seventieth birthday. Judge Howry's retirement followed on March 15, 1915. The activities and accomplishments of these two distin guished men were singularly contemporaneous. The motives which actuated them in choosing a professional career, the ability disclosed in meeting the exacting requirements of success, were decidedly parallel, and while in some respects they differed in temperament and disposition, it was my personal pleasure to observe in daily association with both that each respected and duly accorded to the other that full measure of worth to which each man was undoubtedly entitled. It would have been impossible for Judge Howry to have lived a life of indolence and repose. The happenings of the world and the times in which he lived, the policies of the Nation and the State of his nativity, the social and political problems which moved the people to action, came home to him with such conscientious responsibility that as a man and a citizen he gave to them the weight of his convictions and the force of his personal activity. Put to the painful necessity of conserving his physical strength, frequently called upon to labor under the stress of illness and pain, he with a degree of courage and fortitude never excelled met the responsibilities of life and faithfully discharged the duties of his office. In the many important positions he occupied and the wide extent of his contacts and friendships I have yet to learn of a single instance where he failed to leave the impression of a conscientious effort to do his full duty and meet the requirements of the position. Socially Judge Howry was most congenial. Whatever may have been our differences of opinion, between us as associates an unpleasant word never passed. He was absolutely without a sense of fear. No human being was ever more courageous, not a single emotion of cowardice ever controlled his movements or his convictions. On the bench and in the conference room, reflected in his opinions and in his daily life, is the pronounced evidence of his attitude toward principles which he believed to be right, conduct which he thought to be justified, and the law of the case as he after careful deliberation believed it to be. I do not mean to say that he was immune to argument or so firmly opinionated that contrary suggestions and conflicting views of his associates were summarily excluded from his considerations-to so say would be a manifest untruth. Judge Howry, like all other judges seeking to enforce the law and attain justice, frequently changed his opinion. The outstanding characteristics of the man were firmness in conclusions deliberately reached, an exhaustive attempt to deal fairly with his associates and humanity at large, a tireless effort to provide generously for his family, a never ceasing devotion to those for whom he especially cared, and a broad, enduring feeling of sympathy for his fellowmen. No subterfuge animated his conduct. His friends and the people knew exactly where to find him. Expediency could not exact of him a single compromise that demanded the forfeiture of his self-respect or the yielding of principles cautiously and carefully adopted. His was a long life of usefulness, a distinct and enduring contribution to the activities in which he was engaged and

to the profession he chose as a career. What he accomplished upon this bench is set forth in the tribute paid to him by the bar and his many friends on the date of his retirement, and will be amplified here to-day. The Court of Claims was honored by his service; and his family, friends, and associates will remember him with abiding affection and reverence.

Mankind's accomplishments are apparently measured by comparisons. The pioneers of the legal profession, the really great men who conceived the principles of jurisprudence, left to posterity the arduous task of developing political and social relationships upon the fundamental principles of restraint and established order. Generations of advocates, statesmen, lawyers, and jurists have passed in review, and history seems to accord to those who have attained eminence a relative degree of greatness arrived at by the accomplishments of distinguished predecessors. How frequently we hear that some jurist approaches the greatness of Chief Justice Marshall, some lawyer the enviable status of Choate, some legal author and educator designated a second Blackstone, so that in the end it seems, when professional ability and attainments are to be permanently allotted to one whose work is finished, we recur to the standards of the past and predicate our judgment upon that degree of success wrought out in a field of distinguished competitors and from a history replete with learning and ability.

The professional life of Chief Justice Stanton J. Peelle, appraised within the limitations of his chosen career, meets the test of wholesome and truthful eulogy and warrants, beyond peradventure, the approval of his fellowmen, and the enduring impression of real ability and accomplishment. Five distinguished jurists preceded Justice Peelle in the office of chief justice of this court. It is but simple justice to here record that he will be permanently remembered as their equal in ability, entitled to the lasting gratitude of the court, and recalled with pleasure and happiness by the members of the bar who knew him personally and enjoyed the privilege of appearing before him. Chief Justice Peelle was a robust man, endowed with the priceless blessing of good health. Exhausting illness rarely ever forestalled the exercise of his boundless industry. In all his long service on the bench he was absent therefrom for only a very few days. No one could have more conscientiously centered his attention upon his judicial duties than he. The court and its responsibilities were his chief concern, and while he found time to engage in many other activities, he subordinated all of them to the extent at least of noninterference with the proceedings of this tribunal. This event brings home to me the sad remembrance that I am the only surviving member of the court over which Chief Justice Peelle so ably presided. For eight years we were not only officially associates, we were friends. No human being could have come in daily contact and intimate association with Justice Peelle for so long a period and escaped the formation of an admirable friendship and an enduring respect for his exalted character and

engaging personality. As presiding justice of this court he was courteous, patient, dignified, and just. As a judge he was industrious, conscientious, and temperamentally adapted to the important duties of adjudicating the legal rights of the citizen and the Government under which he lived. He was possessed of that somewhat rare characteristic, a most noble one, of combining an intense degree of positiveness with a graceful mannerism, a polite and gentlemanly method of expression and contact, indexing his sincerity, and at the same time excluding an unfavorable impression of intolerable opposition to his established views. His was a kindly and generous disposition. Misfortune appealed to his sympathies, and while not a man of wealth, he contributed most generously to the needy and to Christian institutions, which he recognized as serving a benevolent and Christian purpose. Devoted to his family and his friends, thoughtful and considerate of others, he builded for himself throughout his long life a name and reputation that will survive, and leaves to this court, his family, his friends, and the world the permanent legacy of an honored name, a useful life, an upright and efficient judge, a worthy and exceptional citizen of the Republic, a just and Christian gentleman.

The members of the bar and his friends on the date of his retirement, as in the case of Judge Howry, paid him a merited tribute of respect and admiration. What was then said reflects the volume and character of his services while a member of this court. What is said to-day, and the proceedings of the hour, emanate from a sincere desire to spread upon the court's records a final memorial to the memory of Chief Justice Peelle and Judge Howry, two preeminent members of the court, each of whom won the esteem and friendship of both the court and the bar. Two long and useful lives have ended. What a comfort it must be to those who were nearest and dearest to them to know and to experience the commendation of their fellowmen, realize the character of their worth, and the extent of their affectionate regard.

As a final tribute to their memory, the court enters an order that the proceedings of the day be spread upon its records, and the reporter of the court is directed to include them in the next volume of our annual report. It is so ordered.

ORDER OF THE COURT RELATING TO THE RETIREMENT

OF CHIEF JUSTICE EDWARD K. CAMPBELL

NOVEMBER 2, 1928.

In May, 1913, Edward Kernan Campbell, of Birmingham, Alabama, was appointed by President Wilson chief justice of this court. During a period of fifteen years Chief Justice Campbell gave to this court a degree of industry and devotion which has never been excelled. Through his daily persistence and tireless energy the docket of the court was brought to the enviable point whereby litigation in the court was expeditiously disposed of and long and tedious delays eliminated. A number of most commendable reforms in procedure were inaugurated at his suggestion, and to the subject of the prompt dispatch of the court's enormous business he gave most intelligent consideration and labor. In addition to the great volume of executive duties he was called upon to perform, vastly increased by the late war, Chief Justice Campbell accomplished, at the expense of late hours and exacting labor, his full portion of the court's opinions, and leaves behind him a distinguished record for ability and fairness.

On April 17, 1928, the chief justice retired. His associates regretted his going. In our daily contacts we found him pleasant and agreeable, a man worthy in every respect of the position he occupied, and one for whom we wish continued good health and happiness.

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