832 



WAITE, MORRISON R. 



port, making himself especially useful in aiding 

 the recruiting service of the army. 



In 1862 he ran as an Independent Repub- 

 lican, in the Tenth Congressional District of 

 Ohio ; the call for the convention which nomi- 

 nated him being signed by Republicans and 

 Democrats, who pledged themselves to " the 

 maintenance of the Government and the deter- 

 mined prosecution of the war ; to the putting 

 down of the rebellion, and the restoration of 

 the Union." The regular Republican Conven- 

 tion nominated James M. Ashley, and adopted 

 a radical anti-slavery platform, demanding the 

 confiscation of the property of leading rebels, 

 and other extreme measures. Edwin Phelps 

 was brought out as the regular Democratic 

 candidate. Ashley was elected by a plurality 

 of 1,127 votes, although in an actual minority 

 of 4,105. A seat upon the bench of the Su- 

 preme Court of Ohio was tendered to Mr. 

 Waite by Governor Brough, but he declined it. 



His national reputation dates from his selec- 

 tion by President Grant, in November, 1871, 

 as one of the three counsel to represent the 

 United States before the Tribunal of Arbitra- 

 tion, at Geneva, Switzerland, his associates be- 

 ing William M. Evarts and Caleb Cushing. 

 This appointment came to him unsought, he 

 not even being aware that such a position was 

 to be filled. He was in New York, closing up 

 an important case, when the dispatch from the 

 Secretary of State advising him of his appoint- 

 ment by the President reached him, being for- 

 warded to him from Toledo. He immediately 

 accepted this appointment, and left for his post 

 of duty at Geneva early in the following month 

 of December, where he performed the required 

 service to the entire satisfaction of the Govern- 

 ment and the country. 



His already good reputation as an indefat- 

 igable and learned lawyer was greatly en- 

 hanced by the ability which characterized his 

 labors in behalf of his country in this histori- 

 cal tribunal. His argument on the liability of 

 the English Government for permitting the 

 Confederate steamers to take supplies of coal 

 in its ports, was regarded as an effort display- 

 ing great logical power and comprehensive 

 grasp of international questions. On Septem- 

 ber 17, 1872, the arbitrators rendered their de- 

 cision that Great Britain had failed in her du- 

 ties as a neutral, in the cases of the Alabama, 

 Florida, Shenandoah, and their tenders, and 

 awarded to the United States the sum of $15,- 

 500,000 in gold, which was promptly paid. He 

 returned from Geneva in November, 1872, and 

 resumed the practice of his profession in Tole- 

 do. In the same year the honorary degree of 

 LL. D. was conferred upon him by his Alma 

 Mater. In January of the year 1873, he was, 

 on the motion of Caleb Cushing, admitted to 

 practice in the United States Supreme Court. 

 In the following April he was nominated by 

 both political parties and unanimously elected 

 a delegate to the Convention called to form a 

 new Constitution for the State of Ohio, and 



upon its assembling, in May, he was chosen its 

 president. 



The death of Chief -Justice Chase occurred 

 May 7, 1873, creating a vacancy in the highest 

 judicial oflice in the United States. After At- 

 torney-General George H. Williams and Caleb 

 Cushing had been successively nominated for 

 this position and withdrawn, the President 

 sent to the Senate the name of Morrison R. 

 Waite, January 20, 1874. This appointment 

 was also unsolicited by him ; the Constitutional 

 Convention over which he was presiding being 

 then in session, a member advancing to offer 

 congratulations found him ignorant of the fact 

 of his nomination. His appointment was re- 

 ceived with approval throughout the country, 

 being alike acceptable to the Senate, the bar, 

 and the people generally, irrespective of parties. 

 He was confirmed as Chief -Justice of the United 

 States by a vote which has seldom been equaled 

 in its favorable character. The nomination 

 was discussed about an hour, during which 

 speeches were made by Senators Edmunds, 

 Thnrman, Sherman, and Sumner, whose speech 

 was considered one of the most impressive he 

 ever delivered in the Senate. Mr. Sherman 

 spoke of Mr. Waite's high standing at home, 

 saying, " Not a breath of suspicion or re- 

 proach had ever been cast upon him," and 

 that he believed "not a man existed whose 

 character was more spotless, or whose sense 

 of justice and honor was more acute." Not a 

 word was said in opposition to the nominee, 

 and the vote, taken by yeas and nays, resulted 

 in a unanimous confirmation by the Senate. 

 Chief-Justice Waite took the oath of office 

 March 4, 1874, and immediately entered upon 

 the duties of his high position. An Associate 

 Justice of the Supreme Bench, now retired, 

 says of him: "From the day of his entrance 

 into office as Chief-Justice of the Supreme 

 Court, he has been indefatigable in the dis- 

 charge of its great duties, patient, industrious, 

 and able. His administrative ability is remark- 

 able. None of his predecessors more steadily 

 and wisely superintended the court, or more 

 carefully observed all that is necessary to its 

 working. Nothing under his administration 

 has been neglected or overlooked. He has 

 written many of the most important decisions 

 of the court, too many to be particularized. 

 Among the more recent of his opinions may 

 be mentioned those delivered in the cases of 

 Antoni vs. Greenhow, Louisiana vs. Jumel, and 

 Elliott vs. Wiltz, each of them involving ques- 

 tions arising under the Constitution of the 

 United States." The decision of the Chief- 

 Justice in the Louisiana bond case will be found 

 under the title OBLIGATION OF CONTRACTS on 

 pages 653 and 654 of this volume. 



Judge Waite was married September 21, 

 1840, to Amelia 0. Warner, of Lyme, Conn. 

 They have been for many years active mem- 

 bers of the Protestant Episcopal Church, he 

 having been frequently elected a delegate to 

 her general conventions. 



