Peter S. Grosscup, et al . In Memoriam John Nelson Jewett, President of the" Chicaqo Historical Society, 1899-1904 4><.v.< t v^v''!* iSTORiCAL SURVEY 3n iU^manam. inljn N^iann if^to^tt 1827'1904. 3n a3cmoriam 30lnt Nelson 3l?ut?tt, 9iffi Pre0iDent of tftc Chicago lDi0toricaI ©ocictp 1899=1904- a^emorial arreting m tbc Xccture "fcall ot tbc Cbicaoo t)letorlcnl i5oci joint meeting of ^be Gbicago tJistorical Socie Cbicago JBar Bssociation, anD ^be 5obn /Ibarsb Scbool, was belD in tbe Xecture tall ot tbe lb Society's JSuilC>in0, at eiflbt o'clock on tbe ev« /Ibon^as, Jfebruars 29, 1904, in bonor of tbe mc "toonorable 5obn IRelson 5e\vett, TLX.S)., late pres saiD tbistorical Societ)^, anD 2)ean ot saiD Xaw /Memorial aDDresaes were Delivered b^l5on. peter S cup, /Br. Stepben S. ©regor^, anD /IBr. BDwarD On tbe stage, in aOOition to tbe orators of tbe evenii /I^r. ifranft Bsbur^ 5obn6on, president of tbe JBar ation, anD /Br. ifranftlin lb. IbeaD, Beting prestOe ■fcistorical Society. a a In opening tlie incciing Mr. Head spoke as follows; Ladies and Gentlemen: Mr. John N. Jewett, whose death, on January 14th casion for this meeting to-night of his friends and ace was one of the early members of the bar in Chicago, and he time of his death, the able and efficient President of the C torical Society. He was also a man of much public spirit, ( leading members of the bar, and a man interested in aflfairs. The Historical Society decided that it was prope should hold a memorial meeting, and when the matter wa it transpired that the Chicago Bar Association and the Jol Law School, of which Mr. Jewett was the Dean, would join in the occasion, and make it a memorial meeting fc assor:iations. We shall, therefore, this evening have t of listening to people who have known Mr. Jewett in with his public work, [ind as a member of the bar, and a terested in the law school ; and we shall thus have a f many-sided man. who had lived among us. and was honored by people in various walks of life. We shall first have the pleasure of listening to Ju cur, who speaks of his acquaintance with Mr. Jewett, i Stephen S. Gregory, who represents the Bar Associatio to Mr. Edward T. Lee, who represents the John Ma School. I have the pleasure of presenting Judge Grosscup. ADDRESS Hon. PETER S. GROSSCUP. old he came with his parents to Wisconsin. This country v the northwest. It was as new and as undeveloped as the northwest, Oregon and Washington, are to-day. Chicai fewer people then than Seattle has now; Milwaukee as few as Tacoma. Across these great prairies and throughoi forests of pine and oak, gemmed with lakes, there had been heard the stirring whistle of the locomotive; nor ha been felt the vibrations of the electric telegraph in this fai west corner of the then civilized United States. Two years later, Mr. Jewett returned to Maine; entere doin College as a sophomore; and. in due course, graduated teaching school for a little while in the east, he came back to thi west. and. studying law, drifted into Galena, which at th was the center of the lead industry, A few years later he < Chicago, with that group of Galenians. including Gen. Che Russell Jones, Judge Drummond, and others ; men who giants in the industrial and professional development of ( Mr. Jewett had been in Chicago four years when, fr Wigwam in Franklin Square, there burst upon the world t name of Lincoln. Presumably he was there and saw tha dignified convention; and doubtless, later in life, wondered miraculous providence that out of that gathering had picl this name and made it one of the two first in America, and the first in the annals of the world. He had been in Chicago fifteen years when from the \\\ the little flame came that, sweeping the business district ( cago, crossed the river to the north, and. like a mercilesi swinging firebrands, destroyed the city of the Lake. He v of those who, the morning after, looked into the face of his n for hope, and the second morning went to work to rebuild t He had been in this city thirty-seven years when th World's Exposition, like a celestial visitor, broke into our S( horizon. He witnessed that splendid reproduction of all great and glorious in architecture, past and present. He with him, not only through the remaining years of his lif but into the life to which he has just gone, a picture that niu made the streets of Heaven themselves look familiar. He had been in this city forty-eight years when for t time he went away. He held no office, except a term as Stat( tor. He filled no great public station. His life was that of yer and of a citizen. It can be summed up in these five v husband, father, lawyer. Christian, man. But in five word as these are gathered all that is great and glorious and las any life. U )f peculiar scope and universality. In that life no one another. In one his work is in a case involving, per- nt right. The mechanics