USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > The courts of justice, bench & bar of Washington County, Pennsylvania > Part 13
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From Mr. Samuel Dickson, Chancellor of the Law Asso- ciation of Philadelphia, November 13, 1900:
"On behalf of the members of the Law Association of Philadelphia, I beg to return thanks for your kind invitation
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to attend the ceremonies connected with the dedication of the new court-house of Washington County. It is hardly prob- able that any of them will be able to be present. I should personally be glad to attend as a mark of my respect for one member of the bar of Washington County, who was, I think, as good and great a judge as ever sat upon the bench-Hon. William McKennan, of the United States Circuit Court.
"On behalf of the Law Association of Philadelphia, I beg to tender cordial congratulations upon the completion of so admirable a structure."
From Mr. Henry Phipps, Carnegie Building, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, November 13, 1900:
"I regret exceedingly that previous important engage- ments prevent my accepting your kind invitation to attend the ceremonies connected with the dedication of your new court- house, at Washington, Pennsylvania, November 17, 1900."
From Mr. Andrew Carnegie, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, November 16, 1900, by telegram:
"Very much pleased to receive kind invitation. Regret exceedingly that engagements render it impossible to be present. The republic is safe as long as it is under the reign of law."
At eight o'clock in the morning the heavy mahogany doors that swing in the three main entrances to the rotunda, as well as those in the side entrances to the building, were thrown open, and soon there was a throng of visitors filling the rotunda from the first floor to the third, and after a study of their surroundings, passing to the court-rooms, jury-rooms, and public offices.
By two o'clock the speakers for the occasion and the invited guests had been admitted to court-room No. 3, on the second floor, immediately in front of the first stairway on the lower floor, and facing the main entrance from the Main Street front. The addresses were delivered from the corridor on the
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CALLING TO ORDER, J. A. MCILVAINE, P. J.
second floor, at the railing in front of that court-room, and on the large white marble landing immediately beneath the speakers were stationed the bands supplying the music for the occasion.
The lower floor and its corridors, the three stairways there- from to the first landing, the two stairways thence to the second floor, and the corridors of both the second and third floors, flush with the bronze railing in front of each, were filled with visitors, bathed in the symphony of color coming down from the dome over their heads while listening to hear the addresses; but it may as well be admitted, that because of the position from which the addresses were delivered, and the density of the crowd beneath, around, and above, the very apparent effort to hear and understand what was said was not very successful.
CALLING TO ORDER.
At the hour appointed, Hon. J. A. McIlvaine,1 president judge, standing at the railing in front of court-room No. 3, called for order, and said:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:
As we entered this building we saw proudly floating over it the Stars and Stripes, flanked on the one side by "Justice " and on the other side by "Liberty," and above them the form of Washington looking down on the flag he loved, and the allegorical figures that represent the principles for which he lived and fought. After entering we saw these marbled corridors, these painted walls, and this beautiful stairway and dome; and seeing all these things we can
1 Hon. John Addison McIlvaine was born in Somerset township on April 13, 1843, of William and Matilda McIlvaine; graduated at Jeffer- son College in 1865; studied law with Mr. Boyd Crumrine, and was ad- mitted to the Washington County bar in 1867; was district attorney, 1874-1880; elected president judge of the county, forming the twenty- seventh judicial district, in 1886; re-elected in 1896.
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safely assert that there is not here to-day a citizen of Wash- ington County with soul so dead that his honest pride and patriotism have not been stirred. And when a Washington County audience like this has its patriotism stirred, its cry is "Speech!" "Speech!" The committee of arrangements, recognizing the propriety of this cry, have arranged a pro- gram of speech-making. And that it may be presented in an orderly way, it is necessary that we have a master of cere- monies. It is now my pleasant duty to introduce to you Dr. Theodore B. Noss, president of the Southwestern State Normal School at California, who will act in that capacity.
INTRODUCTORY.
Dr. Theodore Bland Noss1 then appeared as the master of ceremonies for the occasion, and said:
From all parts of this county and from other counties we come to-day to dedicate this imposing and beautiful building to the purposes for which it has been erected. The day and the event will be memorable in the annals of Washington County.
