After his retirement from the Supreme bench he was appointed by a Governor who differed from him in politics as a member of the State Fee and Salary Commission, and became the president thereof; and, at the tax conference held at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo in the same year, was selected by the same Governor, Durbin, to explain the Indiana tax law. In 1903-5 he served as one of the members of the commission appointed by Governor' Durbin for the codification of the statutes of the State. This commission reported bills which were enacted into laws regarding the criminal code and procedure, cities and towns, which for the first time gave this State a systematic organization and classification of cities and towns and legislation regarding the same regarding drainage and highways.

As a lawyer Judge Howard belonged rather to the class of counsellor than advocate. He was a solicitor, rather than a barrister. He settled controversies and disputes, rather than litigated them. If we had the English system of classification of lawyers he would have stood as a fine example of that highest class known to the profession, the old family solicitor.

He was a charter member of the State Bar Association of Indiana, his name being second on the list of the signers of the articles thereof. He served almost constantly upon its important committees, had been its Vice-President, and frequently prepared and read before that Association papers of great interest and value.

At the time of his death he was preparing for the annual meeting of the Association a paper upon the subject, "The Authority of the Ordinance of 1787," but on the day

on which he was to have read it before the Association he was borne to his last resting place.

In the Psalms it is written, and also in the ritual of the dead:

"The days of our age are three score years and ten; and though men be so strong that they come to four score years, yet is their strength then but labour and sorrow; so soon passeth it away, and we are gone."

Was this true of Judge Howard? By reason of strength he came to the four score years, all of which were filled with useful service to mankind. Many positions of public honor and trust he filled; the result thereof was not to his private emolument and profit, but in a wise and substantial service to the public good. He held and administered private trusts, never to the loss or even inconvenience of the beneficiaries.

Judge Howard was fortunate in that he lived to see and feel and know the respect, the honor and the affection in which he was held by his fellow-citizens. He enjoyed in his latter years some of the rewards of his useful and wellspent life, for he must have known, as he met and greeted his fellow townsmen, the high regard in which he was held by them and which was shown and exhibited by their attitude and manner towards him.

And of him we may say in the language of the book of Ecclesiastes:

"A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one's birth.”

To him, death, life's last visitor, has come. He knocked at the door; it was opened. He bowed to no one; greeted no one; but, to his host, he said, "Come," and the two passed out together across that threshold over which there is no return.

And so we leave him, and say, as did the Romans of old to their dead:

"Farewell, forever, we shall all follow thee in whatsoever order nature may permit."

John Vestal Hadley

Hon. John Vestal Hadley, of Danville, Indiana, was born October 31, 1840, and departed this life at his late home in that place on the 17th day of November, 1915. He was a few days more than seventy-five years of age, and during his entire life was a citizen of Hendricks county. About twelve years of that time he was serving the State and resided in Indianapolis, but retained his legal residence among the people he had known during his entire life and who so highly esteemed him.

He became a student in Butler College-then the Northwestern Christian University-in the fall of 1859, and continued his work there until the summer of 1861, when he enlisted as a private in the Seventh Regiment of Indiana Volunteers. He served with distinction throughout the war and was honorably discharged after the close of hostilities with the rank of first lieutenant. He was in many of the hard-fought battles of that great conflict and acquitted himself as a brave soldier. He was twice taken prisoner and finally succeeded in making his escape, and,

after enduring many hardships, and narrowly escaping recapture a number of times, reached the northern lines.. He subsequently wrote the story of his adventure in this perilous dash for liberty, and this story, in a small volume, is one of the classic bits of literature narrating events connected with the history of the Civil War.

At the close of the war he was married to Mary J. Hill, and, after taking a short course in the private law school of Judge McDonald in Indianapolis, settled in Danville, and in 1866 began the practice of law. He immediately took high rank at the bar and was for many years known as one of the leading lawyers of the State.

In addition to attending to his legal business, he served for many years as a director and president of the First National Bank of Danville. He also acquired and managed until his death one of the finest farms in Hendricks county. As a banker and farmer, he was eminently successful. He represented his district in the State Senate with ability, and in 1888 was elected to the circuit bench in the circuit then composed of Marion and Hendricks counties. He served on that bench for ten years and until he was elected in 1898 to the Supreme Bench of the State, which position he held for twelve years.

He was a semi-invalid when, and before, he was elected to the circuit bench. The condition of his health, and his financial condition, which was such as to have enabled him at that time to have retired from active life, would at once have suggested such a course to a less determined spirit. After that time, however, and with continued delicate health, he accomplished his greatest work in life.

The events of his life are here given in somewhat minute detail because of the great lesson they teach to

aspiring and ambitious young men and women.

Judge

Hadley had no idle hours. By constant toil he accomplished much under adverse conditions. He was a man of fine mental and moral fiber. He had a broad view of life, read much of the world's best literature, and many times recovered the loss he sustained in an educational way by leaving his college for his country's cause. As a trial judge, he was just and merciful, and presided with ability and dignity. As a justice of the Supreme Court, he became distinguished beyond the borders of his own State. His opinions were worked out with great care. His literary style is elegant and the decisions of that high tribunal that have been spread on the pages of its reports by his pen are logical and clear, and constitute a distinct contribution to the legal literature of our system of jurisprudence.

Judge Hadley was a delightful companion, and by the charm of his conversation and his always cheerful disposition, soon made a warm and lifetime friend of every one who was brought in touch with him for any continued length of time.

From the days of his young manhood until the close of his life he was a steadfast and consistent member of the Christian church. He was always liberal in his dispensation of charities and in giving to all worthy causes. He always had an especial interest in the families of old soldiers, and many a tear has been shed in grateful remembrance of his kindnesses and favors extended to such in his quiet way.

Among his many activities he always manifested a lively interest in politics and everything which made for good government. It was his great delight to help and encourage the struggling young person to get on in life, and