of a great machine, or the do- elusive electric energy must be studied and mastered, ow through all its intricacies that mysterious force that heels of our street cars, carries motion from Niagara )n spindles of factories, lights this hall and these great ends messages from men to men through the air and ;eas. The next day his work is in a personal injury ig up the whole field of surgery and medicine. He what the physician knows. He must in one respect, 3 the physician's knowledge, for he must translate into 2 of the layman what the physician is content to know h of his own profession. The next day his work is in ase. Here the whole sphere of moral forces opens up He must master the heart and the mind of mankind ?s that spring men to action, the weaknesses and moral palliate action. His next work may be in a customs he studies the classification of fabrics, of woolens, of silks, of the feathers worn in the hat, of id things that make up the garments we wear >ds we eat. And in each of these studies, and his fter day of the myriad of other things that life is filled lawyer must not, in the things studied, become wholly ^part from them, each and all, he must stand so far e can see them in their relations to the other interests but yet so near that no detail escapes him. Like the t builds thought structures — visualizes ideas — here the ; the beams, about them the sustaining walls, over them ? dome ; but in no one detail so bound up that he does tal vision, at all moments, fit them together, that the ole may be as perfect and symmetrical as each con- rt. To do this requires a mental temperament that is that can be here and there, in the midst of things and them, at the same moment. The law, as a system, is ture of civilization. It is the fitting together of every st, making all move symmetrically and in harmony. It tating force that holds the sum total of interests to- s the symmetry of life; and the lawyer who reaches the inment, comes nearer than any one else to what we rersal genius. To almost as great a degree as any man , Jewett possessed this genius o^ the lawyer, a master of detail. He let nothing escape him. I re- 12 t inea, oeiore juuge ana jury, ine issues oi mat complicate During all that time, when the Judge was at home in th( at rest, when the jury and the lawyers on the other sid( attendance on the theatre, all recuperating from the hz of the day past, for the hard work of tlie day to come, M kept me, his young associate — somewhat rebellious I fear work in his room, going over the material, unravelling tl sifting out the facts that on the morrow, and on the follov would be woven into the cause before the court. He was of details; but he was more than a mere master of det had the power of putting details together, of co-ordinati of bringing life and motion out of them, that made the hand a real case, a deserving case, a case that won becai served to win. Mr. Jewett knew how to present a case. There are m world who feel the right and feel the wrong, but can no tellectual expression to this feeling. They have the o but not the glass of analysis through which conscience i self. They are what we usually call right-minded but men. They rule often through pure force of conviction. There are other men, many of them in our profession the right intellectually, and the wrong intellectually, but i the right and wrong. They are without conscience of Right and wrong are to them mere abstractions. To su argument that is plausible is available. No consideratic aside as unfit. They will press every argument at hand; one as confidently as the other. Mr. Jewett combined the intellect that could see, conscience that felt. His heart spoke to his brain, and translated what his heart said. There were thus given t( sense of proportion, and the feeling of conviction, above powers the conquering powers behind the great lawyer. Mr. Jewett had the talent of brevity. He wasted r mere words, nothing in ornamentation, nothing in flower ( He was a skilled carpenter in argument. He carefully sc first, and then drove it home; and he hammered not a sti it was driven home. He did not sit down until his case ished ; but when his case was finished he sat down, every word that his client was entitled to have said; he u moment that the court was entitled not to have wasted, lawyer this — a rare man, supreme in his profession, witho ing reputation, but steadfastly placing his life on the soli( tions of the men who do mankind some real service in i justice throughout the world. 