USA > Wisconsin > History of the bench and bar of Wisconsin, Vol. II > Part 37
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He was placed upon the committees on privileges and elections, District of Columbia, public buildings and grounds, epidemic diseases, and on claims. Of the last, with its vast labors and responsibilities and investigations, extending back through the war of the rebellion, the Mexican and Florida wars, the war of 1812, and the revolution, to the foundation of the government, he was made chairman; and in that position, it is said, by indefatigable labors, he saved the government more than thirty million dollars.
Mr. Spooner's first speech to the senate was on the death of Vice- President Hendricks, a life-long friend of his father's. It was, both in style and matter, an innovation-a beautiful tribute to the dead In- dianian's personal qualities, delivered with a tenderness seldom heard in the senate chamber, combined with a bold analysis of political be- liefs, made without a tinge of bias or partisanship. The speech com-
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manded the widest attention, and was quite generally republished, es- tablishing in new places, and especially in the senate, the speaker's repu- tation for audacity and originality of conception, for versatility of oratory, and for clearness, incisiveness, and elegance of diction.
Among his really great speeches, in respect of judicial learning, was one in defense of the senate on the "Relations between the senate and the executive departments," brought out by the attorney general's refusal to comply with a request to send public papers and documents from his office. It was from the standpoint of a lawyer, covering the entire subject from the foundation of the government, and made an indelible impression. Another, on the provisions of the inter-state commerce bill generally, but particularly favoring a clause to enable railways to make rates on goods for export in conjunction with ocean steamship lines independent of domestic rates, attracted the attention and favor everywhere of railways, shippers and manufacturers. His complete mastery of railway laws and railway business by actual ex- perience made his views almost an authority in the senate and aided materially in eliminating crudities and impracticabilities from legislation affecting transportation.
A speech delivered on April 16, 1888, on the admission of South Dakota, gave to Mr. Spooner greater satisfaction than any other effort of his career in the senate. He had, as a soldier, been stationed in and marched over Dakota territory when its only inhabitants north of Yankton were buffaloes and Indians. Many early friends and clients had settled on those vast prairies, and he had, with absorbing interest, watched the labor developing that rich section into a powerful, ener- getic and intelligent community. His heart was in the address, and he pleaded with singular power and eloquence for the admission of the bright and growing state.
It was during this debate that Senator Butler objected to Dakota "trying to break into the Union," whereupon Mr. Spooner quickly re- torted that Dakota certainly had as much inherent right to break in as South Carolina (Butler's state) had to try to "break out" of the Union. That settled interruptions from that quarter.
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The only time in the senate that Mr. Spooner felt called upon to make what might be termed a political address was after Joseph Hoff- man had been shot and killed at Brenham, for testifying before the senate committee on privileges and elections during the investigation into the political outrages in Washington county, Texas. While tem- perate in form and free from mere denunciation, it was nevertheless a terrible arraignment of those who were responsible for, as well as those who, on the floor of the senate, justified and defended that frightful crime, and created a great sensation. It made a lasting impression and so revealed Mr. Spooner to the senators from the south that he was never again stirred up on that question.
One of his most elaborate and carefully prepared addresses was de- livered against the Blair educational bill-a measure for which he voted on first entering the senate, but which, on fuller investigation, he was compelled to oppose. Other speeches had been upon legal, constitu- tional or national questions, but this dealt purely with social economy, domestic statecraft, and required a careful and comprehensive under- standing of the financial, educational and moral conditions in every state of the union, as well as a dispassionate analysis and presentation of them. The bill, which proposed to raise about eighty million dol- lars, mostly in the north, and expend it mostly in the south for educa- tional purposes during a period of eight years, had been before Con- gress several years, and would probably have become a law if it had not been for the speech in question. His picture of the post-rebellion development and progress of the southern states was the most compre- hensive and appreciative ever heard in the chamber, and his conception of the evils that might grow out of such extreme paternalism carried conviction to a majority of the senate.
