USA > Wisconsin > History of the bench and bar of Wisconsin, Vol. I > Part 18
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all who raise their sacrilegious hands against it, whether wearing the soft gloves of peace or the bloody gauntlets of war.
"Congress has declared," says Mr. Ryan further, "the war is waged by the government of the United States, not in the spirit of conquest or subjugation, nor for the purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights and institutions of the states, but to defend and maintain the su- premacy of the constitution, and to preserve the Union with all the dignity, equality and rights of the several states unimpaired, and that as soon as these objects are accomplished the war ought to cease. Thus carried on, the war is not only expedient but necessary, not only justi- fiable but holy. It is a defensive war. It is a war of self-preservation. Disunion, once successful, would be a recurring evil, and instead of leaving a northern union and a southern confederacy, would continue its destructive career until all the states would be broken and dissevered, until the whole country would be distracted by petty sovereignties and
naked in the public streets? It is an idea which the decent moral sense of the community will not tolerate. It would be an insult to that sense of decency to toler- ate such a thing. But it is a greater insult to the moral sense of the people for a man to walk abroad, clothed with the ermine of office, stinking and rotten, and reeking with corruption and foul with vermin like this. If there be a man in the state outside of those engaged in it who sympathizes with or is ready to countenance such cor- ruption and fraud, I am ashamed for humanity that it is so. I can conceive to what lengths political madness may carry a man, but I cannot conceive how men can con- sent to roll in such corruption as this. I would rather be a dog and wear an honest man's collar around my neck than do it.
Mr. Ryan was sharply criticised by prominent men in his party for appearing on behalf of Mr. Bashford in the case referred to. This roused him to an outburst of indignation, and, as he made a personal explanation, it was evident that he felt his honor impugned and assailed by the bare suspicion that he would let his party pro- clivities swerve him from his fealty to his client, or, that to sustain his party, he would sanction a political wrong; with that peculiar shaking of his head and a rapid move- ment of his right hand he said in concluding his remarks on this point: "I am a democrat. I was almost born a democrat. My appearance here on the part of a Shanghai (the republicans were called Shanghais at that time) client has led to some remarks. I am not aware that I have any general retainer from the democratic party," then pausing for a few seconds as if to fully inflate his lungs in order to give a full blast of indignant anger and send the last sentence seething hot at those before him, in an almost sepulchral tone he slowly, but with deep earnestness, said: "If to keep with my party all principle must be sacrificed, if I cannot be true to honesty, true to truth, without losing caste with my party," another pause, "then the party may go."
HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF WISCONSIN.
18I wasted by petty warfare. We cannot calmly contemplate disunion. We know and love the blessings of union; but no human eye can penetrate the dark and terrible future which lies beyond the grave of the constitu- tion. The war for the preservation of the constitution has all our sym- pathies, all our hopes and all our energies.
"But we have a right to demand-it is our duty to demand-that this war be carried on by the government for the constitution alone, and under the constitution alone. To that end, amongst others, we re- tain our political organization, and will use our best efforts from time to time and at all times to regain for the democratic party, under the forms and sanctions of the constitution, the control of the legislative and executive departments of the government of the United States.
"In the meantime war must be carried on and sustained with all the energies of the United States and the people thereof. No blood or treasure is too dear a price to repurchase the Union inherited from our fathers and to transmit it unimpaired to our children."
Mr. Ryan held the responsible office of city attorney for the city of Milwaukee in 1870, 1871, and 1872. He never sought office and never held any outside of his profession, except his membership of the first constitutional convention.
"In his practice at the bar," afterward said Judge Orsamus Cole, "he was engaged in the trial of many important civil and criminal causes, and in his management of them he easily established his right to stand in the first rank of his profession. I could readily mention many an argument made by him at the bar of this (the supreme) court (of Wiscon- sin) since I have occupied a seat upon the bench, which seemed to me to be marked with the highest literary ability and excellence, great felicity and elegance of language, wonderful vigor and clearness of logic, all illustrated by a wealth of learning and the most comprehensive discus- sion and grasp of legal principles."