13 5C. X lld.1, J. ildVC llAJ UULlUL, lie was aioyj, u^-xn-vnig iii atonement, in the divinity of Jesus, in the plan of in the salvation of mankind. But I speak of him as its broader sense. I speak of him as such a christian n be, such a christian as a follower of Confucius can iristian as Huxley and Darwin were. For, after all, ressive quality in the life of the great character that vn to us under the name of Christ is his gospel of ce ! Justice ! The divine capacity that taking you out [aces you rightly among your fellows, so that you may with all, yourself and your fellows. Every parable f the mouth of Jesus is a chapter out of this book of very act recorded of him, every word spoken by him. postle of justice. The christian era has progressed, its ened and deepened, more and more taking hold on their history and shaping their civilization; but all ^r as cause or effect I need not inquire, it has de- mkind a deeper, wider, more abiding sense of justice, nore than any gone before, the age of justice, d has had its great painters. They came in a group, Vatican, and the galleries of Europe and America, they essage to our souls. The world has had its great com- ■, too, came in a group, and we are stirred to this r thought by their great harmonies. In groups, too. Id's great literary lights, lights to which we turn back dows of mediocrity oppress us. We have no Raphaels lael Angelos, no Titians; we have no Mozart nor we have no Shakespeare, no Bacon, no Moliere, But we have what they did not have- age tyranny trampled under foot the rights of : man respected little the rights of his fellowmen — we ■eciation of justice; that justice that reaches all and le growing realization of Christ's human message and LIT was, in his human way, a disciple of justice. He He lived to bring justice about. He asked for his g that he believed unjust. He loved his profession, be- reme, paramount purpose is to promote justice. He ;mbers of the profession who trampled justice under winked it, or sought to lead it astray. His life is an 30th community and profession, of how great a man will devote himself to his ideals of a just administra- w. 14 of it on spire and dome as throwing out the command : ' others as you would have them do unto you." I like to 1( it as the color-bearer of civilization against its foes. I was more during the recent great fire. With my friends I v Sunday night from their home, in the northern portion of to the south, where the fire was burning. We passed on the College of Loyola, the building itself sunken out of sig banks of the surrounding darkness. But above the colleg( in the reflecting light of the great fire, was its gilded ( could see nothing, not even the tower, to which it was j it looked suspended from Heaven — a gleaming cross hur the dwellings of the city. We went into the district where the fire burned. It I in the south and pushed northward until the feet of the C Saint Paul and the Cardinal's Cathedral were almost read yond lay the thirty thousand roofs of the city, and undeme a hundred thousand children asleep. For a moment the fire to crouch and lick their jaws, as if eager to spring upon i tims. Then they looked up and halted. Before them, lit habitant of the skies, was the suspended cross, saying, as senger from above: "Not here! Not here!" To the eastwar wealth had piled itself up, not in dwellings, but in coi structures, the fire turned. One by one the great granite walls were scaled. Like a thousand besiegers, the flames bi windows ; and like ten thousand broke out again at every They leaped from floor to floor ; they massed in legions on t crushing them to earth as giants would crush houses of paj a moment the wind shifted a little to the south ; and a mc suspense it was, for in that change the north was again thn the track of the flames. But still gleamed the cross, an said : "Not here ! Not here !" Factory after factory su< warehouse after warehouse, the angry flames licking wharves to the water's edge. But the dwellings of the c their sleeping children stood untouched. Over them rema suspended cross, until the waves of fire were swallowed u waves of the sea. Wherever the fires of disorder burn, wherever humar ness reaches out with its forked tongues, over home and over liberty and property, like the cross of Loyola, ha emblem of justice, speaking through the law, and the ser the law, these words of command : "Not here! Not here! 15 ADDRESS Mr. STEPHEN S. GREGORY CHICAGO BAR ASSOCIATION, gaged in such an important work in this community, she to notice in a becoming manner, the death of its late Pre< Man differs from the lower orders of creation very 1 that he remembers and records. It is the high office of thi: tion, not merely to gather and preserve historical materia formation, and to stimulate and encourage original investig research in this great field, particularly as to that imperia dom.ain of which our city is the capital ; but to promot public interest in the study of the interesting and romant of this region. I am confident that the people of this ci appreciate this work and have a deep sense of its imporl permanent value. And it was a graceful and. I think, appropriate court < is, I am sure, not unappreciated by those to whom it was to