Cortland Evening Standard, Wednesday,
March 21, 1894.
MERTON
M. WATERS.
Brief
Sketch of His Life and Career—The Funeral.
Merton M. Waters was born in Truxton, N. Y.,
March 3, 1830, and was the son of Aretus and Caroline Law Waters. He was one of
a family of nine brothers and one sister. In Truxton was passed his boyhood and
youth until 1852 when he married Elizabeth Beden of Fabius, N. Y., and they
made a home in that place. Here they remained for a few years and here were
born their two eldest children. Mr. Waters at this time was pursuing the study
of law and in June, 1857, moved his family to Cortland after being admitted to
the bar. In the years which followed he steadily worked his way to the very
head of the Cortland county bar, and as time went on came to be acknowledged as
one of the very ablest lawyers in the state. The family residence on West
Court-st. was completed in 1866. In 1875 Mr. Waters formed a partnership with
his son-in-law, S. S. Knox, and for eight years the firm of Waters & Knox
was continued.
In 1881, wishing a larger field for the
practice of his profession, he took the place of Judge Vann in the firm of
Vann, McLennan & Dillaye in Syracuse. This firm was dissolved in 1883 when
Judge McLennan went to New York as attorney for the West Shore R. R. Then Mr.
Waters formed a partnership with John McLennan and to this firm was added in
1889, L. L. Waters, Mr. Waters' only son. This firm was in existence at the
time of his death.
For several years, his health has been
gradually giving way, his ceaseless work at last undermining his physical
powers and on March 17 he died, just at the beginning of his sixty-fifth year.
Thus ended a remarkable life, so full of
usefulness and honor that it is hard to give in a few words any idea of the
magnitude of its work. The keen brain, clear insight and quick comprehension
which were in Mr. Waters so marked, caused his hands to be always full of cases
involving most important questions and interests, and more than that many of
the most prominent lawyers of Central New York came continually to him for
counsel. There are few men who so inspire affection in those with whom they
came in contact and few lawyers can so fill their clients with confidence.
He was the soul of honor in his fidelity to
his business, carefully and scrupulously exact in respect to all the large
interests confided to him, never sparing himself in any way if additional labor
by night or day could fortify his client's position. Yet he was never too busy
to stop and explain to a student in his office any puzzling point of law, and
his explanations were always so lucid that the student never forgot them.
There is at the bar in Central New York an
army of young men who remember M. M. Waters with deepest regard and gratitude
for his help and instruction. He was sanguine, full of the largest hope and
confidence and of seemingly exhaustless energy, always ready to give of his
means and strength to these who needed either.
At heart he was as tender as a woman, and
loved his family, each member of it more than his life, and his wife and
children loved him with an equal devotion. His tenderness and fortitude were
wonderfully shown during his last long and lingering illness, and those who
were around him in the last weeks of his life will never forget his unceasing
patience and careful thought for others.
He made a brave struggle for life in the
past six months, but the decline was resistless and inexorable. To die before
his work seemed done, to lay down his life when his magnificent intellect
seemed fitted for long years of useful labor, this was the bitterness of death
to him. To his wife, his devoted companion for forty-two years, and to his son
and daughters the loss is so great, so inestimable that words fail to express
any part of it. Yet he has left them rich in the memory of a boundless
tenderness and devoted love.
Besides his wife, he is survived by all his
five children, one son, L. L. Waters of Syracuse, and four daughters, Mrs. S.
S. Knox of Cortland, Mrs. H. F. Greenman of Bridgeport, Conn., Mrs. E. A. McMillan Of North Adams, Mass.,
and Miss Isabel Waters.
The funeral was held at the house at 2
o'clock on Tuesday afternoon and was conducted by Rev. J. L. Robertson assisted
by Rev. Dr. W. P. Coddington of Syracuse. A special train from Syracuse brought
a large number of the Onondaga county bar, and the Cortland county bar also
attended in a body. The bearers were Judge Vann and Judge McLennan, Hon.
William P. Goodelle, Hon. Geo. R. Cook, Harrison Hoyt, T. K. Fuller, T.