On September 8, 1890, Mr. Spooner spoke in favor of placing sugar on the free list because it was a necessity of life down to the poorest cabin, and because the domestic product was less than one-eighth of the amount consumed. He also favored, by a speech full of patriotism, legal argument and eloquence, reciprocity as to articles wanted but not made or produced in the United States, when made or produced and for
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sale in another country, and vice versa, and also advocated a tariff on iron, tin, wool and lumber.
When the reciprocity clauses of the McKinley bill, which he had thus advocated, were sustained by the supreme court of the United States, the New York Tribune said that the counsel for the government added nothing in argument, law or illustration to what Mr. Spooner brought forward in his advocacy of the measure in the senate.
A brief speech that sent a thrill through the north was delivered by Mr. Spooner on January 28, 1890, on what was technically known as the Fanz case. Secretary of War Redfield Proctor had not ordered the flag lowered to half-mast on the death of Jefferson Davis, who served as secretary of war before the rebellion, and the "best citizens" of Aberdeen, Mississippi, hanged him in a wretched effigy, across which was this placard: "Red. Proctor, traitor."
J. E. Fanz, a native of Indiana, and a mechanic aged twenty-one, while assisting to raise the effigy, accidently dropped the rope. For this he was brutally and terribly beaten, receiving two hundred lashes, and a resolution was presented in the senate for an investigation into the matter. Mr. Spooner's speech on that resolution was widely pub- lished, creating a sensation north as well as south.
To the masses of his party and to all fair-minded men, one of his last was one of his greatest efforts in the senate, in the same general direction-the formal speech on the federal elections bill, made De- cember 20, 1890, in which, by a really marvelous digest of the political crimes committed in the south since the rebellion, he found substantial reasons for enacting what was falsely called the "force bill." proving that "wrongs do not leave off where they begin, but still beget new mischiefs in their course." During the first hour of its delivery there were numerous interruptions by democrats from the south for the pur- pose of breaking the force of the speech, but the fire they drew was so disastrous and increased so steadily in destructiveness as the speaker got deeper into his subject, that the entire skirmish line was hastily withdrawn, leaving Mr. Spooner (almost unprecedented in a debate of this character) in undisturbed possession of the floor, before a great audience in the galleries and a full senate, who listened to one of the
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most profound orations ever delivered in that chamber on that or a kindred subject.
Mr. Spooner made many other addresses and running-debate speeches in the senate-on irrigation, the effect of free trade upon the industries of Great Britain, mortgage indebtedness, admission of the Montana senators (successfully leading the fight in their behalf), Dis- trict of Columbia affairs, the eight-hour law (favoring it), the Columbian exposition, etc., etc .- taking rank for clearness, force, fearlessness, fair- ness and effectiveness second to none. He never read a speech in the senate; all were extemporaneous.
Personally, Mr. Spooner was very popular in the senate, both sides of the chamber contributing equally to cordial associations and sincere friendships.
When he retired from that body, the members of the committee on claims tendered to him one of the finest banquets ever given in Washington, attended by the President and members of his cabinet, the Vice-president and many other distinguished persons. The speeches in honor of the guest, especially those by Messrs. Evarts, Hoar and Hale and the leading democrats, were of the most complimentary char- acter, lauding him as a senator, lawyer, and man of great ability, fair- ness and integrity. It was a demonstration of honor, friendship and respect accorded under similar circumstances to no other senator.
He nominated General Rusk at Chicago in 1888; seconded the nomination of Harrison at Minneapolis, and was urgently requested by the President in person to take charge of the national campaign of 1892, but declined.
Returning to Wisconsin at the end of his term in the senate, he soon after moved from Hudson back to Madison, in order to be near his younger sons while they passed through the Wisconsin university, and, forming the partnership of Spooner, Sanborn & Kerr, resumed at once the practice of his profession, important cases rolling in as though there had been no interregnum.
