77 day or the old age that comes to all who are fortunate enough to attain it.

Within a short time after the nominating convention, not long enough to permit the feelings of gratitude which come to every one for the confidence reposed in him by his fellow-man, he receives a quiet intimation that his "assessment" is so and so. If not promptly attended to, the intimation comes again, less quiet but more pronounced, and the candidate soon understands, if he did not understand it before, that if he desires to attain his goal he must pay for the right of being on the ticket. The evil is limited to no · party and no particular judgeship, but is all-pervasive, insistent, and not to be denied. It is an evil, as I think, that ought to be eradicated. Members of this Association hold places upon political committees of the various political parties; others have influence and standing with them, and, as it seems to me, if the wishes and sentiments of the lawyers were against the practice, it would not be a difficult matter to eradicate it. I do not discuss the evil. Time will not permit, nor do I think it necessary. As it seems to

me, the simple statement ought to suffice, and I trust the influence of this Association will be set against it, so that judges, when elected, shall be judges of the whole people, and not be subject to the suggestion or suspicion of being judges of any particular party, or subject, either before or after the election, to the orders of any political committee or power.

We are members of a noble profession; it has a great history, a great present, a great future. Its members have adorned and honored the highest offices in the State and the Nation. At all times and under all exigencies the bar can be relied upon to take a prominent part "in all that exalts and embellishes civilized life." Its members have been prominent on the battlefield, in the halls of Congress, in administrative duties; in its own peculiar sphere and duty it is inseparably connected and associated with its complement, the bench. Without the one the other could not exist. Side by side,

working harmoniously, they have been, are and will be instruments of great good, and their efforts redound to the benefit of the community.

With a fearless, incorruptible, capable bench, an honest, intelligent, courageous bar, the rights of the people, in life, liberty and property, will ever be assured.

The President: The next order of business is Reports of Committees, and I believe the first committee we will call on is the Committee on Obituary Notices.

Noble C. Butler: Mr. President and Gentlemen-The Committee on Obituary Notices presents the following report: To the State Bar Association of Indiana:

Your Committee on Obituary Notices reports that since the last annual meeting of the State Bar Association five of its members have died. These members are as follows: Charles A. Rhetts, Robert B. F. Peirce, John A. Finch, Michael Keefe and Charles B. Stuart. Sketches of the lives and professional career of these members have been prepared and furnished to your committee, and are now submitted:

NOBLE C. BUTLER,
Chairman.

In Memoriam.

CHARLES ANDREW RHETTS.

(Prepared by GEORGE L. REINHARD.)

Professor Rhetts died at his home in Bloomington, Ind., Friday, Aug. 26, 1898, after an illness of five weeks, of typhoid fever, aged nearly thirty-two years, being born in Salem, Ind., Nov. 22, 1866. He received his early training in the public schools of his native town, graduating from the Salem High School in 1883. As soon as possible thereafter he entered upon his collegiate course in Indiana University, and was graduated from that institution in 1889. Soon after this he obtained a position in one of the departments at Washington, and during the time in which he was not actively engaged in the duties of his office, he attended the Columbian Law School, graduating in 1892. He then returned to Salem and entered upon the practice of the law, until 1894, when he matriculated in Harvard University as a graduate student in law. He remained there until 1895, taking the degree of A. M. In the autumn of 1895 he began his career as assistant professor of law in Indiana University, and served as such with eminent satisfaction until the time of his death. A few months before he died he was offered a resident fellowship in law at Harvard University, which he declined, owing to his professional engagements at the University. In 1892 he was married to Miss Harriet Casper, of Salem, who, with their son of four years, survives him. When Mr. Rhetts was called to the law faculty of Indiana University he was the nominee of the Repub

lican party of his judicial circuit for prosecuting attorney, but withdrew from the race in order to accept the position at Bloomington.

Mr. Rhetts was a man of culture and of superior mental and moral endowments. Though young in years, and in active practice only a short time, comparatively, he was yet an ardent lover of his profession and a lawyer of no mean attainments. He possessed rare powers of perception, and a clever, discriminating and logical mind. A convincing and lucid instructor, he was loved by his students, for he was their friend and companion, as well as their helper and teacher. His aspirations were high and noble, his friendship pure and useful, his character unsullied, and all his influences were for good. He possessed the elements that were sure to bring him success and distinction in his profession, and his name is deserving of honorable mention upon the pages that record the history of this Association of his professional brethren, of which he became a member in 1897.

ROBERT B. F. PEIRCE.

(Prepared by JAMES B. BLACK.)

Robert Bruce Fraser Peirce, who became a member of this Association at its last preceding annual meeting, died at his home in Indianapolis on the 5th of December, 1898. He was born at Laurel, Franklin county, Indiana, on the 17th of February, 1843. He was descended from English and Scotch ancestry. His childhood was passed in that early-settled region, the beautiful Whitewater valley.

When he reached the age of eighteen, spurred by his native ambition, and relying upon his unaided energy, he entered Wabash College, at Crawfordsville, and, notwithstanding the fact that he was compelled to resort to manual labor to defray his small expenses, he held a high position among his more fortunate fellow-students. He became a member of Tau Chapter of the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity, and he was graduated at the head of his class.

His course in college was interrupted by a term of service in the Union army, in the civil war. The register of the Indiana Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, of which he was a member, shows that he enlisted as a private in the One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Indiana Infantry, on the 10th of May, 1864: that he became a second lieutenant in that regiment on the 18th day of May, 1864, and that he was honorably mustered out on the 29th of September, 1864. After this patriotic service, he returned to his studies and completed the collegiate curriculum. In due course he received the degree of Master of Arts from his Alma Mater. After his graduation he devoted himself to the study of law in the office of that highly esteemed member of the Bar, Benjamin F. Love, at Shelbyville, Ind. Soon after his admission to practice he was chosen to the office of city attorney. In 1866 he was married to Miss Hattie Blair, daughter of Mr. John W. Blair, of Crawfordsville, and in 1867 he relinquished his office of city attorney of Shelbyville and, removing to Crawfordsville, became associated with the bar of that city, among whose members were many able lawyers. Here he soon achieved a leading position, and, beginning with the election of 1868, he was chosen for three successive terms as prosecuting attorney for the judicial circuit composed of the counties of Montgomery, Fountain, Warren, Clinton and Boone. While serving in this capacity he conducted the prosecution of the celebrated murder case of The State vs. Nancy E. Clem, in the Boone Circuit Court, to which the cause had been sent on change of venue from Marion county, some of the most distinguished lawyers of the State being engaged with and against him.

In 1873 Mr. Peirce was chosen as general counsel for the Logansport, Crawfordsville & Southwestern Railway Company, and afterward he became one of its directors. He continued in these relations until that company was absorbed in the Vandalia railway system.