L. R. Morgan, and John McLennan, all of Syracuse.
The floral tributes were remarkably
beautiful and appropriate, and especial mention should be made of the offering
of the Cortland county bar, a wreath surmounted by an open book of white
flowers upon which were the words "The Law."
Mr. and Mrs. Julius A. Graham, Mr. A. D.
Blodgett and Mr. C. F. Brown sang several beautiful selections. Among the
passages of Scripture Rev. Mr. Robertson read the twelfth chapter of
Ecclesiastes, of which Mr. Waters had been especially fond. The remarks of the clergymen
manifested the same sincere esteem of the departed one which has marked the
utterances of his brethren of the bar. Dr. Coddington spoke with feeling of
personal association with Mr. Waters and of his deep reverence for his Creator
and of his careful thought for the spiritual welfare of his dear ones.
The services at the grave were brief and
impressive. Never in Cortland county has a more distinguished assembly stood
with bared heads beside an open grave. And as the earth fell upon the
coffin-lid, all who stood there thought again, as Judge McLennan had said in
his telegram to Mrs. Waters, "A great lawyer, an honest man, a true friend,
is gone."
For
Shame.
With hearts filled with indignation a great
many people witnessed the abuse of a poor dumb brute at the fire in Homer Saturday night. A horse
which had drawn one of the hose carts from Cortland had been run at full speed
through the heavy muddy roads. When almost to its destination it gave out and
the poor animal, more human than the men who wielded the heavy blows straining
in every limb was beaten in a terrible manner. If the same thing had happened
in any of our large cities the party would have been arrested immediately, but
in this case and many similar ones people stand by apparently helpless for the
time and then talk about "What a shame it was."
I for one am not afraid to take a stand for
the right in whatever form it may come, and I enter here and now a protest in
the cause of the dumb beasts in this village.
If there is an agent in this place for the prevention of cruelty to
animals, where is he? If not, let there be one appointed and one who will see
that the law is carried out.
MRS. N. G. MARKLEY.
PAGE
TWO—EDITORIALS.
Judge
Forbes and the Cornell Tragedy.
The New York Sun of yesterday contained the following editorial concerning Judge
Forbes and the Cornell tragedy:
To those persons who are acquainted with the
character and the professional and judicial career of Judge Gerrit A. Forbes of
the Sixth Judicial district, the suggestion that he is a man who would ever,
under any circumstances, regard crime with sympathy is too absurd to require
refutation. His charge to the grand jury at Ithaca, in reference to the Cornell
university tragedy, when considered in the light of his personal record as a
lawyer and a judge, contains nothing to justify the idea that he was not
actuated by the purest motives.
The tone of the address considered as a whole,
was milder than had been expected by the public and to this fact doubtless is
due much of the criticism which it has aroused. From his own inquiries into the
matter, and the conference with the district attorney of Tompkins county, Judge
Forbes appears to have reached a conclusion that in no event could an
indictment for murder be sustained, by any proof which was obtainable; and he
evidently thought that it would be wiser for the grand jury to conduct their
inquiries with reference to finding an indictment for some lower crime, rather
than for one which the prosecution could not prove upon the trial.
Of course, neither Judge Forbes nor any
other intelligent man in the state would for one moment contend that the
students of Cornell university are entitled to any sort of immunity or
privilege from punishment for offences [sic] against the criminal law. Precisely the
same rules, in this respect, apply to young men in college as apply to young
men out of college. If there was any implication to the contrary in what Judge
Forbes said to the grand jury of Tompkins county last week, we are satisfied
that it was unintentional, and due to the fact that this part of his
charge was not written out beforehand, but was delivered upon the spur of the
moment, and under the
influence of a strong impression that the circumstances of the case probably
called for nothing more severe than censure.
We can hardly doubt that his tone toward he
students would have been less lenient, and that he would have left the matter
to the grand jury, without so plain a manifestation of his own personal view,
if the charge had been carefully prepared in advance of its delivery.
