William DeWi! Mitchell The Other William Mitchell thomas h. boyd and douglas r. heidenreich

itchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul Mis named for the Honorable William Bell Mitchell, an associate justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court who earned a national reputa- tion in the late nineteenth century as one of the country’s foremost jurists.¹ But there was an- other William Mitchell of significant stature— namely, Justice Mitchell’s son, William DeWi4 Mitchell—who served as solicitor general in President ’s administration and a4orney general in President ’s administration. Known as one of the most ac- complished and respected lawyers of his day, he rivals his father in terms of his stature and con- tributions on a national level. Like his father, he deserves recognition and respect for his ex- traordinary career. William Bell Mitchell, the bewhiskered family patriarch and future Minnesota Supreme Court Justice, is surrounded by members of his extended family, including his son, William DeWitt Mitchell, the lad wearing the cap. Front row (L-R): Jenny Mitchell Staples, Two unnamed girls Boyhood and Early Years (daughters of Mary Mitchell Ewing), Billy Ewing (son of Judge Nathaniel Ewing), and Jessie William DeWi4 Mitchell was born September 9, Mitchell Hancock. Middle row (L-R): Helen Hancock Hardy, Frank Ames Hancock, Mary Mitchell Ewing, Judge William Mitchell, Unnamed daughter of Mary Mitchell Ewing, Kenneth Ewing. Back 1874. He grew up at 72 Main Street² in Winona, row (L-R): Judge Nathaniel Ewing, William Dewitt Mitchell. Courtesy of Mitchell Hamline School of Minnesota, near the Mississippi River, where he Law Archives. loved to hunt and fish. He was an excellent stu- dent and a4ended public schools before a4end- American War. He served as a second lieutenant ing The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey. in the Fi8eenth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry He spent two years at in the from 1898-1899 and then as a captain and ad- Sheffield Scientific School, studying to be an jutant of the Fourth Regiment of the Minnesota electrical engineer. Despite excelling in mathe- National Guard.⁴,⁵ matics and science, Mitchell decided to become A8er his father, Justice Mitchell, lost reelec- a lawyer and transferred to the University of tion to the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1898, Minnesota. He took his undergraduate courses the pair formed the law office of Mitchell & during the day and a4ended law classes at night. Mitchell. The firm was short lived, however, The registrar objected that Mitchell could work when Justice Mitchell died. Young Mitchell then on both simultaneously but relented when the joined Timothy R. Palmer and Joseph H. Beek ambitious young man proved he was making to form Palmer, Beek & Mitchell, but before the grades. Mitchell earned his bachelor’s de- long, Palmer le8 for the Minnesota Mutual Life gree in 1895 and a law degree a year later.³ Insurance Company, and Beek went into busi- ness elsewhere.⁶ Next, the lawyer joined Jared Early Law Practice and Service How and Carl Taylor at How, Taylor & Mitchell. Following law school, Mitchell clerked for Taylor was the former corporation counsel for Stringer & Seymour law firm in St. Paul before the City of St. Paul. In 1905, he moved to New enlisting in the US Army during the Spanish- York City to practice law. There, several years

RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY • 1 later, Taylor and Mitchell would join forces it known that the only federal post in which again.⁷ That same year, Pierce Butler, a future he was truly interested was that of US solicitor Supreme Court associate justice, resigned his general. Yet as a Democrat, he could not have position as general counsel for the Omaha Rail- seriously expected to receive such a plum ap- road Company and returned to private practice pointment in a Republican administration. with his former partner, How. The law firm of Nonetheless, when there was a vacancy at How, Butler & Mitchell prospered. the post, Mitchell’s friends and admirers went Mitchell earned a reputation as an outstand- to work on his behalf. Judge Sanborn told A4or- ing a4orney sought for his intellect and skill as ney General Sargent that Mitchell was “the a dra8er. His clients included members of the ablest lawyer with whom I have ever come in William DeWitt Mitchell James J. Hill family, whose famously ill-fated contact.”¹⁹ The highly regarded Walter H. San- served as a second estate planning was due in no way to Mitchell’s born²⁰ wrote President Coolidge to endorse lieutenant in Company B of the Fifteenth efforts in dra8ing wills that were never signed⁸ Mitchell whom he described as “endowed with Minnesota regiment in and trust agreements that resulted in disputes a calm, clear, logical mind of extraordinary 1898. Photograph by J.M. motivated by the size of the trust corpus rather power . . .”²¹ The entire Minnesota Supreme Kuhn. Courtesy of Ramsey County Historical Society. than ambiguities in the wri4en instruments.⁹,¹⁰ Court also heartily endorsed Mitchell, and Min- Mitchell truly was a “lawyer’s lawyer,” and when nesotans in Washington, D.C., including Sec- Frank B. Kellogg¹¹ needed legal advice, he is said retary of State Kellogg and Justice Butler, used to have declared, “Let’s Ask Billy Mitchell.”¹² their influence with the Coolidge Administra- During World War I, Mitchell served as the tion, as did Thomas Schall, Minnesota’s Repub- ranking officer of the First Ba4alion of the Min- lican senator. nesota Home Guard.¹³ In December 1917, the In 1925, President Coolidge appointed Mitch- ba4alion mobilized at the St. Paul Armory three ell to the post. Years later, Mitchell recalled a times in connection with striking employees of dinner at the White House when he first arrived the Twin City Rapid Transit Company.¹⁴ The in the capital city. The famously taciturn presi- First Ba4alion intervened a8er violence broke dent had only two things to say during their out during a labor demonstration on Decem- meal: “Chicken again” and “I understand the So- ber 2.¹⁵ Now a major, Mitchell was credited with licitor General has no time to make speeches.”²² restoring order through the deployment of the Mitchell declared his representation of the troops without firing a shot.¹⁶ Federal District federal government would be limited to only Judge John B. Sanborn, Jr., later wrote to US At- those cases in which he was satisfied that the torney General John G. Sargent that “[t]he city government’s position was “just.” Mitchell and county authorities were unable to cope with was true to his word. There were thirty-four the situation [and Mitchell] was called upon, in occasions when either he or his staff advised effect to police the city of St. Paul, and he did the the Supreme Court that the lower courts had work in an admirable way, showing great ability erred in rendering decisions in favor of the as an organizer.”¹⁷ Mitchell served as a colonel government.²³ for the Minnesota National Guard through the Mitchell stated, “The purpose of the De- remainder of World War I. partment of Justice is not merely to win. In this respect, the position of the Government differs Solicitor General from that of most litigants. The Government is When President Warren Harding nominated usually litigating with its own people. It cannot Pierce Butler as associate justice for the US Su- afford to win at the expense of justice; it can preme Court, Butler is said to have exclaimed, only win when justice is done.”²⁴ Years later at “Billie Mitchell, not I, should be named.”¹⁸ the dedication of the new Department of Jus- While it is hard to believe that Butler did not tice Building in 1933, Mitchell stated his guid- consider himself the best choice for the court, ing principle as solicitor general, and then as the story certainly reflects the high regard in a4orney general: “In any case, whether judg- which Mitchell was held. ment is for or against the Government, the Some suggested Mitchell be appointed to the United States wins if justice is done to one of federal appellate court. However, Mitchell made its citizens.”²⁵