On the 17th of June, 1874, the office of chief justice of the supreme court of Wisconsin became vacant by the resignation of Luther S. Dixon. The vacancy was filled by the governor of the state, who ap- pointed Mr. Ryan to fill the office until the next election. In April,
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1875, Mr. Ryan was elected without opposition for the unexpired term and for the full term of six years, which if he had lived, would have ex- pired on the first Monday of January, 1882. On receiving his commis- sion he is reported to have remarked: "This is the summit of my am- bition; this is the place to which I have looked; but it has been so de- layed that I have ceased to expect it."
"He came to this great place (the office of the chief justice of Wis- consin)," afterwards said W. F. Vilas, "as every one should who is worthy to occupy it. He came in the ripeness of years and experience, after a long life of labor at the bar. He came laden with profound knowledge of the science he was to administer. He came not from an obscure corner to sit in judgment on arguments greater than his under- standing; he was pushed by no skillful intrigue into a shameful reward for mere party service; but sought and taken from the topmost place of professional leadership, which by merit he had worthily won, he came fit to govern and control, where for so long he had confessedly led. He came to the judgment seat with an honorable ambition as to the crowning glory of a devoted professional life, but he came reverently, with an exalted sense of the responsibilities which he assumed, and a noble devotion of all his faculties and strength to the performance of its duties. He came to rest on no pillow of repose, but to toil and build, that he might still higher elevate the court and the law and exalt justice on earth."
As a judge, he was always patient, painstaking and industrious, lis- tening attentively to counsel and frequently putting to them questions tending to elucidate points in discussion, and by his friendly and quiet manner, encouraging the younger members of the profession to present their views upon all points suggested. On the bench no ill-temper was ever manifested by him to check or freeze out counsel from fully present- ing their points and arguing their cases .*
*Justice Cole said, in response to the resolutions and addresses presented to the court in commemoration of Chief Justice Ryan that "while the chief justice had a susceptible temper, was quick in his apprehension and strong in his convictions, he was not hasty in judgment, nor was he-as is generally supposed-obstinate in his opinions, or unwilling to yield to the views of others. The privacy of the consultation
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The health of Judge Ryan had been very precarious for two years before his death, and once or twice he had been, seemingly, beyond mortal aid; but for several of the last months of his life his health had been materially improved, so that he was able to attend to his official duties. On the 10th of October, 1880, he presided in the supreme court nearly the entire day. But when he left the portals of the court on that day, it was to enter them no more forever. Four days previous, in
room is justly deemed sacred. Its deliberations are not to be disclosed except for sufficient cause. It is, however, but simple justice both to the dead and living, that I refer in a few words to what transpired in the consultation room, and to the bearing of the chief justice towards his associates there. And, therefore, in order to correct a popular misapprehension upon this point, I will say that in consultation, while engaged in the labor of considering and deciding causes, the deportment of the chief justice towards his associates was uniformly kind, respectful and courteous. No irri- tating word, no offensive language, fell from his lips while thus employed. He often made up his mind quickly how a cause should be ruled, but he was not impatient of hesitation or opposition on the part of others. On the contrary, he listened with attention to whatever anyone had to say adverse to his views, and often readily came to their conclusion when it seemed supported by the better reason or authority. Indeed, I can say for myself, and I trust also for my associates, that I never expect or desire to be treated in consultation with more consideration and respect than was shown me by the chief justice while engaged in the work of examining and deciding causes in the consultation room. There he was the able, calm, dignified judge, freely exchanging views and discussing all questions of law and fact with the manifest desire of reaching a right result. If any disagreements ever arose between us-as was some- times unhappily the case-they grew out of matters entirely foreign, or merely inci- dental, to the proper business of the court."
