BIOGRAPHICAL 5 



had not been entirely interrupted by his army service, 

 as he was in the habit of carrying in his saddle-bag law 

 books from which he read when opportunity presented 

 itself. 



He was admitted to the bar, members of which were 

 at the time, Judge W. H. Seevers, later judge of the Su- 

 preme Court of the state, M. E. Cutts, and Judge Lough- 

 ridge, whose names were at the time in the forefront of 

 the bar of Iowa. Trained to compete with these men, 

 Major Lacey received that training which is most desira- 

 ble for a young lawyer, having an opportunity of seeing 

 the best and ablest men of his profession in the trial of 

 cases. That he was an apt student is shown from the 

 success that he attained in the bar where these men were 

 his competitors. 



Major Lacey 's political career was long and distin- 

 guished. But the fact is not generally known that his po- 

 litical career arose from his success as a lawyer. In 

 the campaign of 1888, when the Republicans of the Sixth 

 Congressional District were looking around for some man 

 who could successfully compete on the stump with Gen- 

 eral James B. Weaver, then in the height of his power as 

 a speaker, the members of the bar received attention, and 

 Major Lacey was drafted from the legal profession into 

 the political arena for the purpose of making a contest 

 which the Republicans felt was desperate indeed. The 

 history of these contests is a part of the political history 

 of the state. He brought to his political contests the 

 same energy and zeal he exhibited in his law practice. 



I remember attending a meeting of the state committee 

 where those interested in the management of the cam- 

 paign were arranging their plans. All of the party can- 

 didates for Congress were present, and, as the various 

 dates were arranged, frequently the other candidates of- 

 fered this or that excuse for not being able to comply 