2 • RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY Mitchell’s office represented the federal gov- Since Mitchell’s distin- guished service from ernment in several search and seizure cases, 1925 to 1929, the post including Olmstead v. United States, which of solicitor general has challenged the constitutionality of warrantless been held by many fine attorneys, including wiretapping.²⁶ The defendant was charged with , Jr., violating the federal laws. Primary (1929-30), Robert H. responsibility for presenting the government’s Jackson (1938-40), , Jr., position fell to the renowned Mabel Walker (1961-65), Thurgood Willebrandt, the assistant a4orney general who Marshall (1965-67), and (2009-10). oversaw enforcement of the and the Courtesy of Minnesota Eighteenth Amendment. Willebrandt declined Historical Society. to participate in the ‘whispering wires” case be- cause she believed wiretapping was a dangerous invasion of privacy.²⁷ Mitchell recruited his for- mer law partner Michael J. Doherty to present Attorney General the case.²⁸ While the government prevailed, Mitchell had every intention of leaving Wash- four justices wrote separate dissents, including ington and returning to private practice in 1929 Pierce Butler. Justice Louis Brandeis’ dissent at the end of the Coolidge administration. It was carried the day when Olmstead was overturned expected that President Hoover would appoint by the Warren Court.²⁹ William J. Donovan, a loyal supporter from his Overall, Mitchell was well regarded for his own party, to be his a4orney general. However, work. President Coolidge is said to have re- Hoover planned to transfer responsibility for marked, “We are all very fond of the Solicitor both investigating and prosecuting the Prohi- General [who] is doing splendid work and mak- bition laws to the Department of Justice, and ing a great name for himself.”³⁰ Dono van was a known “wet” who had shown li4le enthusiasm for this plan.³¹,³² In the meantime, there was a ground-swell of support for Mitchell. In an extraordinary tribute, all members of the US Supreme Court recommended that Mitchell be appointed. This powerful endorsement had a great impact on President Hoover, who made the politi cally sur- prising decision to offer Mitchell the Republican administration’s top post in the department. Mitchell later wrote that he “twice refused to consider it.”³³ He was reluctant because of the administration’s plan to turn over full en- forcement of Prohibition laws to the Depart- ment of Justice, which it had previously shared with Treasury. Mitchell knew this would be an unpleasant task and a difficult one to carry out. However, he ultimately accepted the position and became the fi8y-fourth a4orney general of the United States. The Department of Justice was one of the largest departments in the executive branch. Its litigation made up nearly a third of the US William DeWitt Mitchell on June 8, 1925, with his wife, Gertrude Bancroft Mitchell, and their oldest son, William, who became Supreme Court’s docket. Its divisions encom- a distinguished attorney, serving as general counsel of the US passed not only federal criminal investigations Atomic Energy Commission. Photograph from National Photo Company Collection. Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints & and prosecutions but also an array of civil mat- Photographs Division. ters that included antitrust, tax, administrative

RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY • 3 William DeWitt Mitchell’s Mitchell also helped improve the federal appointment as attorney general solidified prison system. The mass incarceration caused Minnesota’s connections by Prohibition created the need for reform. with national political He believed that continued enforcement of power, which also included former Prohibition obligated the federal government Congressman Walter to take responsibility for the consequences of Newton, who served that enforcement. Mitchell took on many other as personal secretary to President Hoover. difficult and challenging problems that the De- Time magazine touted partment of Justice faced.³⁹ Mitchell’s vigor and resolve in approaching Erwin Griswold, the legendary Dean of the the daunting task of —and solicitor general in becoming “Prohibition’s Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration—was a Enforcer-in-Chief.” Courtesy of Thomas H. young lawyer when Mitchell served as a4orney Boyd Collection. general. Griswold later wrote “that the period from 1929 to 1933 would be a high point in the Department of Justice for a very long period of time.”⁴⁰