invite the Chicago Bar Association and the profession of which Mr. Jewett was the Dean, to participate in the of the evening. Designated by the Bar Association to speak for its mc this occasion, I need hardly say here that there has nev( member of our bar who more fully illustrated in characti ments and extended professional experience, all that is highest in our professional life, than did he, out of respect memory we have assembled to-night. Appearing as the representative of an association of 1; is my purpose to speak of Mr. Jewett in his capacity as and not to attempt an extended memorial minute, such a doubt, prepared by some more competent hand, find permai upon the records of this Society. It is now nearly fifty years since Mr. Jewett entered practice of his profession in this city. During this perioi has grown from a small community of less than 100,000 a mighty metropolis of over 2,000,000. In 185G there wa city in the civilized world as large as this city now is; a it may be doubted whether the population of London, at was very much greater than that of Chicago to-day. I this period of our city's unparalleled growth and develop Jewett steadily maintained his position and leadership ir front rank of an able and accomplished bar. His practice was extensive and eclectic. He never nor contracted the native breadth and vigor of his mind ing any special line of professional work ; a method oc employed by those seeking to evade the traditions of a r which does not countenance advertising. 19 No interests were so important that those in charge ited, where legal controversy arose, to seek his counsel inal service, in the fullest confidence that whatever id would be protected and maintained — per fas, how- per nefas. a fact that although for many years Mr. Jewett repre- rgest interests, often in desperate legal controversy, lounts at stake were so great and the question's in- lortant, as to tempt some men, thus concerned, to win y^ means, I have never heard it even whispered that these great forensic battles, except by fair and honest )pen as the day. He was not even, so far as I have etained because a case happened to be pending be- ige with whom his personal acquaintance or influence posed to count for something. n, was one, perhaps the most commanding and ad- of his strong and rugged character; an integrity as )ending as the granite hills of his native and ancestral [. ti the law he was absolutely impersonal. A man of education, of logical and exact mind with reasoning ly developed, and, as time went on, trained by long vas to him one of the exact sciences. He did, indeed, power of the courts to decide cases; he did not ad- could make law. He, therefore, addressed himself to 1 of a legal proposition as he did to a problem, in The questions presented were questions to be de- n intellectual process approaching demonstration. Be- ersonal, absolutely devoted to his client's cause, and -less and independent, if, cither on petition for re- :herwise, he deemed it his duty to review a judicial )inion, he did so with some thoroughness. He did not ranee, dullness nor incapacity because he found such dmed in the sancity of judicial expression, ced such judicial errors with the utmost candor, but ly no personal malice or hostility toward the judge or ible for them. He has himself said both publicly and t occasionally judges have seemed to be somewhat such criticism. But I am inclined to think such a )ar is salutary; and we must record his absolute fear- professional independence as among his conspicuous ty to his clients was equally pronounced. This is in- ifgiii rigiiib ui aiiuiuci, iic uwca lu imii, pru nut vitt, an i allegiance. No suggestions of self-interest, no popula ardor prava jnhcntium, no merely personal consideratio nature can be permitted to induce him to abandon his ret in anywise affect his professional conduct. In this regard Mr. Jewett's standards and professi< duct were above reproach ; and, indeed, I may sum up t matter by saying that in all these particulars he stood, d long career at this bar, a bright exemplar of the best tra the profession. Another marked trait of his character was conservat stood fast upon the ancient ways and deprecated the re the ancient landmarks cither of the law or of society. Time does not admit of any extended notice of the teresting and important cases in which Mr. Jewett was c There is no lawyer now at this bar who has appeared i large number of historic cases, both in the Supreme Cot state and of the United States, as did Mr. Jeweit in his remarkable professional career. He never, so far as I ki ticipated in criminal practice at all, and for many years I tried cases before a jury. Indeed, it is not the custom here, although it seems England, for the great leaders of the bar to appear mu juries. I think possibly Mr. Jewett did not feel the gre; fidence in these tribunals; and