878 MELVILLE WESTON FULLER. 



the Chief Justice was inclined to construe the constitution strictly, 

 and not to enlarge by implication the powers of the legislative or 

 executive officers of the United States. He was always a conserva- 

 tive force in the Court. His opinions in the Income Tax case, Pollock 

 V. Fannrrs' Loan arid Trust Co., in the Danbury Hatters' case, in the 

 first case arising under the anti-trust law, United States v. Knight, in 

 the contempt proceedings against the sheriff of Chattanooga, in all 

 of which he announced the conclusions of the Court, were approved 

 by the profession and there are many who are inclined to think that 

 his dissenting opinions in the case of the Mormon Church, the Insular 

 cases, and others presented the true view of the law. 



In the words of the Attorney-General his " opinions are all charac- 

 terized by a simple lucidity of statement and a directness of reasoning 

 free from svibtlety," and in the words of his successor. Chief Justice 

 White, his career as a judge was characterized by " untiring attention 

 to his judicial duties and the dedication which he made to the efficient 

 and wise performance of those duties of every intellectual and moral 

 power which he possessed; his love of justice for justice's sake, his 

 kindness, his gentleness, associated, however, with the courage which 

 gave him always the power fearlessly to do what he thought was right, 

 without fear or favor," and he added, "The source whence these 

 endearing and noble qualities were derived was not far to seek. It 

 was faith in the power of good over evil; faith in the capacity of his 

 fellow-men for self-government ; faith in the wisdom of the fathers of 

 our institutions; faith, unshaken faith, in the efficiency of the system 

 of constitutional government which they established and its adequacy 

 to protect the rights and liberties of the people." 



The Court during his administration was often divided and dis- 

 senting opinions were common, as was conspicuously true in the 

 Insular cases where one judge in effect decided the cases by agreeing 

 first with one minority and then with another, and in so doing reached 

 a conclusion by paths which his eight associates declined to follow. 

 The questions before the Court were of such a character that a differ- 

 ence of opinion was in many cases inevitable, but it is to be regretted 

 that the dissents were so frequent, and that there was no force on the 

 bench able to harmonize the conflicting views of its members. 



While not a man of commanding intellect, his abilities and his 

 acquirements as a lawyer fitted him fully to discharge the duties of his 

 high office. His rare personal charm and the unvarying courtesy 

 with which he met all who came before him made him the most 

 popular Chief Justice who ever held that position on the bench until 