Possibly some tax - payers would have preferred a less costly building; but let it be remembered that one unfail- ing sign of progress in all enlightened communities is the ample provision made to secure and defend all rights of the people, and to restrain and punish wrong-doers. Let it be remembered, also, that no edifice less magnificent than this
1 Dr. Noss was born at Waterloo, Juniata County, Pennsylvania, on May 10, 1852, of Rev. George and Isabella (Coulter) Noss; graduated from the State Normal School at Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, in 1874, and from Syracuse University in 1880, receiving from that institution the degree of A. M. in 1882, and that of Ph. D. in 1883; and the same year (1883) he became the principal of the Southwestern State Normal School at California, Washington County, Pennsylvania.
$
THEO. B. NOSS, PH.D., OF S. W. STATE NORMAL SCHOOL. [Half-tone by Bragdon, from photograph furnished.]
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INTRODUCTORY, DR. THEODORE B. NOSS.
would be entirely worthy of the great county to which this building belongs.
Communities and individuals should find inspiration and courage for themselves in the achievements of noble an- cestors.
Washington County was the first county formed in the Keystone State after the Revolutionary War, and it was most fitting that she should be named in honor of the immortal hero of that war. The vast size of the original county, which embraced at first all that part of Pennsylvania south of the Ohio and west of the Monongahela, was somewhat diminished in 1788 by the formation of Allegheny County in part from Washington County territory, and again di- minished eight years later by the erection of Greene County entirely from Washington County soil.
But though her size was reduced, the luster of her glory has never been dimmed. Settled at first by a thrifty and God-fearing people, her progress has been great and con- tinuous along the various lines of activity in which her people have been engaged. With our great and rapidly increasing wealth, with our vast extent of territory, nearly
equal to that of the state of Rhode Island, with our grow- ing population and expanding interests in all directions, and with one hundred and twenty years of splendid his- tory behind us, who would say that even this magnificent building is too good for Washington County? Our people may well be proud of our new temple of justice, so " beau- tiful for situation," planned with so much wise foresight, and builded with so much skill.
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PRAYER.
The master of ceremonies then introduced Rev. Frank Fish,1 who offered the following prayer:
O thou Hearer and Answerer of prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come. O God, our Maker, Keeper, and Saviour, we thank Thee for life, for our powers with which to live, and for the world in which to live. Our Father, we praise Thee for the family. Thou Ruler of the universe, we bless Thee for our government. Thou great Law-giver, we thank Thee for our laws. For the protection and safeguards this very court has given our county we praise Thy name. And now we thank Thee for this large, beautiful, and commodious Temple of Justice which to-day is set apart to the public use and welfare.
The Lord graciously bless all who in any capacity have labored in the making of this building. May they every one have a part in making and enjoying of God's Heavenly temple. O Lord, of whose throne righteousness and judgment are the foundation, and before whose face mercy and truth do go, make this structure a fountain of blessing to all the towns, townships, and homes of this county. May all the work ac- complished within these walls hereafter be as beautiful and suitable, and give as great satisfaction and joy, as this com- pleted building to-day.
Here may Justice truly have a seat and home. Here may her scales be so evenly balanced that all our people, rich and poor, exalted and humble, educated and illiterate, shall realize
1 Rev. Mr. Fish was born April 8, 1862, in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, of William and Margaret (Matthews) Fish; graduated at the Western University of Pennsylvania, at Pittsburg, in 1883; graduated in theology at the Western Theological Seminary, Allegheny, in 1886; and he has been pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Claysville for his entire ministry, fifteen years.
REV. FRANK FISH,
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF CLAYSVILLE. [Half-tone by Bragdon, from photograph with family.]
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PRAYER, REV. FRANK FISH.
that on this hill of equity they secure their rights. O Thou who art no respecter of persons, may all classes be treated in this court alike, without respect to wealth, influence, or culture. Make this temple the terror of the law-breaker, the hope of the oppressed, the refuge of the poor, the encouragement of the righteous, the pride of all.
Give to those who shall sit on these seats of judgment knowledge, wisdom, and courage, that without fear or favor, without partiality or prejudice, they may deal out justice to all.
