled east of Pittsburgh, and immediate advice and conference with the chief executive and department officers in connection with the important administrative conduct of corporate affairs. He had. therefore, use for all the legal attainments of his lifetime, as well as the habits of industry which he early acquired.
He was married April 13, 1871, to a daughter of Hon. A. G. Marchand, who is written of elsewhere in these pages. With his wife and children he 22
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lived comfortably at Bala, on the Schuylkill valley branch of the Pennsylvania railroad, just beyond the limits of Fairmount Park.
In 1888 the faculty of Washington and Jefferson College, at Washington, Pennsylvania, one of the most noted and conservative educational institutions of the country, conferred on him the honorary degree of doctor of laws. He died October 29, 1902.
Immediately upon the resignation of Judge Logan, in 1879, Governor Henry M. Hoyt appointed Hon. James A. Hunter to the Westmoreland county bench, his commission being dated July 12, 1879. At that time Westmoreland county was strongly Democratic, and even Judge Hunter's most ardent friends scarcely entertained any hope of his election. He, however, accepted the commission and assumed the duties of the office at once. Later on in the year he was nominated by the Republican party as their candidate for judge, against Arch- ibald A. Stewart, who had been previously nominated by the Democrats. The election came on and proved to be a very bitter one. Many old line Democrats were dissatisfied with the nomination of Mr. Stewart. The Republicans took advantage of this disaffection in the Democratic party, with the result that in the November election Judge Hunter was victorious, having more than a thousand majority over Mr. Stewart, and therefore filled the office by virtue of his appointment and his election from July 12, 1879, to January 1, 1890.
Judge Hunter was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, April 18, 1835, his father having been a native of Londonderry, Ireland. He received a com- mon school education, was afterwards a school teacher, read law with James Todd, of the Westmoreland bar, who had been formerly a Philadelphia lawyer and attorney general of the commonwealth under Governor Rittner. Judge Hunter was admitted to the bar in 1858 and practiced law almost continuously until he went on the bench. He was register in bankruptcy under the United States bankrupt law in 1867, which position he resigned to become a member of the legislature for the session of 1869. Very early after his admission to the bar he made for himself a reputation as a public speaker second to no one at the bar, and he was always greatly sought for to address all kinds of meetings, particularly Republican meetings, where, as a stump speaker, he had few equals.
After Judge Hunter's retirement from the bench he resumed the practice of the law. He was never a man of strong constitution, and in 1893 was taken sick with pneumonia, and died June 13, after a few days' illness, and was buried at Greensburg.
Judge Hunter's term of office finished up exactly one hundred years of courts with judges learned in the law, as was provided for in the constitution of 1790. He was the ninth judge in a century, though Judges Roberts and Knox served short terms, and Burrell and Logan both resigned.
A desultory glance at the advancements made in the administration of jus- tice will show the most casual observer that they have done their work faith-
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
fully and well. A century has wrought great changes in the county. As has been seen, the early judges presided over a number of counties, never less than three. During these years the judges journeyed on horseback from one county to another, and the more prominent lawyers rode the circuit with them. It was not infrequent in those days that litigants stood at the court house steps and employed their attorneys perhaps but a few minutes before their cause was called for trial.
For long years in Greensburg the sheriff of the county, after the ancient English custom, collected a body of mounted men who rode out to meet the coming judge and escort him into the village. This custom was kept up until the early fifties, passing away with railroad building, after which the judges no longer arrived on horseback.
By the constitution of 1790 the judges were appointed for life. This pro- vision obtained until 1838. when a new constitution changed the term only, making it for ten years instead of for life. In 1850 the constitution was amended so as to make the office an elective one, the term remaining the same. This amendment was ingrafted in the constitution of 1873 and still prevails.
Since 1874 Westmoreland county has been a separate judicial district, gain- ing this by virtue of the new constitution adopted in 1873. Since then we have had no associate judges on the bench.
EMINENT LAWYERS OF THE PAST.
There is but one name, leading all others, with which to head this list, and that is John B. Alexander. He was born in Carlisle, Cumberland county, Penn- sylvania, and was admitted to the Westmoreland bar in December, 1804. After that, during his long lifetime, he was always one of its most prominent and active members, and in his later years there is little doubt but that he stood at the very head of the profession in Western Pennsylvania.
Mr. Alexander was highly educated, having received a thorough collegiate education in the early days of the last century, when classical attainments were regarded at their true value and had not been proscribed by the modern. so- called educational reformers. He was, moreover, a lifelong student, confining himself to the law, the Greek and Latin languages and to Shakespeare, to the exclusion of nearly everything else. With the writings of the great dramatist he was so familiar that he quoted them almost unconsciously when addressing a court or a jury. From this source he undoubtedly gathered much of his re- nowned strength as an advocate.
On only two occasions did he allow his mind to be drawn from his chosen profession. The first was in the war of 1812, during which he collected a com- pany of volunteers, was elected its captain and served with credit under Gen. eral William Henry Harrison. The company was named the "Greensburg Rifles." When his company entered the service a battalion was formed by uniting it with several other companies, and Alexander was elected major.