Judge Cole said also: "We have from his own lips his estimate of what consti- tuted a great and good judge. If it is not within the possibilities of human nature to reach the exalted standard he gave us. I believe he made an honest effort, in his official conduct. in the decision of causes, to come as near as he could to attaining it. He once said: 'Summary judgment is judicial despotism. Impulsive judgment is judicial injustice. The bench symbolizes on earth the throne of divine justice. The judge sitting in judgment on it is the representative of divine justice, but has the most direct subrogation on earth of any attribute of God. In other places in life, the light of intelligence, purity, of truth, love of right, firmness of integrity, singleness of purpose, candor of judgment, are relatively essential to high beauty of character. On the the bench they are the absolute condition of duty-the condition which only can redeem judges from moral leprosy. The judge who palters with justice, who is swayed by fear, favor, affection or the hope of reward, by per- sonal influence or public opinion, prostitutes the attribute of God and sells the favor of his maker as atrociously and blasphemously as Judas did. But the light of God's eternal truth and justice shines on the head of the just judge, and makes it visibly glorious.' "
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taking a ride, he encountered a severe cold, the consequence of which became, day by day, more serious, and resulted in disease which baffled the skill and prescriptions of eminent and devoted physicians, and finally" overcame the vigor and strength of his constitution, and in the early morning of the 19th his invisible spirit took its flight, leaving his mortal remains to the last sad offices of his numerous surviving friends.
"It is my sad duty," said Governor William E. Smith, in proclaim- ing, on the 19th of October, 1880, by an executive order, the death of Judge Ryan, "to announce to the people of Wisconsin that, in the mys- terious providence of God, the life on earth of the Hon. Edward G. Ryan, the distinguished chief justice of our supreme court, is ended. He departed this life this morning, at about five o'clock, unexpected by his family and friends, but evidently not by himself. His great mind remained strong and serene to the last, in full comprehension of his physical condition, and in apprehension and consciousness of death, and he expressed clearly his last wishes to his family and his abiding Christian faith and hope.
"A great man, an eminent citizen and a high officer of the state, to the sore bereavement of his family and friends, and to the irreparable loss of the public service, has fallen at his post, with the spotless ermine of a great judge still upon his shoulders. Less than one week ago he presided on the bench, and the bar of the state interested in the present call of the calendar, stood before him in full confidence and hope that he would yet long remain to dignify his high judicial office by his tran- scendent abilities, learning and refined sense of justice. But he has suddenly disappeared from amongst the living, and the high places which once knew him will know him no more forever. For about forty years he has been especially prominent in Wisconsin and else- where, widely known as one of the ablest and most eminent in his pro- fession, and in many offices of trust and honor, and he has now closed his distinguished career by making especially eminent the office of chief justice of our supreme court, to which he was called by the unanimous vote of the people. To its high and responsible duties he has devoted his great learning, the clear judgment and thedeveloped resources of one
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of the greatest minds of the age, as the mature fruits of his great experi- ence and of his long and distinguished life. There remains no one who can in all respects fill the high place he has left vacant, and long years of time in our future history will but illustrate by memory and compari- son, his unequaled abilities as a lawyer and a judge, and make still more conspicuous and indelible his impress upon the laws, politics and juris- prudence of the state.
"The people of Wisconsin will deeply lament his death and sympa- thize with his bereaved family and friends.
"As a mark of respect to his memory, the supreme court room will be suitably draped in mourning, the flag upon the capitol displayed at half-mast, and, on the day of the funeral, the state departments will be closed."
"Chief Justice E. G. Ryan of the Wisconsin supreme court," said the Milwaukee Sentinel of October 20th, "who died yesterday, was one of the most remarkable men the state has ever known. He played an important part in many of the notable affairs of the state, and his great genius and extensive learning challenged the admiration even of those who were sufferers by his eccentricities. Few men have possessed a more brilliant mind than that of E. G. Ryan; his unbounded fertility of resources, his command of language, his power of invective, were the wonder of the profession and the public.