Commitment to an Independent and Qualifed Federal Judiciary— The Nordbye Appointment As a4orney general, Mitchell advised President law, admiralty, customs, public lands, and In- Hoover on the appointment of Article III judges dian affairs. to the federal courts. An American Bar Associa- When he accepted the position, Mitchell tion study later showed that Hoover’s appoint- made it clear that he would continue arguing ments were based on merit and quality, without cases before the Supreme Court to the extent he undue emphasis on political party affiliation.⁴¹ could while also effectively managing the De- Mitchell deserves a good deal of credit for the partment of Justice, which he did. President’s record in this regard. Always cordial and responsive, Mitchell was One such appointment involved the Honor- disciplined in keeping his meetings short and to able Gunnar Hans Nordbye, who would become the point, and he kept glad-handing to a min- one of this country’s finest federal judges.⁴² imum. Mitchell resisted a4empts to politicize That appointment would never have occurred if the department, stating, “The administration of not for Mitchell.⁴³ justice is not a partisan ma4er.”³⁴ Because of the significant increase in Minne- Hoover assigned Mitchell “the chief re- sota’s federal court caseload from the Prohibition sponsibility for cleaning up the nation’s justice docket, the state’s congressional delegation suc- system by weeding out corrupt and inefficient cessfully secured an additional federal judgeship. federal officials,”³⁵ which Mitchell did by dis- Senator Thomas Schall was the only Republican missing unethical and incompetent federal senator from the state. He believed he was enti- district a4orneys and replacing lax prosecutors tled to deference from the Hoover administration with aggressive ones. in determining the appointee to the new district The Justice Department’s enforcement of the judgeship. Prohibition laws was a high-profile task. In part, One of Senator Schall’s supporters, a per- President Hoover instructed Mitchell to “get” Al sonal injury a4orney named Tom Davis, urged Capone, who reigned over the Chicago mafia.³⁶,³⁷ Schall to endorse Davis’ law partner, Ernest Mitchell recruited G. Aaron Youngquist, the for- Michel. Davis hoped to secure a pro-plaintiff mer Minnesota a4orney general, to head the Tax jurist sympathetic to the cases he filed in Min- Prohibition Division of the Department of Jus- nesota. The senator recommended Michel. tice. Youngquist oversaw the trial and sentencing Schall was not a person to cross. He had of Capone for federal income tax evasion.³⁸ fought his way through a life of hardship.⁴⁴

4 • RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY Shortly a8er earning his law degree from the This appointment posed serious risk. Hoover St. Paul College of Law,⁴⁵ Schall was blinded was alienating a senator from his own party, and by an electric cigar lighter that blew up in his he faced the potential embarrassment that the face. However, with the aid of his wife, Marga- Senate would ultimately not confirm his nomi- ret Huntley Schall, who helped with reading and nee. Judge Nordbye faced the prospect of giving writing, he served five terms in the US House of up his position as a Hennepin County district Representatives and then defeated the incum- judge to take what could be a short-lived ap- bent Magnus Johnson to take a seat in the Sen- pointment to the federal judiciary. Worse, ate in 1925.⁴⁶ Nordbye would not be paid during the recess ap-

Mitchell found the notion of appointing pointment, and he would forfeit any right to ret- Pugnacious and indepen- Michel to the federal judiciary offensive. Michel roactive pay if he was not eventually confirmed dent throughout this life, had no previous judicial experience, and Mitchell by the Senate. To accept the recess appoint- Thomas Schall ran away from home as a boy, rode thought the a4orney neither distinguished nor ment, Nordbye needed a loan of $5,000 to feed the rails, and earned accomplished. In his characteristically decisive his family during the time prior to his uncertain money as a fighter and manner, Mitchell notified Schall that Michel was confirmation. Nordbye got the loan—and he ac- a baseball player, before becoming a lawyer and not acceptable, stating, “You are entitled to know cepted the recess appointment.⁵¹ Senator Schall an upstart candidate what my a4itude is toward Mr. Michel as a can- and his cronies were livid. Fortunately, Presi- who campaigned his way into Congress. Courtesy didate. I regret to say and I cannot recommend dent Hoover’s appointment of Judge Nordbye of Minnesota Historical to the President his appointment . . . I have given was generally well received in Minnesota. Society. this ma4er very thorough and conscientious On December 7, 1931, Mitchell again rec- consideration and there is no prospect of my ommended Judge Nordbye to President reaching any different conclusion.”⁴⁷ Hoover—this time for a permanent lifetime The ma4er eventually became a cause appointment—noting that “his services since célèbre between Schall and his supporters on his recess appointment had been excellent.”⁵² one hand and President Hoover and his a4or- Hoover asked the Senate to formally confirm ney general on the other. Hoover even asked Nordbye, which it did February 3, 1932. Nord- Schall to provide alternative candidates, but bye later said that apart from his own family, he refused. The administration then compiled the president of the bank, who had approved its own list with the names of eight Minnesota his loan, was the “most enthusiastic . . . well- district court judges “who [the President under- wisher” to a4end his swearing-in ceremony.⁵³ stood] to have substantial support from citizens Judge Nordbye served until his death in 1977, in Minnesota,” including Judge Nordbye.⁴⁸ presiding over some of the most important Nordbye immigrated with his family from cases filed in his district. His career and service Norway in 1888 as an infant. His father died when the children were young, and his mother took in laundry to earn money. Nordbye worked his way through the University of Minnesota Law School. A8er ten years of practice in Min- neapolis, he was appointed to the Hennepin County municipal court and then to the dis- trict court. He was well regarded as a state court judge and would have been happy to remain there. However, fate intervened.⁴⁹ While Senator Schall remained defiant and Congress neared the end of its session, Presi- dent Hoover and A4orney General Mitchell concluded they needed to do something to fill the vacancy in the understaffed Minnesota fed- eral court. Accordingly, Hoover decided to make His inauspicious recess appointment to the federal district court led to a distinguished career a recess appointment and advised Schall that he during which Gunnar Nordbye (right) became known around the country as the epitome of a planned to appoint Nordbye.⁵⁰ United States district judge. Courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society.

RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY • 5 as a federal judge rank among the finest in the tanks and teargas, driving them across the Po- nation.⁵⁴ tomac and burning their encampments.⁵⁹ Not- withstanding his clear insubordination, the Hoover and Mitchell administration had no choice but to stand by Mitchell developed a close relationship with MacArthur in the adverse public firestorm that President Hoover,⁵⁵ and he stood by his boss ensued. It fell to Mitchell to issue a dubious re- and weathered many challenges faced by the port that blamed the violence on criminal ele- administration. One such “storm” involved the ments among the ranks of marchers.⁶⁰,⁶¹ unfortunate confrontation with the World War President Hoover greatly respected Mitchell I Veteran Bonus Marchers⁵⁶ who encamped and wanted to appoint his able cabinet member around Washington, D.C., in 1932.⁵⁷,⁵⁸ A8er to the US Court in 1932, but Mitchell declined. various awkward steps, President Hoover ap- First, Hoover’s administration previously expe- pointed Mitchell to coordinate the evacuation of rienced difficulties with Supreme Court nomi- the marchers. On July 28, 1932, Mitchell ordered nations and had suffered the failed nomination the police to remove the veterans and their of Judge John Parker. Also, while Mitchell was families from government property in a gradual well respected among members of both parties, and orderly manner. However protesters re- he was associated with several of the adminis- sisted, and shots were fired. When the military tration’s unpopular policies and was vulnerable was called to restore order, Army Chief of Staff to political a4ack.⁶² General Douglas MacArthur exceeded Hoover’s In addition, the leading alternative candi- limited orders by routing the protesters with date was Benjamin Cardozo, the well-respected

National Prominence of Minnesota’s Bench and Bar in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries

William Bell Mitchell The St. Paul Sanborns Governor John S. Pillsbury appointed William Bell Mitch- The Honorable Walter Henry Sanborn was appointed to the ell (William DeWitt Mitchell’s father) to the Minnesota Eighth Circuit in 1891. This event was heralded as “bringing Supreme Court in 1881. During his eighteen years on the the federal law to the Northwest.”d Sanborn was known na- court, Justice Mitchell wrote more than 1,500 opinions tionally for many progressive decisions, including the opin- that touched all areas of state law.a In 1898, a Republican ion he authored to break up the Standard Oil Trust, which defeated Mitchell in the general election, and so “Minne- was afrmed by the Supreme Court, and for the dissent in sota lost its greatest judge.”b Mitchell returned to private which he argued that “separate but equal” segregation in practice and planned to join the faculty of the new St. Paul public transportation is unconstitutional.e College of Law, but he died unexpectedly before the Sanborn’s younger cousin, John B. Sanborn, Jr., later school opened in 1900. served on the Eighth Circuit. Together, at least one Sanborn served continuously on the federal bench for seventy-three Justice Mitchell was just one of several Minnesotans who years (from 1891 to 1964). They were called “The Hands of the rose to national prominence in the late nineteenth and f Eighth Circuit” in reference to cousins Learned and Augustus early twentieth centuries. A sampling of these luminaries Hand of the Second Circuit. Judge Sanborn’s frst law clerk illustrates the state’s signifcance in the federal judiciary and successor on the circuit was St. Paul’s Harry Blackmun, and bar: who was named an associate justice on the US Supreme Rensselaer R. Nelson Court alongside his friend from the city’s Dayton’s Bluf The Honorable Rensselaer R. Nelson was the embodiment neighborhood, Chief Justice Warren E. Burger.g of federal judicial authority in Minnesota—as a territorial Fredrick McGhee and William T. Francis justice and then as the state’s only federal district judge The St. Paul bar was also the source of leadership in the from 1858 to 1896. Judge Nelson, himself the son of a US fght for civil liberties and against racial discrimination Supreme Court associate justice, received national atten- c of African Americans. Fredrick McGhee, born into slavery tion for many of his rulings. in Mississippi in 1861, became the frst African American ad- mitted to practice law in Minnesota. He settled in St. Paul

