8 MAJOR JOHN F. LACEY 



Major Lacey's career in Congress terminated, and, 

 although at the time of his retirement the President of 

 the United States and numerous of his friends associated 

 with him and who held him in the highest esteem, were 

 anxious and willing to do something in the way of ap- 

 pointing him to political office, he promptly announced 

 that he was going to retire, leave Washington, and go 

 back to Oskaloosa to practice law. I remember with what 

 great pleasure he told me that, shortly after this an- 

 nouncement appeared in the public press, at a reception 

 at the White House at which he was present, Justice 

 White, then one of the justices of the Supreme Court, and 

 now its honored Chief Justice, seeing Major Lacey in the 

 crowd, made his way to him, with the greeting: ''Major, 

 I want to shake the hand of a lawyer; I want to shake 

 hands with a man who has not been divorced from his 

 profession by the fact that he has served a number of 

 years in Congress." 



The one characteristic of Major Lacey as a lawyer 

 that stood out more prominently than any other, was his 

 untiring industry. Whatever Major Lacey attained of 

 success, either in law or politics, came to him, not as a 

 result of genius, except it be the genius of hard work. 

 No other man with whom I have ever been acquainted 

 possessed his capacity for constant and continuous toil. 

 The Major, as we boys used to say, loved work like the 

 rest of us loved to laugh. A few days ago Judge Mc- 

 Pherson was telling me of an experience of his with 

 Major Lacey. He and the Major had been retained in a 

 case. Judge McPherson stated that he had devoted con- 

 siderable time and study to the case when he went to 

 Oskaloosa. They both worked at the case, getting ready 

 for trial, until supper time, when Judge McPherson said 

 he was going to his brother-in-law's for supper and that 

 he would meet the Major in the morning. "No," said 