"As a lawyer, Judge Ryan could look upon but few equals. His keen mind grasped easily the salient points of the most complicated case, and he was able to present them clearly and effectively.
When he was educated in politics men were divided by a plainer line than now; there was none of the vagueness which marks political ques- tions in these times, and it is no more fair to judge him by the standards of to-day than the severe republicans of that time, who would be looked upon now as fanatical. He was an old school democrat to the last. . Of his strength, his great ability and his judicial purity there can be no difference of opinion."
The day after the death of the chief justice the Dane county (Wis- consin) bar association met and appointed pallbearers to conduct the
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departed judge to Milwaukee where he was to be buried. At the place last named his death occupied the minds of the members of the bar to the exclusion of any other considerations. The courts were adjourned as a mark of respect to the deceased. The Milwaukee county bar asso- ciation met and appointed committees to frame resolutions of respect to the memory of the departed and to make arrangements for fitting ceremonies at his burial. The remains, under escort of the governor (the funeral being conducted by the state), the state officers, judges of the supreme court, the Madison bar, the family of the deceased, a com- mittee of twenty of the Milwaukee bar, and professional and other prom- inent citizens of Madison and various points in the state, left Madison at half past eight the next morning (October 22), for Milwaukee, where they arrived at half past eleven. The Milwaukee bar, in a body, joined the funeral cortege at the Union depot.
The funeral procession moved from the train to St. James' church where the funeral service was to be held. The casket was placed in the vestibule of the church and uncovered, so that the many old friends of the departed chief justice might view his face.
At half past twelve o'clock the short, impressive service of the Epis- copal church was read by Rev. John Wilkinson, and the choir sang "Nearer My God to Thee," the casket was borne from the church to the hearse, and the funeral cortege took its way toward the Forest Home, where the lifeless form was laid down to its last resting place.
On the 9th day of November following the death of the chief justice, the supreme court of Wisconsin met, pursuant to a previous adjourn- ment, for the purpose of taking action and making suitable record touching his decease. There were present Justices Cole, Lyon, Taylor and Orton, and a large number of the bar of the court, and of other citizens were in attendance. The court was very ably addressed by William F. Vilas, A. R. R. Butler, T. R. Hudd and James G. Jenkins. Resolutions of the Milwaukee county bar, and by the Dane county bar were presented and read. Mr. Justice Cole, in behalf of the court, made a feeling response. It was then ordered by the court that the resolu- tions presented, together with remarks of gentlemen accompanying the
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same, be entered at length upon the record and published in the reports.
Chief Justice Ryan was five feet eleven inches in height, and when in health weighed one hundred and eighty pounds. Neither of robust nor delicate frame, he was muscular, sinewy, and capable of long con- tinued labor. His movements were quick and his step elastic; his head projected beyond his body, giving him the appearance of stooping; it was only the appearance, however, as his body was erect. His com- plexion was florid, his hair light, slightly tinged with auburn, his eyes combined the mingled hues of blue, gray and black; they were large, brilliant and expressive, and, together with his complexion, indicated a sanguine, bilious temperament.
The mind of Judge Ryan was an aggregation of superior powers, harmonious and yet diverse. His prepared lectures are finished models of literary composition, while his written opinions in the reports are the perfection of rhetorical style. His extemporaneous addresses have few equals as mere exhibitions of rhetoric.
His speech was always fluent, expressive and precise; he never hesi- tated for a word or phrase, or used any which were not apt for the pur- pose. In logical strength and in that mental power of quick and search- ing discrimination which is the highest manifestation of a purely in- tellectual ability, he had few superiors. In the rhetoric of invective, and in rapid, terse and impressive argument, he possessed a power appar- ently exhaustless.