It is preposterous, however, to suppose that
a magistrate who has been so strict as Judge Forbes in imposing punishment has
now become indifferent in respect to the enforcement of the criminal law.
Yesterday Judge Forbes charged the Tompkins
county grand jury a second time. Dispatches from Ithaca say that in an
impressive manner which carried conviction to every listener, he spoke for
three hours on the subject uppermost in his mind, the Cornell chlorine
poisoning case, his charge to the grand jury and the press criticisms. He took
up his previous charge paragraph by paragraph and commented on it, explaining
at length what meaning he intended to convey in each sentence. He read to the
grand jury from the penal code the law as to murder, manslaughter and
other degrees of crime and expounded the same to the benefit of jury and
listeners.
The judge was very much moved and very much
affected several times during his address. When he concluded it was the general
impression among the lawyers present that the judge had made himself thoroughly
understood, that there was not the slightest ground for the harsh criticisms which
it had been his lot to have directed against him, and that he had cleared away
all adverse opinions, and that to a man the bar of Tompkins county is now
behind the judge.
One of the leading members of the bar said
that in his opinion the effect of the judge's remarks would loosen the mouths
of the students who know of the guilty parties, and that in his belief this
charge will have aided the cause of justice, and that undoubtedly now the
guilty would be found.
TROY INQUEST ENDS.
TWO
WITNESSES SWEAR BOLAND WAS THE MURDERER.
One of
the Witnesses Placed In Jail On Charge of Perjury—The Testimony All In and the
Jury Will Be Charged Today—Conflicting Evidence Given, Three Men Named as
Having Fired the Shot.
TROY, N. Y., March 21.—In the Ross inquest,
Mr. Morton, attorney for John McGough, said he refused to be sworn.
Mr. Fagan said nothing could be done, except
to send him to jail, where he was already.
Jeremiah Cleary swore that he saw John H.
Boland fire at Ross and Ross fell. The only revolver he saw was in Boland 's
hands.
He declared that all the previous witnesses
were mistaken when they said the shooting was done by Shea. It might have been
possible for somebody else to have shot Ross, as everyone seemed to be firing
together.
Thomas Keefe was the next witness. He saw
Boland fire three shots. Boland pointed the revolver at Keefe, and witness
laconically remarked, "It did not go off. Boland had the only
revolver."
Witness said he went to the polls to prevent
strangers from wrongdoing if he could. He understood the town was full of
repeaters. He only knew one man at the polls, Boland, and went away because he
was afraid of him.
"Are you afraid of him now?" asked
the assistant district attorney.
"Not on yer life," said the witness.
He did not know who did the shooting.
Sophia Billingham, aged 14, gave unimportant
testimony.
Michael Delaney was a witness for Shea and swore
that Ross chased Shea and then Boland fired at Ross twice and killed him.
He gave conflicting testimony and Mr. Fagan
asked that the witness be taken into custody until he had considered the
formulation of charges.
The request was granted and created
considerable excitement in the courtroom. It is understood charges of perjury
may be made.
E. M. Partridge saw Robert Ross throw up his
hands when a man shot him. The man then shot Ross when he was down. Witness was
positive it was not Boland who did the shooting.
The inquest then came to an abrupt close,
Assistant District Attorney Fagan saying all the evidence was in.
The coroner ordered an adjournment until
today, when he will charge the jury and await the verdict.
The witness Delaney, suspected of perjury,
was sent to jail.
HOMER
DEPARTMENT.
Gleanings
of News From our Twin Village.
The new edifice of the First Baptist church
which is being dedicated to-day is an ornament to this village and a credit to
the society by whom it was erected. The style is modern Romanesque, the
material being of pressed brick relieved by trimmings of brown stone. The
building has one of the most desirable locations in the village on the corner
of Main and Cayuga-sts., facing on the former. The interior is divided by a
hall which extends across the full width of the church. At the end of this hall
is the Cayuga-st. entrance and along the right side are doors opening into the
well appointed chapel which will be used for the Sunday-school, prayer meetings,
etc. This room contains a large gallery and connects with a conveniently arranged
kitchen at the south end. Directly above the kitchen is the pastor's study
which opens into the upper. On the left of the upper and lower halls is the
auditorium with which they are connected by doors at each end.