Help those who shall share in the work of this court as jurors, witnesses, and principals, to be careful and conscien- tious, as under the all-seeing eye of Thyself, the Judge of all the earth.
Enable those who shall practice at this bar to be men of ability and principle, clear as light, wise as serpents, harmless as doves, the friends of justice, the hope of the wronged, the pride of the great, the ornaments of their profession, imitators in motive and methods of the great Advocate, Jesus Christ.
Bless all those who in the offices of this building shall serve the people. May they more and more, with the rising tide of popular morality, be capable, honest, and faithful. May the spirit of grace and wisdom fill the hearts of all that shall ever use this building. May Justice be so honored in this place that this court shall be unsurpassed among the courts of the land for the excellence of its work, the equity of its decisions, and the integrity of its servants.
O Lord our God, bless the exercises of this day. Assist those who shall take part. O Thou Source of Justice, and lover of men, we dedicate this Temple of Justice to Thy ser- vice. We invoke Thy presence during this hour of dedica- tion, and during the performing of all duties within this
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structure in the days and years to come. God grant that all these people gathered here to-day shall be glad participants in that glorious and solemn service, when in the presence of the assembled nations, Thou, O Lord, shall sit down on Thy throne and pass judgment on the human race.
These mercies we humbly ask in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
PRESENTATION ADDRESS.
Introduced by the master of ceremonies, Mr. J. Murray Clark,1 of Canonsburg, presented the new court-house, ou behalf of the county commissioners, to the tax-payers, and to the judges and other officers who should occupy it as the servants of the people, by an address which was as follows:
MR. PRESIDENT AND FELLOW - CITIZENS OF WASHINGTON COUNTY :
The distinguished honor has been conferred upon me of officially presenting to you these magnificent buildings which you are about to dedicate to public use. It is an agreeable and pleasant office, marred only by the absence of two per- sons, well and favorably known to you all, who were officially and intimately connected with the early stages of the work. John P. Charlton, a county commissioner, died July 24, 1898; and James Q. McGiffin, the county solicitor, passed
' Mr. Clark was born in Hopewell township on March 7, 1828, of David and Eliza J. Clark; studied law with T. McK. T. & William McKennan in 1849-51, and was admitted to the Washington County bar in 1861, but has never engaged in active practice; for several years he has been a jury commissioner for the United States courts for the Western District of Pennsylvania; and in the summer of 1898 he was appointed by the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County to fill out the unexpired term as county commissioner of John P. Charlton, deccased.
J. MURRAY CLARK, ADMITTED, 1861. [Half-tone hy Bragdon, from photograph by Dabbs.]
PRESENTATION ADDRESS, MR. J. MURRAY CLARK. 163
away February 4, 1899. They were both greatly interested in the enterprise, and they both gave it substantial aid.
This occasion carries me back to days, long gone by, when the former house was new. I remember well the time when it was built, and I knew all the commissioners and most of the contractors, including Henry Shearer, Freeman Brady, and others, well. Several years of my boyhood were spent under the shadow of its walls. From it was formed my ideal of what such houses ought to be, and it was from the court that sat in it that I derived my first impressions of a court of justice. The dignified appearance of Hon. Nathaniel Ewing on the bench, the courtly bearing and refined manners of the bar, the deep voice and solemn intonations of the court- crier, and the long staves of the bailiffs, carried as emblems of their authority, all impressed my youthful mind with a sense of awe, and as being exactly in keeping with the solemnity which should characterize a temple of justice. In that house, too, I witnessed, in those early days, great forensic battles which stirred the county to its depths, and which, for skill, force, and eloquence, I have seldom heard equaled and have never heard surpassed.
An incident in connection with the erection of the former buildings is of more than ordinary interest on account of its being the means, although remote, of developing a Washing- ton County boy into her most illustrious son, and of giving to a political party her foremost and most distinguished states- man.