6 • RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY high court justice from New York. Ultimately, it same law firm as Pierce Butler and did not wish was Justice Cardozo who, with Mitchell’s sup- to spend the rest of his life si4ing on the same port, was nominated and confirmed for the court with Butler.”⁶⁴ appointment. Some forty years later, Griswold There is no doubt about President Hoover’s commented, “I think it very likely that A4orney preference. Shortly a8er he le8 office, he wrote, General Mitchell could have had the appoint- “One of the disappointments of my life was that ment if he had indicated a willingness to take I was deprived of dra8ing you to the Supreme it. I believe he deliberately stood aside so that Court—where you have a unique fitness beyond the nomination might go to Cardozo. That is any American.”⁶⁵ to his credit. And it was not due to modesty on Mitchell’s part. It was because he thought that Legacy to the Federal Bench and Bar Cardozo had the qualities which would make When the Hoover administration ended, Mitch- him a great Supreme Court Justice.”⁶³ ell was in his late fi8ies and wanted to return There appears to have been one other reason to private practice. He moved to New York City Mitchell was reluctant to be nominated to the where he joined his former partner, Carl Taylor, Supreme Court. In a story reported by Benne4 to practice law in a prominent firm that Mitchell Boskey, a legendary lawyer and member of the made even more prominent—Mitchell, Taylor, American Law Institute, Mitchell shared “that Capron & Marsh.⁶⁶ he had declined an offer of appointment to the Mitchell joined the Association of the Bar Supreme Court, and that the reason was that of the City of New York and served as presi- back in Minnesota he had been a partner in the dent from 1941 to 1943. He also was appointed

in 1889 and became a charismatic orator and a skilled sota governor—Cushman K. Davis; two United States criminal defense lawyer. He served as the director of the senators—Davis and Frank B. Kellogg; and two presidents legal bureau of the National Afro-American Council and of the —Kellogg and Cordenio A. helped found the Niagara Movement in 1905, a precursor Severance. Also, Kellogg, who earned a national reputation to the National Association for the Advancement of Col- as a trustbuster while serving as a special prosecutor in the ored People (NAACP).h Following McGhee’s untimely death Theodore Roosevelt and Taft administrations, later served as in 1912, W. E. B. Du Bois eulogized McGhee as “not simply a secretary of state and received the Nobel Peace Prize for the lawyer [but] a staunch advocate of democracy [who] stood Kellogg-Briand Pact.l Not bad for a small St. Paul law frm. like a wall against the encroachment of color caste in the Pierce Butler Northwest.”i Pierce Butler, an aggressive, formidable man, was a prose- Attorney William T. Francis took over McGhee’s law prac- cutor, a railroad lawyer, and a successful attorney. Butler tice in 1912. Born in Indianapolis, Francis moved to St. Paul and Taft (who had already served as the twenty- seventh to work as a messenger on the Northern Pacifc Railway. He President of the United States) were acquainted during a rose through the ranks in the railroad’s law department and high-stakes arbitration that Butler litigated in Canada. Taft obtained his degree from St. Paul College of Law in 1904. was one of the arbitrators when he learned of his nomi- In 1927, President Calvin Coolidge appointed Francis US nation as Chief Justice of the United States. He and Butler Minister and Consul General to Liberia, where he investi- celebrated together. Later, Taft recommended that Presi- gated rumors of forced labor and slavery by Liberian ofcials dent Warren G. Harding appoint Butler to the US Supreme in exchange for payments from Spanish plantation owners.j Court, which he did.m,n Francis verifed the truth to Secretary of State Henry Stim- son, who demanded Liberia form an investigative commis- Indeed, through these impressive individuals, Minnesota sion. Not long after, Francis died of yellow fever while still in infuenced the nation’s legal afairs that belied the size of its Liberia. Stimson called Francis one of the nation’s “most able population, and William Bell Mitchell’s son, William Dewitt and trusted public servants.”k Mitchell, soon followed in the footsteps of these many promi- nent leaders. Attorneys with Davis, Kellogg & Severance The St. Paul law frm of Davis, Kellogg & Severance gained national prominence, as well. This frm boasted a Minne-

RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY • 7 William Dewitt Mitchell with the Supreme Court after Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’ resig- nation and Benjamin Cardozo’s appointment in early 1932 before Mitchell left the post of attorney general in early 1933. (L-R): William DeWitt Mitchell, Benjamin N. Cardozo, Harlan Fiske Stone, George Sutherland, Willis Van Devanter, Charles Evans Hughes (Chief Justice), Louis D. Brandeis, Pierce Butler, and Owen Roberts. The gentleman on the far right is believed to be Solicitor General Thomas D. Thacher. Photograph by Acme Pictures, Inc., New York. Courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society.

the first chair of the Commi4ee on the Federal William DeWi4 Mitchell received numerous Rules of Civil Procedure and served as chair for recognitions including honorary degrees from more than twenty years. Mitchell’s stature, as Yale University, Williams College, and the Univer- well as his experience as a practicing lawyer and sity of Michigan. He was similarly honored by his his savvy political insights from his days in the alma mater, the University of Minnesota, which Department of Justice, were critical in obtain- presented him with a special commendation for ing authorization and implementation of these outstanding achievement as the “learned son of rules. His work continues to affect how civil liti- a learned father; practitioner and public servant gation is conducted. of rare modesty, integrity, and scrupulous regard Over the years, Mitchell built an impres- for high ethical standards; whose incisive intelli- sive nationwide practice that included several gence and searching clarity have brought honor high-profile cases, some of which encompassed to his profession and to himself.”⁶⁹ A fi4ing trib- foreign proceedings and international law. Not ute indeed to “The Other William Mitchell.” surprisingly, he became one of the outstanding appellate advocates of his time and regularly ap- Thomas H. Boyd is a shareholder with Win- peared before the US Supreme Court. He argued throp & Weinstine, P.A. and won his last Supreme Court case less than a Douglas R. Heidenreich is former Dean, William year before he died in 1955.⁶⁷,⁶⁸ Mitchell College of Law.