it is true, juries in great frequently not quite what they should be, as indeed may 1 almost every institution of local government in such con It was in his arguments to a court, and especially a last resort, that Mr. Jewett particularly excelled. Of cor presence, dignified yet courteous, with an attractive voi( and discriminating literary faculty and never appearing thorough study and preparation, his arguments were al pressive and were invariably received with great considerai industry was unremitting and should be noted as one of h characteristics. His efforts in the domain of constitutional law were noteworthy. Were I to select any, I think perhaps I she Munn V. Illinois, 94 U. S., 113; Illinois Central R. R. Co. 14G U. S., 387 ; Counselman v. Hitchcock, 142 U. S., 547, the most striking and important cases in which he was c The first involved the right of the State of Illinois to rej charges of elevator proprietors and was a pioneer case ir partment of the law; the second was the familiar Lake Fr 21 :lf. Thej' are all instructive and leading cases in istituticnal law and will long be studied by the pro- e consideration of the great questions to which they these cases jMr. Jewett bore a responsible and con- , and his arguments were entirely worthy, not only court to which they were addressed, but of the im- ions involved. ;tt was not a politician nor an office seeker. He served he State Senate many years ago. He belonged to that ishing class of men who believe that the office should and not the man the office; that the convention should ididate, not the candidate select the members of the of the misfortunes of modern politics and American hat, with occasional exceptions, sufficiently numerous not to overthrow the rule, men of the first order of get into the public service. The leaders of the bar are )und upon the bench. Our great lawyers, merchants, manufacturers are infrequently found in public office ; as if the national, state and municipal governments he operation of some mysterious law of politics, corn- id of the services of the ablest men; men who, in their rs, display the most varied and conspicuous talents. :tt would have adorned almost any station in public ral occasions, but not upon his own motion, his name 1 by those high in official position, for important and e. But the strange law to which I have referred ery instance to operate to his exclusion from public r it is true that his interests were more strictly pro- public and general. It is certain that in all matters honor and dignity of the profession, his interest was ^^e; and that to the diligent pursuit of that profession 1 his energies and talents with a fidelity that was un- ne of the founders of the Chicago Bar Association. A e lawyers of this city met at the rooms of the Chi- llege in November, 1873, and signed a paper agreeing irming such an association. Mr. Jewett's name was t of signers, a fact which speaks much for the regard 1 which he was held by his professional brethren at r this sentiment induced the promoters of this im- 22 It is trite, but none the less true, to say that ho was citizen, a kindly, agreeable neighbor, an upright, consc honest and public spirited man. All these he was. Fuit Ilix has gone from us never to return. Ill the memory of such an honorable and useful life, much of inspiration for all and much of comfort and of cor for those who loved him. In the contemplation of death, the last inevitable traged; the mournful refrain of the great pagan emperor and phi! comes echoing down the ages: "And then we all die sc All too soon the good, the wise, the brave, the loyal. Yet virtue, wisdom, courage and fidelity die not witl The good they do lives after them. The race moves on, s! times and even with apparent retrogression, but ever upwai eternal progress, to the achievement of those high ideals a: standards which God has implanted in the hearts of me world goes forward and not backward; humanity grows be not worse, and though men be mortal, man is not. In a tone perhaps too hopeless we hear the voice of tl "And fear not lest Existence closing your Account, and mine, should know the like no more The Eternal Saki from that Bowl has pour'd Millions of Bubbles like us, and will pour. "When you and I behind the Veil are past. Oh, but the long, long while the World shall last, Which of our Coming and Departure heeds As the Sea's self should heed a pebble-cast." But no spirit of oriental fatalism dominated the life whom we here commemorate His was an active, busy a ful life; and his professional associates will always rcmem not only as a great lawyer, but as a high type of all those < which have contributed to the traditional glories of a lean noble profession. i ADDRESS Mr. EDWARD T. LEE JOHN MARSHALL LAW SCHOOL. Historical Society for this opportunity to join with it and tl cago Bar Association in paying common