It is the testimony of one who knew him* well that "the life of Judge Ryan was one long struggle-a struggle against himself, a struggle against untoward fortune, a struggle against infirmity-which the world knew but little of and allowed not for. And so, to most men he seemed
*James G. Jenkins. Mr. Ryan once said: "We live in a world of fractional truths, of judgments resting on fractional premises. Perhaps this is not more manifest than in our estimate of men's lives. We are prone to judge their conduct by a fixed standard, without much reference to the conditions under which they act; to exact of all like results in like positions, with little consideration for the peculiar character of each, which essentially enters into and qualifies his work. We make more (undue) allowance for the intelligence of men, forgetting that character is a greater power in life than mere intellect. Philosophically considered, ability includes character as well as intellect or knowledge."
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arrogant and proud, whereas, to those who knew him best, he was. when acquit of infirmity, companionable and considerate. He possessed none of the arts of the courtier. He would neither bow subservient to power, nor be patient in the presence of wrong and oppression. Like the oak of the forest, he could break, but he could not bend.
"Power might crush him, it could not silence him. So he was often the champion of the lowly against the powerful-I think out of abhor- . rence of the oppressor rather than from sympathy to the oppressed. He
hated the wrong more than he loved the victim of the wrong."
"Judge Ryan's belief in Christianity and the immortality of the soul," says a writer in the Milwaukee Sentinel of October 29, 1880, "was the most prominent trait of his character. Speaking with him once on immortality, he said: 'Man in this life may be likened to an unborn babe, who no doubt feels a dim consciousness of existence, but must be born into the world ere his vision is opened to its light and to life. So must the soul of man pass through death to that spiritual state where the clouds and the doubts of earth vanish before a clear comprehension and more quickened vision.' Knowing him to be a firm believer in the divinity of the Savior, I once asked him what proof of Christ's divinity could be given outside of revelation. He arose, and with an earnestness I shall never forget said: 'About the time that Cicero, the grandest man of the Roman empire, gave to the world the labored production of his great intellect, there lived an unlettered young man in the province of Galilee, who, before he was thirty-three years old, spoke the sermon from Mount Olive. Eighteen hundred years have passed, and the in- spiration of the Sermon on the Mount rules in every civilized land while Cicero's orations find place only on a few musty shelves. If this is not divinity, then it certainly is a human miracle.' "
Mr. Ryan was a man of profound religious emotions. He always attended church. Mr. Asahel Finch learned at Chicago, from some of his intimates, that he was designed for the Catholic priesthood by his parents when they planned his education. He worshiped at the Epis- copal churches while living in Milwaukee. He was for some years a communicant of St. John's church. In late years he attended Christ
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church, on Fourth street. He always kneeled as he entered church and assumed all the pious forms of worship. At times he read the services at Christ church in the absence of the rector.
He frequently conversed on religious subjects .* He expressed great admiration of the apostle Peter, as a man of more energy, higher char- acter and greater brain than the balance of the apostolic fraternity. He once took a part in one of the excited discussions in which Parson Rich- mond was conspicuous, and was on the side of the pugnacious clergy- man. "I never so much esteem my Divine Master," he said in debate, "I never feel such a nearness to the Nazarene, as when I read that in his exalted and righteous anger he scourged the money changers with cords and drove them from the temple."
He was once arguing a case in the old supreme court room, in Madison, a trivial case, with only the judges, a half dozen lawyers, the state librarian, and a few loungers about, "audience fit though few." Some allusion in the discussion led him to refer to the Lord's prayer, and he at once launched into a most beautiful, eloquent and affecting eulogy of that form of devotion, the divine sweetness of which he described, and in radiant terms extolling the loveliness of its author. Above all, he eulogized that portion of the prayer which asks "lead us not into temptation," which he paraphrased in all the pathetic forms of which language was capable, and which he said was commended to us as a form of petition by one who knew the frailties of our nature, the attractions of guilty delight, and the strength of the impulses that lead to wrong. The few hearers listened spellbound to his matchless elo-
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