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
Thus he received the military title by which he was known during the rest of his life. This was, of course, in his younger days, when he had not yet risen to the highest place in his profession. He had been brought up in the town of Carlisle, where the United States had long maintained a barracks, and though evincing 10 special military predilections, he always commanded his company in a rich and gaudy uniform, which was made none the less showy by his majestic person. He expended large sums of money from his own purse on equipments and horses.
His military services were largely in the Northwestern territory. His bat- talion captured a six-pound cannon of great weight, made, as its inscription indicates, by the Spaniards in the eighteenth century. At the close of the war Major Alexander brought this prize to Greensburg, and it is yet a valued pos- session of his nephew, General Richard Coulter. In 1824 the major and his company turned out to do honors to Lafayette on the occasion of the patriotic Frenchman's visit to Westmoreland county.
It is said that his fondness for military display, acquired in his youth, be- came a weakness in his old age, and that as he grew older he was easily flat- tered on that point. His military reputation, however, had a substantial foun- dation. Some years after the war, when Sanford was acting in Pittsburgh in the role of "Jim Crow," it was discovered by the actor that Alexander was in the audience, he being there in attendance upon the supreme court. The ready actor drew the attention of the audience to Alexander by improvising the foi- lowing :
"Old General Harrison, He was a big commander ; And the next big hero there Was Major Alexander."
Of course a compliment of this kind was received with uproarious applause by the Pittsburgh people, and the major was highly gratified.
At one time he fought a duel with a man named Mason, of Uniontown, Fayette county, but neither combatant was wounded. Both desired a second fire, but the seconds interfered and prevented it.
The second occasion which drew him from the practice of the law was his election to the general assembly. In 1834 this county was represented in the general assembly by James Findlay, who was appointed secretary of the com- monwealth by Governor Wolf. Findlay himself was a very brilliant man, and the people, with one accord, wishing to send a man to fill his place who would not discredit his high standing, selected Alexander. He was not a successful representative. As may be supposed, so eminent a lawyer as he was entirely out of his element when in the state legislature. There he had to measure swords with men in small matters who were much beneath him. His great powers were not called into requisition, and before the session was over he left the legislature in disgust, mounted his horse, "Somerset," which he had ridden from Westmoreland county to Harrisburg, and came home. He characterized
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the legislature in language more emphatic than elegant. After that he took no part whatever in politics until 1840, when his "Old Commander" was a can- didate for the presidency. He presided that year at a Harrison meeting in Greensburg, but was infirm with age, and died but a short time after Har- rison's election. Alexander was always an uncompromising old line Whig in politics.
It is doubtless fair to say that prior to 1850 he had no equal at the West- moreland bar. Richard Coulter, it is true, though a younger man, was su- perior in eloquence to Alexander ; and in his exhaustive reading and in his general knowledge, Alexander W. Foster may have been quite his equal, but in the give and take of the trials at the bar, in the preparation of papers and in all that goes to make a truly great lawyer, Alexander had at all events no su- perior. Once when complimented upon his legal knowledge as having come naturally to him, he replied: "Oh, no; I owe it all to hard study ; I arise early in the morning and study while others are in bed ;" a habit which he retained even in his old age. There is a tradition of him that he read Blackstone once a year. At one time he was counsel in a very heavy land title case which was to be tried in the United States supreme court, and against him was employed the celebrated William Wirt, of Baltimore. In his argument before this high court the Westmoreland lawyer showed such knowledge of the law and such general ability that he astonished the bar and the court. At the conclusion of his argument he was complimented by Wirt, and by Daniel Webster, also, who was present, and who expressed in his grandest way his admiration of the manner in which Alexander had handled the case and of his exposition of the law. This must not appear remarkable, for perhaps in the abstruse land law of Pennsylvania Alexander was superior to either Wirt or Webster.
A few years ago an old gentleman, now dead, told the writer that when a boy in the early "thirties" he saw Major Alexander take a drink in the present Fisher house, which those with him said was to stimulate him for an address he was to deliver that afternoon in a very important trial. Holding up the glass, showing the liquid scarcely concealed by his hand, he said, "Four fin- gers, gentlemen, and for every finger the old judge gets an hour this afternoon." . Shortly before that, when Webster replied to Hayne, as he was passing down the senate chamber, Clayton said to him: "Are you loaded, Mr. Webster?" Glancing angrily at Vice-President Calhoun and holding up his hand, he said, "Four fingers." It was a pioneer hunter's expression, meaning a heavy charge of powder, a load for big game.
John B. Alexander was a son of John Alexander, who was of Scotch-Irish extraction and who was born in Cumberland county. His wife was a Miss Smith, also of Cumberland county. They had no children. Two of his sis- ters, however, were married in Westmoreland county, the one to Hon. Joseph H. Kuhns, the other to Eli Coulter, the father of General Richard Coulter.