tribute to his mem To use words of his own, uttered of Judge Drummon like occasion to this: "I assume we are here not to grieve over his departur amongst us. but to speak and hear something in commem of his life and the work he accomplished; to rejoice over t that he once lived rather tlian to mourn over the fact that In with us now." It was in the evening of his life when I first became acq with John N. Jewett. He had reached three score years a with faculties unimpaired, form erect and strong, with intell keen and active. At that age the general run of men, whc those years, are averse to assuming new tasks, preferring nn lay aside the accumulated duties and affairs of a life-time, seek well earned leisure and repose. After the stress of bus: the companionship of friends and the enjoyments of home more attractive, and the circle of public interest narrows, cheerful fireside, with a favorite book, they willingly "shift i lean and slippered pantaloon," "the world forgetting," if n the world forgot." But at seventy Mr. Jewett was old only in years; and t proof I can adduce of this is the readiness w-ith which at th he took upon himself a new task; one which could add honor nor dignity to a career so distinguished; which could gratify ambition nor hold out prospect of tempting emolur task that required preparation in an untried field and an a of himself to novel conditions; that meant arduous evening 2 ments, extending during the winter season, at the cost of p comfort and social engagements. In 1809 Mr. Jewett acce appointment as Dean of The John Marshall Law Schc Lecturer on Constitutional Law, involving the delivery of tw more lectures each year before classes of evening law studei What could have prompted a man of his achievemer assured standing in the profession and community to underti work, which he carried on during the last four years of h The answer, I think, is to be found in one of the crown tributes of Mr. Jeweit's character, an attribute to which. I this honorable Society is also indebted, his disinterested publ and self-denying service. In this new work his penetrating vision saw an opporti inculcate in the minds of future lawyers his own cherished v 27 and additional to, that possible to a practicing lawyer, himself to this work he gave fresh proof of the gen- Itruistic spirit that has ever characterized the highest egal profession. It was an inspiring sight to see this e bar, a veteran of many hard fought battles, mellowed th undiminished interest in the interpretation of the I in teaching young men. Who will say it was not a ', to crown his life-work? no perfunctory discharge of duty. He went at the le same thoroughness and conscientiousness for which d at the bar. He came before his classes with studi- ed lectures, carefully written out in his own neat hand, ito their delivery as much enthusiasm and earnestness ng a cause before a Supreme Court. At first Mr. diffident as to his fitness for a lecturer and as to the ood he could do to law students, and also, indeed, as ncy of an evening school. He had never before been [ool. When, however, he became acquainted with the ■, and found that almost without exception they were \g young men who were making an unaided struggle ;ducation similar to what he himself had made to se- :e education, his interest in them and in the School slieved these young men had in them the material for ivorthy lawyers and citizens, and were deserving of the on obtainable. ett's work at the School covered two courses — one on id development of the common law, the other on con- w. He much preferred the latter topic, regarding the our present knowledge, as somewhat speculative. He Holmes on some basic principles, and considered Pol- itland as working largely in the field of theory. How- A\o heard his course on the common law will not soon dramatically interesting and instructive introductory which he described the providential manner in which been preserved, even from Marathon to Agincourt, for L superior civilization and an enlightened form of self- His knowledge of general history and of the phil- story was intimate, exact and profound, ^as in the domain of American constitutional law that felt himself most at home. The science of government by law, was the topic that drew on his richest re- th the causes and events that led to the establishment of shared Gladstone's estimate of its human perfectaess, but he i nized what the English statesman seemed to overlook, that it product of centuries of growth. It answered exactly to his definition of a constitution — "an epitome of the principles on a government is to be conducted." When he came to treat c state Constitution he could not forbear contrasting it most un ably with the national Constitution. He condemned the gr practice of incorporating mere legislation into a constitution, contention in the great case of Muhh v. The People