James Pollock, my neighbor, and one of the purest, brain- iest, and most popular men of the county, was one of the county commissioners. After the expiration of his term, in 1842, he was the Democratic nominee for prothonotary. Because of an utterly unfounded charge of nepotism against
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him, in the letting of contracts, Zachariah Reynolds, the county treasurer, entered the race as an independent Demo- cratic candidate for prothonotary, and received just enough Democratic votes to defeat Mr. Pollock and to elect Ephraim L. Blaine of West Brownsville, who was the Whig candidate. Mr. Blaine, who was of high character, worthy, and well qualified, moved to Washington, which gave him the opportunity of educating his magnetic son; and in after years, when at the height of his brilliant career, the plumed knight remarked to a member of this bar that he owed his success to Washington College, and that if his father had not been elected prothono- tary he would have failed of a college education and been placed in a country store. And thus, as a small pebble changes the course of a great stream, so the little incident of Zachariah Reynolds' independent candidacy prevented James G. Blaine from being a Schwab or a Carnegie, perhaps, and made him an accomplished scholar and an eminent statesman.1
1 An old ambrotype of James G. Blaine, this Washington County col- lege boy, taken at the age of sixteen, from which one of our half-tones is made, shows not perhaps the promise and potency of a distinguished life. Yet while he lay, at the age of sixty-three, on his death-bed at Washington city, on January 27, 1893, a tribute to him appeared within black lines in the Washington Evening News, here reproduced for its preservation:
" In the early winter of the year, and the early winter of his life, a giant in a century of giants has thrown aside his falchion and gone to his rest. The chivalrous champion of the lists has fallen before the black rider Death, and his plumes are sables now and his spirit walks the stars.
" A great man ie dead; great in intellect, great in heart, great in ambi- tion, and great in achievement; a man whose name was lustrous among the names of the world's statesmen; who was the idol of millions of his country- men; who arose, as so many Americans have risen, from an humble condi- tion, to carve his name upon the rock of enduring fame, where it will remain when the waves of countless years have rolled against and receded from it.
" In the sere autumn of his life his house was a house of tears. ‘Un- merciful disaster followed fast and followed faster.' Death invaded his home again and again, until the emblem over his door was a broken heart. Sorrow and disappointments threw their grievous weight upon his whitened head, and his tears fell to the sobbing of the dirge and the moaning of
PRESENTATION ADDRESS, MR. J. MURRAY CLARK. 165
But I recall those early scenes under the influence of deep emotion, for I am reminded that but few of those who participated in them are now among the living. Pollock, Reynolds, and Ephraim L. Blaine, and young Blaine, with whom I was accustomed to witness the brilliant contests of the old forum, are in their graves. The judge who was on the bench, the commissioners of the county, and, excepting William Workman,1 all the other court-house officers of that period have passed away. Of the bar, not one member is left ; the McKennans, McGiffin, Acheson, Gow, Watson, John S. Brady, Isaac Leet, Koontz, Montgomery, and other knights of that distant era, whom I recall with pleasant yet melancholy recollection, having long since doffed their armor and gone to their reward.
However, this occasion is for felicitations rather than reminiscences. First of all, it affords me pleasure to con- gratulate the contractors on the completion of their work, and on the faithful and artistic manner in which they have performed it. We read of a sculptor who slighted the back part of a statue, because it was to occupy a niche in the wall, where the defect would not be seen. But this building has been constructed by men of a different spirit, and it will bear the most searching scrutiny, in the hidden as well as in the parts exposed to view. For eighteen months it was my duty, in connection with commissioners Dunn and Shillito, to inspect the work, and as from day to day we watched its progress, I was impressed more and more not only with the
the ritual. And now Death has taken the mourner, and it is for those to weep who linger in the wintry world, and close with loving touch the sightless eyes.
" In the palace of American genius there are many knights and many nobles, but the prince of the purple chamber lies dead."-ED.
1 William Workman has died since this address was delivered.
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skill of the workmen, but also with their remarkable fidelity and conscientious care. Yet they need no words of praise. This great temple, the pride of all our people and the admiration of every stranger, speaks louder than words the eulogy of Messrs. Miller, Morrison, Lingenfelser, Curran, Ryan, Van Doren, and others; and long after the ceremonies of to-day have been forgotten, it will remain an enduring monument to their honest and skillful work.