NOTES 1 Douglas R. Heidenreich, With Satisfaction and ish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection (St. Honor: William Mitchell College of Law 1900-2000 (St. Paul, MN: Minnesota War Records Commission, 1923), Paul, MN: William Mitchell College of Law, 1999), 171-187. 87-101, 368. 2. “Mitchell, William, Judge,” Campbell’s Winona 5. Joseph A. A. Burnquist, Minnesota and Its People City Directory, 1875-1876, 13. (Chicago: The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1924), 3. Edward Evere4 Wa4s, Jr., Memorial on William 543. DeWi! Mitchell (New York: Association of the Bar of the 6. Ramsey County Bar Association, Annual Memo- City of New York, 1956). rial Service, March 31, 1956, 19. 4. Franklin F. Holbrook, Minnesota in the Span- 7. William D. Mitchell, Memorial of Carl Taylor

8 • RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY (New York: Association of the Bar of the City of New 55, Federal Judicial Center, 2010, h!ps://www."c.gov/ York, 1942). sites/default/files/trials/olmstead.pdf. 8. Biloine W. Young & Eileen R. McCormack, The 29. Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347 (1967). Dutiful Son: Louis W. Hill, Life in the Shadow of the Em- 30. President Calvin Coolidge, interview with Frank pire Builder, James J. Hill (St. Paul, MN: Ramsey County Hancock, May 6, 1927, William DeWi4 Mitchell papers, Historical Society, 2010), 245-254. Minnesota Historical Society. 9. David Carr, “A Ma4er of Trust,” Minnesota Law- 31. Herbert Hoover, transcription of handwri4en yer 5, no. 10 (August 1990): 16-17. notes for “Reasons Donovan was not taken into Cabi- 10. Minnesota Court of Appeals, “In the Ma!er of net,” Herbert Hoover papers, Herbert C. Hoover Presi- Trust created by Hill on December 31, 1917, for the Benefit dential Library. of Maud Hill Schroll, 499 N.W.2d 475,” 1993. 32. Glen Jeansonne, The Life of Herbert Hoover: 11. Frank B. Kellogg served as a US senator for the Fighting Quaker, 1928-1932 (New York: Palgrave Mac- state of Minnesota (1917-1923) and secretary of state in Millan, 2012), 48. the Calvin Coolidge administration (1925-1929). 33. William D. Mitchell, le4er, in “Forty-Six Years 12. Larry Ho, undated article in scrapbook, “ ‘Let’s A8er, Class of Ninety-Four, Sheffield Scientific School Ask Bill Mitchell,’ All the Lawyers Exclaim,” William of Yale University,” compiled by Edward W. Allen, DeWi4 Mitchell papers, Minnesota Historical Society. 1940. 13. Order Establishing Home Guard, April 28, 1917, 34. Joslin, “A4orney General Mitchell And A Difficult Minnesota Historical Society. Job,” 70. 14. P.K. Gilfillan, Historical Sketch of 1st Ba!alion 35. Joslin, “A4orney General Mitchell And A Difficult Minnesota Home Guard, Minnesota Historical Society. Job,” 105-106. 15. See Carl H. Chrislock, Watchdog of Loyalty: The 36. David Burner, Herbert Hoover: A Public Life (New- Minnesota Commission of Public Safety during World town, CT: American Political Biography Press, 1978), 219. War I (St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 37. Jeansonne, The Life of Herbert Hoover: Fighting 1991), 102, 194-195; Iric Nathanson, World War I Minne- Quaker, 1928-1932, 102. sota (Mt. Clemens, SC: The History Press, 2016), 68-69. 38. G. Aaron Youngquist, Autobiography of G. Aaron See generally St. Paul Pioneer Press coverage, December Youngquist; 1959, 68-70 and 80-84, accessed from 2-4, 1917. Minnesota History Project website, h4p://minnesota 16. See Maurice Judd, “Mitchell Seen in Cabinet legalhistoryproject.org/assets/Youngquist%20Auto Post,” The Sun, February 26, 1929, in scrapbook, Wil- biography.pdf. liam DeWi4 Mitchell papers, Minnesota Historical 39. Joslin, “A4orney General Mitchell And A Difficult Society. Job,” 68. 17. John B. Sanborn, le4er to John G. Sargent, April 40. Harrie4 and Erwin Griswold, le4er to Gertrude 29, 1925, William DeWi4 Mitchell papers, Minnesota and William D. Mitchell, June 26, 1951, William DeWi4 Historical Society. Mitchell papers, Minnesota Historical Society. 18. David J. Danelski, A Supreme Court Justice is Ap- 41. Burner, Herbert Hoover: A Public Life, 234. pointed (New York: Random House, 1964), 10. 42. US District Courts Federal Supplement 452, “In 19. John B. Sanborn, le4er to John G. Sargent, April Memoriam,” November 9, 1977. 29, 1925. 43. Gunnar H. Nordbye, address, May 6, 1959, Gun- 20. John B. Sanborn’s older cousin (See sidebar). nar H. Nordbye papers, Minnesota Historical Society. 21. Walter H. Sanborn, le4er to Calvin Coolidge, 44. Thomas Schall’s father died when Schall was a April 24, 1925, William DeWi4 Mitchell papers, Minne- baby. His mother struggled to make ends meet. He was sota Historical Society. known for his staunch independence throughout his 22. William D. Mitchell, le4er to Erwin Griswold political career. He was killed in a car accident in 1935. July 2, 1951, William DeWi4 Mitchell papers, Minnesota “Schall, Thomas David (1878-1935),” Biographical Di- Historical Society. rectory of the United States Congress, accessed July 6, 23. Wa4s, Memorial on William DeWi! Mitchell, 3. 2019, h4p://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay 24. Theodore G. Joslin, “A4orney General Mitchell .pl?index=S000113. And A Difficult Job,” World’s Work 68, no. 2 (February 45. Founded in 1900; the first predecessor to the 1930). Mitchell Hamline School of Law. 25. William D. Mitchell, address at Laying of Corner- 46. G. Daniel Harden, “The Blind Senator from Min- stone of the Department of Justice Building, Febru- nesota,” Front Porch Republic (blog), December 13, 2010, ary 23, 1933, William DeWi4 Mitchell papers, Minnesota http://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2010/the-blind Historical Society. -senator-from-minnesota/. 26. Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (1928). 47. William D. Mitchell, le4er to Thomas D. Schall, 27. Dorothy M. Brown, Mabel Walker Willebrandt: A June 28, 1930, Herbert C. Hoover papers, Herbert C. Study of Power, Loyalty and Law (Knoxville, TN: Univer- Hoover Presidential Library. See also William D. Mitch- sity of Tennessee Press, 1984), 7. ell, statement, January 24, 1931, and William D. Mitchell, 28. Richard F. Hamm, Olmstead v. United States: The le4er to Thomas D. Schall, January 31, 1931. Constitutional Challenges of Prohibition Enforcement 48. Herbert C. Hoover, le4er to Thomas D. Schall,

RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY • 9 February 18, 1931, Herbert C. Hoover papers, Herbert C. March 22, 1933, William DeWi4 Mitchell papers, Minne- Hoover Presidential Library. sota Historical Society. 49. See Kenneth Craddock Sears, “A Minnesota 66. Wa4s, Memorial on William DeWi! Mitchell, 4. Judgeship,” Illinois Law Review 26 (1931): 121. Kenneth 67. Edward Evere4 Wa4s, Jr., Mitchell, Capron, Craddock Sears, “The Appointment of Federal District Marsh, Angulo & Cooney, A History (New York: Associa- Judges,” Illi nois Law Review 25 (1930): 54, and John H. tion of the Bar of the City of New York, 1956), 31-32, 58. Wigmore, “The President Shall Nominate,” Illinois Law 68. Wa4s, Memorial on William DeWi! Mitchell, 4-6. Review 25 (1931): 929. 69. Conferred by the Regents of the University of 50. Herbert C. Hoover, le4er to Thomas D. Schall, Minnesota on April 13, 1951. February 20, 1931, William DeWi4 Mitchell papers, Min- nesota Historical Society. Notes to Sidebar on pp. 6–7 51. Hoover, le4er to Schall, February 20, 1931. a. E.B. Green Editorial, Testimony—Remembering 52. William D. Mitchell, le4er to Herbert C. Hoover, Minnesota Supreme Court Justices (Chisago City, MN: December 7, 1931, William DeWi4 Mitchell papers, Min- Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society, 2008), nesota Historical Society. 110-123. 53. Gunnar H. Nordbye, speech at Hennepin County b. John E. Stryker, William Mitchell (1904). Reprinted Bar Association Dinner, October 7, 1958, Gunnar H. by Douglas A. Hedin, for the Minnesota Legal History Nordbye papers, Minnesota Historical Society. Project, 23, h4p://www.minnesotalegalhistoryproject 54. US District Courts Federal Supplement 452, “In .org/assets/Stryker-%20Mitchell-1.pdf. Memoriam,” November 9, 1977. c. Honorable Becky Thorson, “Judge Rensselaer R. 55. Jeansonne, The Life of Herbert Hoover: Fighting Nelson,” PowerPoint presentation for United States Dis- Quaker, 1928-1932, 56. trict Court, District of Minnesota, July 29, 2016. 56. In 1924, Congress issued World War I veterans d. Thomas H. Boyd, “Walter Sanborn and the Eighth $1,000 certificates that could be redeemed in 1945. How- Circuit Court,” Ramsey County History 26, no. 2 (Sum- ever, as the Great Depression worsened and more vet- mer 1991): 22-27. erans lost their jobs, they fought to receive their bonus e. Boyd, “Walter Sanborn and the Eighth Circuit money earlier. Over 17,000 veterans encamped in a shan- Court,” 22-27. tytown and rallied near the Capitol. When it was clear f. Thomas H. Boyd, “The Life and Career of the that their fight was lost, most returned home, but several Honorable John B. Sanborn, Jr.,” William Mitchell Law thousand remained until forced out by the military. “The Review 23, no. 2 (1997): 203. Bonus March,” U.S. History Online Textbook, accessed g. Boyd, “The Life and Career of the Honorable John July 7, 2019, h4p://www.ushistory.org/us/48c.asp. B. Sanborn, Jr.,” 203. 57. Roger Daniels, The Bonus March: An Episode of h. Paul Nelson, Fredrick L. McGhee: A Life on the the Great Depression (Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 1971). Color Line, 1861-1912 (St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Histori- 58. Donald J. Lisio, The President and Protest: Hoover, cal Society Press, 2002). MacArthur, and the Bonus Riot (New York: Fordham i. Nelson, Fredrick L. McGhee: A Life on the Color University Press, 1994). Line, 1861-1912, 202. 59. Charles Rappleye, Herbert Hoover in the White j. Paul D. Nelson, “William T. Francis, at Home House (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2016), 370-380. and Abroad,” Ramsey County History 51, no. 4 (Winter 60. William D. Mitchell, report to Herbert C. Hoover, 2017): 3. September 9, 1932, William DeWi4 Mitchell papers, k. Nelson, “William T. Francis, at Home and Minnesota Historical Society. Abroad,” 3. 61. Paul Dickson and Thomas B. Allen, The Bonus l. The Kellogg-Briand Pact was an a4empt to pre- Army: An American Epic (New York: Walker & Company, vent a future world war. “The Kellogg-Briand Pact, 2004). 1928,” US Department of State: Office of the Histo- 62. Rappleye, Herbert Hoover in the White House, rian, accessed June 10, 2019, h4ps://history.state.gov/ 337. milestones/1921-1936/kellogg. 63. Erwin Griswold, “The Judicial Process,” Federal m. David J. Danelski, A Supreme Court Justice is Ap- Bar Journal 31 (1973): 309-310. pointed (New York: Random House, 1964). 64. Benne4 Boskey, “Supreme Court Declinations,” n. For more on Butler’s contributions, see David R. Journal of Supreme Court History 31, no. 3 (2006): 252. Stras, “Pierce Butler: A Supreme Court Technician,” 65. Herbert C. Hoover, le4er to William D. Mitchell, Vanderbilt Law Review 62 (2009): 595.