would lea to expect. These lectures afforded Mr. Jewett wide scope for obser and comment on current tendencies in political and social lif( he availed himself freely of his opportunities. He was an / can, not merely in birth, but in every fiber of his being. I- lieved in individual freedom, in the right of private contra representative government, in a government of law. Witl government meant control — not arbitrary or rash, but wise, fin majestic. He had no sympathy with mad-caps in office or hare-brained publicists or preachers of a new social dispen: He believed that human society had always needed and i would need some form of coercive government. To him ii tions were necessary and, indeed, beneficent concomitants of ( ized government, and he appealed to every-day occurences ii port of his contention. He viewed with apprehension the p unrest under legal restraint so manifest in our day; but hi: life, running back before the Mexican war, recalled to his disturbed conditions equally portentous in their day, and h no alarmist, feeling certain that the law would in the end vir itself and bring men again beneath its sway. But always in his criticisms of policies and events he was minded, without bias, and without a trace of partisanship, though he had been a very prominent lawyer for more tha generations, conspicuous in celebrated cases, he never even talking of principles involved in such cases, obtruded his c tion with them. Pars magna fui was never on his lips, he naturally the thought might have been in his mind — certaii exceptional trait in an elderly man. He was not intent on I his classes think as he thought, but in having them think, and accurately. He felt that each student was, or some day mig a center of influence in the community in which he might liv that it was all important that he should be taught to draw hi elusions logically. His lectures were not without a dry hunn many instances, recognized his manly traits and showed : accordingly, and their never failing applause plainly . They found his candor and fairness a lesson in theni- no student can ever say that he held out the law as profession except to the high-minded and brave-hearted. could see and hear Mr. Jewett at this time without a ss that he was in the presence of no mediocre per- t from a remnant, a scientist can rebuild an organism, ^mnants of a man's life, it is not impossible to recon- ife. And of John N. Jewett at this period, an intel- ver could justly say, "Here is a man who has led an ;ical and intellectual life, whose will-power has been ffectually employed, whose mind has been carefully varied erudition, and disciplined through long years in : of a technical and learned profession, yet a man who [ways entirely human, simple in his tastes, democratic )athies, of good-will to his fellows, and a gentleman." as luminous of his character and was an index of hiS He came not by that genial countenance, dignified bear- idly disposition all at once; for as no man by willing a cubit to his stature, so none can become in his old icto, refined, well-poised, and benevolent. Old age is ler of a man's real character and disposition, and in Mr. se proved the truth of what he once said : loral and intellectual qualities of man belong to his bet- and it is through them that an approximation to perfect ay be obtained." w what remains to us of this useful, noble and generous :ommon fate of the lawyer is his. Forty thick volumes m incomplete collection, for Mr. Jewett lost all his )apers in the great fire — bear silent testimony to the ex- riety of his practice and to his immense industry. They hundreds of cases, many of historic importance, nearly •"ederal Courts, not a few in the Supreme Court of the es, where he appeared before his old college-mate. Chief er, while another college-mate of old Bowdoin, Senator aine, was presiding over the United States Senate. No ited with Mr. Jewett's style of language and thought le of these briefs without finding the man there. What ghts of study, investigation, and hard thought, went into ration ! What novelist or literateur ever put the same nental tissue into his works? Yet the novelist has fame 20 his practice. His sign may hang in place for a while, but is misled. A dead lawyer draws no clients. With him deat all, at least so far as things outward go. But to say nothing remains of this life would bespeak a ! philosophy. Those forty volumes of briefs were not wri vain. Their thought entered into the thought of the judgi heard the cases, modifying or enlarging their opinions, an becoming embodied in the decisions of the courts and into 1 of the land. They may not be read by any one again, but the done their effective work, and our notions of law to-day are ent as a result of them. He will live in the love of his fami in the grateful memory of his clients, his neighbors and : His lectures will not be heard