Burdened as he was by work, he still found or made time to serve the interests of his party and the people. In this direction in what are known as the gerrymander cases his labor and genius added materially
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to the cause of public justice and gained great advantages for his party, besides recording a new and important chapter in the history of juris- prudence.
The Wisconsin legislature of 1890, being democratic, apportioned the state into new senate and assembly districts. By the republicans it was alleged that this apportionment was unequal and unjust as well as void, in that it did not follow the unit of population fixed as the basis on which it was made.
Suits to have the act of apportionment set aside were begun. The form of the suit was decided, the papers in the first case were drawn, and the great argument as to jurisdiction was made by Mr. Spooner, as was also the argument on the constitutionality of the act. The suits involved an entirely new proposition, to entertain which was held by some to be a dangerous invasion by the courts of the rights and pre- rogatives of the legislature, a co-ordinate branch of government.
However, the supreme court unanimously assumed original juris- diction on the relation of a citizen, heard the case on its merits, and held the act unconstitutional and invalid on the grounds set forth by Mr. Spooner. The learned justices regarded the cause as the most im- portant that had occupied their attention, and three of them filed sepa- rate opinions, as if to so magnify and pile up the judgment of the court as to forever prevent the making of another gerrymander, which they held to be "an invasion of the rights and liberties of the people."
The apportionment having been set aside, Governor Peck called a special session of the legislature to enact another, which was supposed to have been accomplished in July, 1892. But as this second act had been made in disregard and defiance of the unanimous opinion of the supreme court, a new suit was brought (C. F. Lamb, relator) asking the court to grant a writ enjoining forever the secretary of state from issu- ing under it the notices of election. In this case the attorney general (O'Connor) refused to appear or give his consent to the suit. The court gave him twenty days in which to appear. At the end of that time, the attorney general still refusing to take part or give his official assent, the court again assumed jurisdiction for the purpose of hearing the case on its merits. The questions were, whether the relator, Lamb,
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had a right to bring the suit, the attorney general having refused to assent thereto, and whether the law in question was unconstitutional.
On these two vital points Mr. Spooner made a great argument, closing the case for the relators, although in the midst of an exciting campaign.
Again the court adopted his view and held that it had original jurisdiction, and again set aside the act of apportionment as unconstitu- tional and void, forcing Governor Peck to call a second special session of the legislature to divide the state for the third time into senate and assembly districts. In one case General E. S. Bragg, and in the other Senator W. F. Vilas, were opposing counsel.
Undoubtedly the greatest specific service any Wisconsin republican ever rendered to his party was that in these gerrymander contests; but they were hardly cleared from the board before new sacrifices came on. In 1888 W. D. Hoard was elected governor. During his incum- bency there came into politics a new issue that alienated a great number of republican voters, so that when he came before the people in 1890 for re-election he was defeated by about 30,000, whereas he had been chosen two years before by a majority of 20,273. In his defeat he car- ried the legislature down with him, and a democrat, William F. Vilas, was elected to succeed Mr. Spooner in the United States senate, in January, 1891.
This was the first time since the formation of the republican party that a democrat had represented the state in the United States senate, and the republican leaders were disheartened. When, therefore, it again came time to present a candidate for governor, although all the dele- gates chosen to the convention were pledged to other candidates, it was decided that Mr. Spooner could poll more votes than any other man in the party, and that he must run. He protested that the office was not one to his liking; that as a matter of choice he would not accept if the position could be tendered to him without an election, and he hoped the nomination would be tendered to one of the several gentle- men who really wanted and were seeking it. Objections and protests were alike unheeded and he was unanimously nominated, no other
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votes being cast in the convention. Being thus commanded by the party which had honored him, he was forced to accept.
Knowing the improbability of overturning a majority of thirty thousand at a single election, he nevertheless entered into the unequal contest with vigor, and carried on the most brilliant and masterly cam- paign in the history of the state. Enthusiastic crowds flocked to hear him everywhere. He traveled literally night and day by railway, stage and private conveyance; delivered frequently two speeches a day-one in the afternoon at one place, and another elsewhere in the evening.