10 • RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY RAMSEY COUNTY President Chad P. Roberts Founding Editor (1964-2006) Virginia Brainard Kunz Editor Meredith Cummings HıstoryA PUBLICATION OF THE RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY Board of Directors Jo Anne Driscoll Preserving our past, informing our present, inspiring our future. Chair The mission statement of the Ramsey County Historical Society Jerry Woelfel adopted by the Board of Directors on January 25, 2016. First Vice Chair Mari Oyanagi Eggum Second Vice Chair Roxanne Sands The Ramsey County Historical Society’s vision is to be widely recognized as an inno- Secretary vator, leader, and partner in preserving the knowledge of our community, delivering Kenneth H. Johnson inspiring history programming, and using local history in education. Our mission of Treasurer preserving our past, informing our present, inspiring our future guides this vision. James Miller Immediate Past Chair The Society began in 1949 when a group of citizens acquired and preserved the Jane Jo Emerson, Thomas Fabel, Martin Fallon, and Heman Gibbs Farm in Falcon Heights, which the family had acquired in 1849. Fol- Tim Glines, John Guthmann, Richard B. Heydinger, Jr., Elizabeth J. Keyes, lowing fi ve years of restoration work, the Society opened the Gibbs Farm museum Judy Kishel, David Kristal, Carl Kuhrmeyer, (listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974). Originally programs focused Joe Lutz, Robert W. Mairs, Jonathan H. Morgan, on telling the story of the pioneer life of the Gibbs family. In 2000, with the assistance Robert Muschewske, Peter Nguyen, Chad P. Roberts, George T. Stephenson, James A. Stolpestad, of a Dakota Advisory Council, the historic site also began interpreting Dakota cul- Chris Taylor, Glenn Wiessner. ture and lifeways, building additional structures, and dedicating outdoor spaces to tell Editorial Board these stories. The remarkable relationship of Jane Gibbs with the Dakota during her Anne Cowie, chair, James B. Bell, Thomas H. Boyd, childhood in the 1830s and again as an adult encouraged RCHS to expand its interpre- John Diers, Thomas Fabel, Martin Fallon, tation of the Gibbs farm to both pioneer and Dakota life. John Guthmann, Lisa L. Heinrich, James Miller, John Milton, Laurie M. Murphy, Robert Muschewske, Paul D. Nelson, In 1964, the Society began publishing its award-winning magazine, Ramsey County Richard H. Nicholson, Jay Pfaender, David Riehle, History. In 1978, an expanded commitment from Ramsey County enabled the organi- Chad P. Roberts, George T. Stephenson, zation to move its library, archives, and administrative offi ces to downtown St. Paul’s Steve Trimble, Mary Lethert Wingerd. Landmark Center, a restored Federal Courts building on the National Register of His- Honorary Advisory Board toric Places. An additional expansion of the Research Center was completed in 2010 William Finney, George Latimer, Joseph S. Micallef, to be4 er serve the public and allow greater access to the Society’s vast collection of Marvin J. Pertzik, James Reagan. historical archives and artifacts. In 2016, due to an endowment gi8 of $1 million, the Ramsey County Commissioners Research Center was rededicated as the Mary Livingston Griggs & Mary Griggs Burke Commissioner Jim McDonough, Chair Commissioner Toni Carter Research Center. Commissioner Trista MatasCastillo Commissioner Mary Jo McGuire RCHS off ers a wide variety of public programming for youth and adults. Please see Commissioner Rafael Ortega Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt www.rchs.com for details of upcoming History Revealed programs, summer camps at Ryan T. O’Connor, Manager, Ramsey County Gibbs Farm, and much more. RCHS is a trusted education partner serving 15,000 stu- Ramsey County History is published quarterly dents annually on fi eld trips or through outreach programs in schools that bring to life by the Ramsey County Historical Society, the Gibbs Family as well as the Dakota people of Cloud Man’s village. These programs 323 Landmark Center, 75 W. Fi8 h Street, St. Paul, are made possible by donors, members, corporations, and foundations, all of whom MN 55102 (651-222-0701). Printed in U.S.A. we appreciate deeply. If you are not yet a member of RCHS, please join today and help Copyright © 2019, Ramsey County Historical Society. ISSN Number 0485-9758. bring history to life for more than 50,000 people every year. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without wri! en permission from the publisher. The Society assumes no responsibility for statements made by contributors. Email address: [email protected]; website address: www.rchs.com

32 • RAMSEY COUNTY HISTORY