again, but there are those prese evening who will treasure his honest advice and teachings wl books they now read are forgotten. The living voice rec more imperishable impression sometimes than the printed pa These things in themselves were worth living for, but they are not the only reward of the noble soul we knew. V say of him, as he once said of another: "Although dead he is not lost to the world. His exam] the results of his labor survive him. The achievements of hi hood, quietly, consistently and honorably wrought into the of our life, still remain, and will continue potent influen< good, to which limitation laws have no application." Surely of John N Jewett we can honestly say, in the of Carlyle. "When he departed from us, he took a man's lif^ with him." 31 MEMORIAL ADOITED BY THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE CHICAGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY March 1, 1904. At the regular meeting of the Executive Committee of Chicago Historical Society, held on March 1, 1004, the folio was presented : " To the Acting President of the Chicago Historical Society. Mr. President: Pursuant to your request, and on behalf oi Executive Committee, I have prepared, and now submit for £ tion, the accompanying brief memorial of Honorable John Ne Jewett, LL. D., late President of this Society. Respectfully, S. H. Kerfoot, "The memory of John Nelson Jewett has been publicly formally honored by oration and eulogy. The community in v for half a century he had been an eminent and an honorable cil has attested the height of esteem in which it held him. The cago Historical Society, whose President he was, the Chicago Association, whose President he had been, and The John Mai Law School, of which he was the Dean, have eloquently v their respect for him in this Society's Hall, where with his m less dignity and grace he had so often and so recently preside "It is now our privilege, as those who were perhaps close him in this work of his latest years, to pay the last and most mate tribute of affection, and to spread upon our records tht expression of honor, until the pen of some gifted writer adequately chronicle the life and character of him who has p from our daily sight. "It is hard to speak of Mr. Jewett in the past tense. "So impressive was his personality, and so vivid is his picti our minds, that with difficulty we realize his absence is to be 1* than for the day, and that the rich tones of his majestic voice henceforth but echo through the infinite silence. "When after much urging, he with diffidence accepted tin ciety's presidency, his heart warmed to the work, and none'c predecessors was ever more devoted to its welfare, none lal more zealously, in season and out of season, in its behalf, his vast treasure of intellectual strength, of legal aruinon. of 35 irs ot his presidency he caUed this t^ommittee together lor iety's work sixty-four times. It had not been so often as- in the preceding twenty-five years ! What more eloquent ly could there be to his unselfish devotion, his untiring his grasp of detail, and his aggressive leadership in shap- forming, and directing the duties devolved upon him and is Committee. : found the Society dormant, its finances disturbed, and its in chaos; he left its work systematized and in active ;, its trust funds intact and productive. The disaster which ed at the beginning of his presidency has yielded to his , and solvency and prosperity have been established in its While he was justly proud of these results, he disclaimed it for their accomplishment. The reward of his labors was :es3 he achieved. ith the strength and bravery of a giant, he was modest as a jirl, gentle as a woman. The glove of velvet adorned, but mask, his hand of iron. Stately in bearing, courtly in man- sterful in aflfairs, gracious in his simplicity, he won the re- le admiration, and the afi^ection of those who were privileged the Man. s presidency brought honor to our name among the his- )0cieties of the world. lose who knew John N. Jewett best loved him most, e the chief right to mourn ; and we who sat at his feet and his hands in this work, and who gratefully remember the s praise which he officially bestowed upon us, claim it our spread upon our records this too meager tribute to his Motion for Adoption : On motion of Dr. Schmidt, seconded by Mr. Fuller, i "Resolved, that the Kerfoot be adopted and ings; "Resolved, also, that by the Society's Record Mrs. Jewett." Memorial as prepared and rea(3 spread upon the records of our a copy thereof, engrossed upon p Clerk, and suitably bound, be pre Franklin H. Head, Acting I Thomas Dent, Vice-1 Edward E. Ayer, Joseph T. Bowen, William A. Fuller, Charles F. Gunthei Samuel H. Kerfoot, Levi Z. Leiter, George Merryweath Otto L. Schmidt, Executive C' James W. Fertig, 37 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 3 0112 040353895