Michigan's Great Jurist

Cooley day, in memory of Michigan's greatest jurist, and practically the founder of the greatest law school in the country, was fittingly observed Friday evening by a banquet and toasts, in which Judge Cooley's character and characteristics were lovingly referred to, at the Barbour gymnasium. About 300 sat down to the banquet, mostly law students, but with a goodly sprinkling of the faculty and members of the Washtenaw bar as well as visitors from outside who knew Judge Cooley. Ample justice was done to the menu, which was well served, and excellent music was provided.

DEAN HUTCHINS PRESIDED.

Dean Harry C. Hutchins presided as toastmaster. Preliminary to introducing the speakers he said that to know Judge Cooley was an inspiration and as that privilege had been denied the students present, the best we could do was to listen to those who had that privilege. There was something about the personality of Judge Cooley which took hold of the student, that attracted them to him. He was not impressive in appearance, you would not pick him out in a crowd as a man of great intellectual force, but if you carne into close contact with him you would soon discover that his intellect was of no ordinary kind. During his time the University was favored with many great men, but he was easily the leader of them all. Recently in the Alumnus many men have spoken in warm terms of the influence upon them of their contact with Judge Cooley. He was able to do much towards fashioning the jurisprudence of the state and many of the neighboring states. Judge Cooley never wrote a poor opinion. He wrote several great opinions. All of them were good. But his chief title to fame rests on his career as a teacher and an author and as an author principally upon one book, his "Constitutional Limitations."

PRESIDENT ANGELL'S TRIBUTE.

President Angell, in speaking of Judge Cooley, said: "Deeply as I am impressed with his intellectual force, I always recall more emphatically his character. It is through his character, quite as much as through his works, great as they are, that he will be remembered. There was his markable simplicity, modesty we might say, which was always a rebuke to the bumptiousness of anyone lacking in that quality of sincerity. I wonder if anyone could ever go out of his presence and do a mean thing. Certainly not until he had forgotten the glance of that eagle black eye. You could not live with him without being imbued with his noble spirit. He was not secluded, ascetic. He loved companionship, the joys of domestic life, of friendship. Devoted as he was to the interest of the law department, yet after all it ought to be said that he was transcendentally a University of Michigan man in its broadest sense. He was always full of optimistic hope of it. He was always ready to assist other departments.

"There was in him, with all his quaintness of manner, a courage that never flinched. He had a most exacting ideal, in his own mind, as to what men in the public service should be. More than once he failed to support men in his own party when they did not live up to the high ideals he had formed in his own mind as to what a public official should be. -He was the author of the oft quoted sentiment, 'Public office is a public trust.' No one of the thousands of young men who passed out from his instruction without knowing that his sentiment was that 'public office is a public trust.'

"He was a man of the largest generosity. He was generous also in his time, which he willingly gave up to a multitude of inquiries on all sorts of subjects. You would be surprised at the large correspondeuce he had from lawyers all over the country. We remember what indefatigable industry he had and how fully his time was occupied. It was often surprising to me to see how he turned aside to give of that time which was so precious to him, to assist others. It is as a fitting tribute to him that you are here tonight."

PRESENT ABLE FACULTY.

In the absence of Hon. F. A. Henry. of Ohio, who was unavoidably detained, George H. Pendleton, of Detroit, was the next speaker. After saying that no faculty seems quite equal to the corps of professors of whom we ourselves received instruction and while there is especially loyalty to such a faculty as that composed of Judge Cooley, Judge Campbell and Mr. Kent, he congratulated the students their present able faculty.

Hon. Honace C. Stillwell, of Indiana, in responding to the toast, "Judge Cooley Lives," made a very flowery effort, starting with the statement that the people of Adrian, Mich., who saw the failures, the struggles, the successes of the young lawyer in their village little dreamed they were witnessing the laying of the foundation stones of a great character. The speaker said that a history of Thomas M. Cooley should not be penned today. His immortality depends not upon achievements passed.

WEDEMEYER'S SPEECH.

W. W. Wedemeyer in responding to the "Local Bar" said that it was his class, the class of '95, which had the honor of instituting "Cooley Day" and of presenting the bust of Judge Cooley, which is in the law department today. He spoke of the beautiful and concise English of Judge Cooley and remembered with great satisfaction his lectures in the Inter-State Commerce law, delivered in language so plain and so simple that many almost thought that they knew that before. No man, not even Lewis Cass, contributed so much to the fame of Michigan.

We here hardly appreciated the unassuming, quiet jurist in our midst. So we did not appreciate another, an asociate of Webster, Clay and Calhoun, Alpheus Felch, who lived his beautiful life here. We do not appreciate the living enough. We cannot appreciate the life of one who is still spared to preside over the destinies or the University. With all his activity in the field of learning and diplomacy nothing showed the man better than the ease, grace and dignity with which he settled the impending trouble in labor circles in Detroit recently. Any state should be proud of such a triumvirate as Cooley, Felch and Angell.

During Judge Cooley's life one of his intimate friends held the position of justice of the peace in this city and day after day he sought the opinion of Judge Cooley, who took as much interest and pains in answering questions as to justice court cases as if they had been cases in the United States supreme court.

Getting back to his toast, "The Local Bar," Mr Wedemeyer said the obligations were not all on the part of the local bar to the law department for the Washtenaw bar has furnished the University with very able teachers. He paid very high tributes to Profs Jerome C. Knowlton, Bradley M. Thompson and Thomas A. Bogle, which were each received with great demonstrations of applause, testifying to their popularity.

Turning back to Judge Cooley, he said: "Thomas M. Cooley lives today as he will forever live in the hearts, minds and consciences of all those who believe in the principles of the government to the study of which he gave his best energies, his deepest though, his very life itself."

JUDGE MOORE SPEAKS.

Judge Moore, of the Michigan supreme court, spoke of "Old Time Lawyers" - mentioning as the three greatest with whom he had come in contact. Hughes of Grand Rapids, Baldwin of Pontiac and Lothrop of Detroit, to whom he paid tributes. He spoke eloquently of the old time lawyers who had done so much in all departments of the government, mentioning in particular Jefferson, Hamilton, Marshall, Webster, Lincoln and Cleveland. He spoke hopefully of the great work of the modern practitioners, speaking of Day, Choate and Taft: The golden age is not behind us. The world is better today than it has ever been and it will be better in the future.

This concluded the regular program. A fine oil painting of Prof. Charles A. Kent, who was in the law faculty f rom 1868 to 1886. was presented 'by the class of 1902 to the University, A. C. Angell of Detroit, making the presentatlon speech and Col. H. S. Dean, on behalf of the regents, the accepting speech. Mr. Angell was particularly happy in bis remarks, portraying many of the characteristics of a formerly well beloved professor.

Toastmaster Hutchins tried to dismiss the audience, but was interrupted by loud cries for Mechem. Prof. Mechem declined to respond, but was given several rounds of applause. The demonstration by the students must have been particularly gratifying to him. The interest manifested in and the success of Cooley Day indicates its permanence in the University.