He was, as he expected to be, defeated, but he ran ahead of the party ticket and brought Governor Peck's majority of thirty thousand in 1890 down to a plurality of seven thousand seven hundred in 1892. The campaign, however, was such a serious strain upon him that for more than a year he did not recover from its effects.
It was but just that the republican party, on regaining its ascendancy in the legislature, and on the expiration of Senator Vilas' term as United States senator, should return Mr. Spooner to that office. This was done in January, 1897, he having received the vote of every member of the republican legislative caucus. He is a member of the committees on relations with Canada, judiciary, privileges and elections, and rules.
In addition to the matters more especially referred to, he has made numerous speeches and addresses and taken part on the stump in every campaign of his party for a quarter of a century, frequently lending his services also to other states. He made the oration dedicating the Wis- consin monument at Gettysburg, and also that at Eau Claire, Me- nomonie, and elsewhere, as well as at Madison, in 1868 and 1894; me- morial addresses on Messrs. Hendricks, Rankin, Price and Logan, and many tributes of respect to deceased members of the bar. He formally opened the republican campaign of 1894 by a speech covering the entire range of topics, national and state, at one of the largest meetings ever held in Milwaukee, and followed it with speeches elsewhere in the state, being received with greater enthusiasm and approbation than ever, thus proving the tenacity of his hold upon the people.
It has always been the fact that in the numberless speeches, debates and addresses of an intensely busy career of twenty-five years, no matter
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what the provocation, he never made reckless or unfounded charges or insinuations, or descended to personal attacks or retorts intended to wound the heart or carry sorrow to the home of any. opponent. It cannot be said of him that he has ever sought to build himself up by pulling any other man down.
Besides great capacity for analysis, reason and logic; incisive clear- ness and strength of statement; wonderful versatility of diction; re- sources and courage, genuine earnestness of manner (making every cause his own) and impulsive tenderness of sentiment, all combining into an irresistible power to convince, there is, as there has been for generations in the family, a touch of the tragic and heroic in Mr. Spoon- er's make-up. It was plainly noticeable in his school and college days; in the manner of his enlistment; in the speech at the death of Mr. Hendricks; in his conduct while the federal elections bill and Texas outrages investigation were pending; in the gerrymander suits-in fact, in everywhere adopting or defending what he believed to be the right and for the interests of the people, regardless of political or personal consequences.
This family trait of mingled patriotism and heroism, as conspicuous in John C. Spooner as in any of the Spooners, was fairly illustrated by General Ben. Spooner of Indiana, who, though dying fifteen years after the rebellion, in the intensity of his devotion to his country, requested to be buried in a shroud of the stars and stripes. Also by Lysander Spooner of Massachusetts, who, believing the government had no con- stitutional right to monopolize mail-carrying on the basis then in vogue (charging twelve and one-half cents for a letter from Boston to New York and twenty-five cents to Washington), inaugurated private post- routes which transported mail from Boston to New York and else- where at the uniform charge of five cents, and made money.
The federal authorities attacked him and his agents, arresting and jailing them everywhere possible; but he, nevertheless, continued until there was a public sentiment which compelled Congress to make a sub- stantial reduction in the rates of postage and to adopt a uniform charge without regard to distance-a gallant but unsupported fight, whose endless benefits can neither be stated nor fully realized-a real Spoon-
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erism and just what John C. did in the gerrymander cases and other matters.
Another family trait, quite conspicuous in his father, is utter ob- liviousness to personal fame or glory. Both always declined to give facts necessary for biographical or personal matter for publication, and John C., refusing to furnish information for this sketch, forced its prepa- ration without his aid or suggestion.