In personal appearance Mr. Alexander was about five feet ten inches tall and weighed about two hundred and forty pounds. His residence in Greens-
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burg was a large brick house on Main street, diagonally across the street from the Methodist church, where the Zimmerman house now stands. Indeed, the Zimmerman house is but an enlargement of his old residence, the main front and side walls of the present structure being those of Alexander's home. In the latter years of his life he lived south of Greensburg on a farm, where he greatly amused himself by agriculture and horticulture and by raising superior breeds of cattle and poultry. The engraving of Major Alexander given in these pages is from an oil painting made about the close of the war of 1812, and now in possession of General Coulter.
Alexander W. Foster was the son of William Foster, of Chester county, and was born in 1771. He was admitted to the Philadelphia bar, having read law with Edward Bird, Esq., in 1793. In 1796 his family moved from Chester county to Meadville, Crawford county. Here he practiced law for a number of years and achieved an enviable reputation in his profession. So wide was his fame that his practice frequently took him to most of the counties between Pittsburgh and Erie. In 1812 he was retained in a Westmoreland case, and he so favorably impressed some of his clients and was so favorably impressed with the town and the community that he removed to Greensburg, thereafter becoming a citizen of Westmoreland county and a member of the Westmore- land bar. He very rapidly attained a large practice and was undoubtedly one of the best lawyers in the profession. The trio, Alexander, Foster and Coul- ter, had no superiors in Western Pennsylvania. He did not possess the im- passioned and florid eloquence of Richard Coulter, nor the great legal erudi- tion of Alexander, but his professional attainments were said to have been more extensive than those of the former, and as a trial lawyer, particularly in the cross-examination of witnesses, he had more ability than the latter. Al- though inferior to Alexander in an argument before the court, he was superior to him before a jury, where he was nearly, if not quite, equal to Coulter.
Foster had a kind, genial .disposition and his office was for many years said to be the best place in Greensburg to read law. He often conferred with his students, put questions to them, argued with them, examined them and held in his office a sort of "moot" court. Several of his students who arose to distinction in the law in after years attributed a great part of their success to him, and one at least has said that he learned more law orally from Foster than he learned by reading his books. Of course he excelled in any branch of the profession, but in the cross-examination of witnesses he was probably seen at his best. It is said that he could, better than any member of the bar of his day, expose the falsehood or fraud of an evily disposed witness, and that he could do this in a mild, genteel way which nevertheless forced attention or moved to laughter. His kindly nature precluded the possibility of his being genuinely sarcastic, yet when necessary he could be extremely severe. He excelled also in his command of language and in the marshalling of his ideas. He could most suitably express his thoughts without halting, without error, and apparently without effort. Most of his arguments were copiously illus-
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trated with amusing anecdotes, some of which he seemed, like Lincoln, to have invented for the occasion. Many of these stories are fresh and interesting when read or repeated even to-day. Socially he was always a leader, being very fond of company, and he moreover had great conversational powers.
Mr. Foster, like Alexander, delighted in agriculture. He wrote articles on the practical application of chemistry to farming and delivered many orations at public gatherings and at county fairs in Greensburg, a practice that was then in vogue throughout all the counties of the state.
In 1820 and 1822 he was the Federalist candidate for Congress in the dis- trict which was then composed of Westmoreland, Indiana, Armstrong and Jefferson counties, but he was defeated in each case because he was on the un- popular side, though in 1820, in the strong Democratic county of Westmore- land, he obtained a small majority. After the breaking up of the Federalist party he became an Anti-Mason, and when that political party collapsed he be- came a Whig, and so remained until his death.
In person he was of medium size and weight, rather inclined to leanness than to corpulency, was of the nervo-bilious temperament and his complexion sallow, with a tendency to pallor. He was greatly addicted to smoking, a cigar being his constant companion, and for his own use he had hot houses built and grew Spanish tobacco. He was the uncle of Henry D. Foster, who will be spoken of hereafter and who later arose to great eminence at this bar.
James Findlay was born in 1801, in Franklin county. He was educated at Princeton College and read law in Harrisburg with Francis R. Shunk, his father having in the meantime removed from Franklin county to Dauphin county. For the first year or two after being admitted to the bar he practiced in York county, but without great success, and in 1824 removed to Greensburg and was admitted to the bar August 23 of that year. This was a good loca- tion for him. The legal business of Westmoreland county in that day was abundant. Lawyers from Pittsburgh and other counties frequently attended the courts in Westmoreland county. His natural talents, fine education and thorough training in the law soon placed him at the head of his profession. Very soon after he came to Westmoreland county he was made prosecuting attorney and was filling that office when James Evans was tried for murder in 1830. This murder case is perhaps, all things being considered, the most noted one ever tried in Westmoreland county. Findlay was a Democrat. General Jackson was president of the United States, and Wolf, a Democrat, was gov- ernor of Pennsylvania. Thus his party was in power both in the state and- nation, and perhaps the political side of life looked more rosy to him than the more rugged life of a practicing lawyer. At all events he entered politics and in 1831, 1832 and 1833 he was elected to the legislature. In the latter year Samuel McLean, who was secretary of the commonwealth, was elected to the United States Senate. Such was the reputation of James Findlay, though only thirty-two years old, that Governor Wolf at once tendered him the place of secretary of the commonwealth. This place he filled for a number of years,
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