In presenting these buildings, my fellow-citizens, it is also a source of gratification to be able to assure you that the commissioners have been likewise faithful to their trust. From the hour when the grand inquest imposed the task upon them, to the day of its completion, they performed their duties in the most conscientious and painstaking manner; and now, in surrendering these vast structures, which necessitated the raising and disbursing of very large sums of money, they do so with hands as clean as the driven snow.
And it is a further source of gratification, that the enter- prise was begun at a most fortunate time. On account of the increased price of labor and materials, the cost of such buildings, at present, would be increased nearly $200,000. Moreover, the records show that, in the lettings, competition was sharp, and that, even at the prevailing prices, the contracts were the most favorable to the county that could have been secured.
Another ground for congratulation is the present harmony and good feeling that prevail. On account of the agricultural depression existing at the time, some of our most progressive citizens thought the decision to rebuild was a mistake. Prices of farm products were low; the wool industry had largely gone to Western territories; Washington County lands,
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JAMES G. BLAINE,
AS A COLLEGE STUDENT, AGE 16.
AS A STATESMAN, AGE 62.
[Half-tones by Bragdon, from photographs by Hallam.]
PRESENTATION ADDRESS, MR. J. MURRAY CLARK. 167
than which the sun in his beneficent journey around the heavens shines on no better, were a drug in the market, and the farmers were naturally discouraged. But happily, an era of prosperity has set in, and the county is making such unprecedented strides in wealth, that the completion of the buildings is a subject of general felicitation.
The character and appearance of these buildings is another feature of which we may well be proud. The solid founda- tions, the massive walls, the lofty monoliths, the well-lighted and thoroughly ventilated rooms, the graceful arches, the chaste decorations, the majestic dome, surmounted by a statue of the immortal patriot after whom town and county were named, combine strength, convenience, and beauty, and fitly symbolize the solid and practical character, the patriotism and culture, of the people of this grand old county of Washington. When the Jews dedicated their second temple in Jerusalem there was great rejoicing among the young men, but the old men wept because of the inferiority of the new house to the one it replaced. There is no cause for such sadness to-day, and we who are aged rejoice in the privilege, before departing this life, of seeing on this old site such a magnificent temple as our eyes now behold.
MEMBERS OF THE BAR AND OFFICERS OF THE COURT:
In the construction of this temple your needs and comfort have been constantly in mind. When the corner-stone was laid, Mr. John H. Murdoch congratulated you on the promise of a convenient and comfortable building in which to transact legal business, and of a safe place for the deposit of the pub- lic records. For light, heat, and ventilation, for arrange- ments and appliances for the most easy and convenient trans- action of business, and for the safe-keeping of the public
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records, this building is equal, and certainly not inferior, to any similar structure in the United States. We welcome you to it, trusting that it will meet your highest expectations, and hoping that you may live to enjoy it and to serve the people faithfully.
YOUR HONORS J. A. MCILVAINE AND J. F. TAYLOR:
At the laying of the corner-stone your honor the president judge closed an address by expressing the hope that this building, "so long as it shall stand, may be in fact as well as in name a temple of justice." In its construction this has been the supreme purpose of us all. The meaning of this great work of art is to be found, not in the majestic figure on the dome, but in the statue of the blindfolded Goddess of the Scales and the Sword that stands above the entrance. This figure, which so beautifully symbolizes the high qualities of justice, indicates that in its administration you are to see no difference between rich and poor, high and low, weak and strong, but are to weigh out carefully, in the balances of eternal justice, the exact amount due to every man, and then to see that what is measured out is properly enforced. Let, then, this beautiful temple be dedicated to the sublime pur- pose for which it has been erected; let the statue of the old goddess be your constant inspiration to judge the people righteously, and may God save the Commonwealth and this Honorable Court.
In conclusion, fellow-citizens, I desire to express the appreciation of the commissioners of the support given to them during the progress of the work. If, for more than two years, it imposed continuous and anxious thought, your sup- port lightened the burden, and the commendation now bestowed compensates for all their toil and care. Acknowl-
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