In his profession, an indefatigable worker; in habits, modest and absolutely temperate and clean; in politics, brave and liberal; in states- manship, capable, patriotic, fearless and prophetic; to the public and to adversaries, courteous, dignified, kindly and respectful; in personal intercourse, frank and attractive, and to poor clients not only generous but a guardian without money and without price, he is well entitled to all honors that have been showered upon him.
But it is not easy to do justice to Mr. Spooner's attributes in a few brief sentences. While his lofty conception of the ethics and honor of his profession and his uniform consideration and courtesy in debate, court arguments, and public speaking have made him an acknowledged model, after all only those who have seen him in the sacred precincts of his home- at his own ample and hospitable fireside-really know the man. There, as youthful in heart and spirits as in appearance, he is a boy with his boys, a lover with his wife and a free and happy entertainer with his friends.
PHILIP L. SPOONER.
Philip Loring Spooner, formerly of the Dane county bar, was born at New Bedford, Massachusetts, January 27, 1811; notwithstanding circumstances prevented his acquiring a collegiate education he became learned in all that was essential to the highest success in his profession. About 1826 his father's family removed to Mansfield, Ohio, and three years later to Lawrenceburg, Indiana. About this time the aid of the son was needed by the father, and was given with the utmost energy and patience. In Lawrenceburg, Mr. Spooner completed his preparation for admission to the bar, which was begun by study in an office in Cin- cinnati. About two years after his admission he formed a partnership
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with his Lawrenceburg tutor, George H. Dunn; that relation con- tinued nearly twenty years. In June, 1859, Mr. Spooner became a resi- dent of Madison, Wisconsin, where he resided until his death, Novem- ber 2, 1887.
Soon after coming to Madison Mr. Spooner was appointed supreme court reporter, a position he held during 1860, 1861 and 1862; he re- ported the cases in volumes 12, 13, 14 and 15 supreme court reports. A few years after the organization of the college of law of the state university he became one of its professors and continued as such until about 1881, when failing strength compelled him to relinquish regular work in that position, though he delivered occasional lectures until he had passed his seventy-fifth year. For most of the time from 1868 until 1874 he was assistant attorney general.
The memorial of the bar of Dane county, presented to the supreme court by J. H. Carpenter, expressed the members' sense of the great loss the profession had sustained in the death of Mr. Spooner and their high appreciation of his learning, skill and ability as a lawyer, and of his character as a citizen, neighbor and friend; he was true to every prin- ciple of noble manhood, just and honorable in all his dealings, consider- ate and affable in his intercourse with all, an invaluable and faithful friend, a devoted husband and father; he exhibited towards his fellow- men, in a marked degree, sincere respect for the rights and interests of all. In presenting the memorial Judge J. H. Carpenter said, in part: "The character of Judge Spooner was above reproach, and those who knew him never suspected him of wrong doing. As a lawyer he was in some respects without a peer. He rarely addressed juries. He did not cultivate the ornate, but was clear and concise in speech. He never sought to convince by declamation or high sounding phrases. The legal points in a cause as presented by the facts never escaped his atten- tion. In his professional field, the law, he had few, if any, equals. Many may have had, perhaps, a more extended and larger practice. He was so constituted that he could examine with patience all the points for and against his client in a cause, and guard and protect a client's interest as few lawyers are able to do. Perhaps he did not see the points in a cause quicker than many others, but his patience and industry enabled him to
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see more clearly the issues than other men, and judge more accurately of the chances of success. In his practice he was rarely taken by sur- prise. When a cause of his was called for trial he was ready, and seemed so familiar with it that he almost knew what the result was to be. His industry was not only manifested in finding the authorities to sustain his positions, but he studied them thoroughly and formulated in his mind the best method of presenting them. He could state a legal prop- osition with remarkable accuracy and precision, and could fortify his propositions with logic as nearly inexorable as human intellect is per- mitted to make it. The extent of his legal practice and his success in it is attested by the frequent appearance of his name in the Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, and the federal reports."
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