The main entrances to this room are from
Main-st., one under the tower which rises to the height of 125 feet at the northeast
corner and one at the southeast corner under the smaller tower, The vestibules
at those entrances are about 15 feet square with staircases in each leading to
the galleries above. Entering from the vestibules one finds himself in a well
lighted, handsomely furnished and pleasantly decorated auditorium, arranged in
amphitheatre form with a horseshoe gallery and having a seating capacity of
seven hundred persons. Here the woodwork is all of oak, the upholstering is of
dark brown and the carpet is one of small figures in corresponding tones on a
light ground. The gallery rails and pillars which support the gallery are
finished in mahogany plush. The hangings of the pulpit which is in the west end
of the room, are of the same material. The walls and ceiling are delicately
tinted in harmonizing colors, terra- cotta, light blue and buff predominating.
Light is admitted to this part of the church by three large cathedral glass
windows which are above the galleries, the one opposite the pulpit being a
memorial to the Bennett family. Below the gallery there are fifteen smaller
windows which are memorials and tributes to members of the congregation.
The auditorium was handsomely decorated this
morning in honor of its dedication. The pulpit platform was banked with calla
lilies and green. The choir and organ loft was occupied by the soloists and
Darby's orchestra of Cortland, numbering nine pieces.
Prominent among the audience which thronged
the auditorium to the doors were the members of the building committee with the
exception of Mr. J. A. Tisdale who is very seriously ill. Those present were W.
H. Darby, chairman, Newell Jones, M. M. Newton, and G. N. Copeland. These
gentlemen deserve the congratulations of the citizens of this village as well
as of the members of their own congregation for the efficient manner in which
they have performed their duties as a committee.
The services this morning were opened by a
voluntary rendered by the orchestra which was followed by an invocation
by Rev. E. C. Olney of the Congregational church, After an anthem by the choir entitled
"Abide with Me," Rev. Parker Fenno, the rector of Calvary Episcopal church,
read the Scripture lesson. Rev. D. D. Forward then led the congregation in
prayer, after which Mr. R. J. McElheny and Mrs. W. E. Burdick sang a duet,
"Preserve Me, O God!"
The report of the building committee was read
by Mr. W. H. Darby, after which the pastor, Rev. D. D. Forward, read the
program for the remainder of the day. Hymn 616 in the Hymnal was sung by the
congregation, after which Rev. Dr. Edward Judson of Judson Memorial church in
New York City rose and announced the text of the dedicatory sermon, St. John
iv:19. His subject was Christian Love. He spoke just forty minutes and
delivered a sermon of rare excellence. After the congregation finished singing
Hymn 160 in the Hymnal Rev. H. A. Cordo, D. D., of Cortland formally dedicated
the church by a few well chosen remarks and a prayer. Mrs. Chauncey Baker then sang
a solo, "One Sweetly Solemn Thought," after which Rev. A. J. Walrath of
Penn Yan pronounced the benediction.
The afternoon meeting is now in session. After
the morning services were concluded the ministers and guests from out of town
were invited to dinner which was prepared in the chapel. This room looked very
attractive with its rows of tables loaded with delicious food prepared by the
ladies of the church. At the table where the ministers dined Mrs. Eliza
Babcock, who is more than eighty years old and one of the oldest members of the
church presided and poured the coffee from a silver urn.
BREVITIES.
—After The STANDARD had gone to press
yesterday word was received that Mr. John Dobbins, who had been hurt in the
morning by a fall at the factory of the Cortland Wagon Co., had just died. That
fact was noted in the last half of the edition, but those who had the first of
the papers did not know it.
—Louis Cannon, a vagrant with lots of brass
hailing from the New York City arsenal,
went off on a toot. He was loaded to the muzzle when arrested last night by
Officer Monroe and proved to be a smooth bore and about sixteen caliber, as
that he said was his age. Justice Bull discharged him and fired him out of
town.
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