State

June 2, 1934 THE STATE Page Nine “W •но,” asked various an«! sundry citi¬ zens of North Carolina a couple of weeks ago, "is Michael Sehenck?” The query came the day after newspapers of the state carried the an¬ nouncement that Judge Schenck had been ap¬ pointed an associate jus¬ tice of the North Caro¬ lina Supreme Court, following the death of Judge W. J. Adams. Of course, Judge Schenck was not entire¬ ly unknown prior to this latest honor which has been conferred upon him but, despite this fact, there were many of our citizens who never had heard of him. Particularly was this true in the eastern section of the state. The Judge came to Raleigh Mon¬ day and was sworn in with appro¬ priate ceremonies. His appointment was lavishly praised in the press of the state and also in the ranks of the legal fraternity, as well as by prom¬ inent laymen in all sections. "The cordiality with which my ap¬ pointment was greeted is, of course, very gratifying to me, and, at the same time, I am humbled by it,” said the new Associate Justice in an inter¬ view following the ceremonies with which he was inducted into his new office. "1 am glad to have this splen¬ did opportunity of serving the people of ray beloved state, and hope that 1 shall prove worthy of the honor ac¬ corded me by my old friend, Governor Ehringhaus.” "As has been told in the newspapers since my appointment, the Governor and I received our license to practice at the same time,” Justice Schenck continued. That was in 1003, an oc¬ casion I'll never forget. Blueher and I occupied the same room on the night before the examinations, and we were very apprehensive over our cTTanccs of successfully undergoing the ordeal of the following day. “We decided it would be a good idea to do a little more studying in preparation for the examination, so we delved into constitutional law. Finally, finding that we were too distraught to gain any benefits from our efforts, we decided that what we needed most of all was a little recrea¬ tion. Consequently, we gave up the attempt to cram more legal knowledge into our heads, and went out and saw a show. I believe that was the best thing we could have done. "Despite our trepidation, we weath¬ ered the storm the next day, and gained the coveted licenses. Among WHO IS MICHAEL SCHENCK? IN case you were among those who asked this question, perhaps you will be interested in the accompanying in¬ formation about the newest member of the North Caro¬ lina Supreme Court. By W. J. SADLER others who passed with us were J. Elmer Long. well-known throughout the state; Ernest Green, formerlv of New "Born, but now of Raleigh ; Mur¬ ray Allen, prominent Raleigh lawyer. ■Mid the late Joseph R. Rnmsev. of Rocky Mount, who deserted the field of law to enter that of banking, in which lie was eminentlv successful.” The new Associate Justice had a somewhat varied career before becom¬ ing a member of the legal profe.ssion. Following his graduation at the Uni¬ versity of North Carolina, lie went to Wilmington in 1898. becoming pri¬ vate secretary to the late ГГ. M. Emer¬ son. an official of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company. “T’ll never forget an event that oc¬ curred shortly after I went to Wil¬ mington,” Mr. Justice Sehenck relat¬ ed. "It was a rather grim affair. I had become a member of the Wil¬ mington Light Infantry, an ancient military organization. A negro named Manley — I have forgotten his first name— -published an editorial in his paper which roused the ire of every white citizen of the town. "The result of Manley’s editorial was a race riot in which, if Г recall correctly, thirteen negroes were killed, and the building which housed the negro newspaper destroyed by fire. Ill feeling had been brewing for some time because of Manley's boldness in advocating greater intimacy between the races. It also resulted in the over¬ throw of the city government, and T was a member of the group of infan¬ trymen who escorted some of the offi¬ cials from the city. I recall with pride that I served under Colonel Walker Taylor during these trying times.” Judge Schenck had not lost his de¬ sire to again take up the study of law, but his ambitions were to lie delayed. “During the Spanish-American War,” ho said, "I went to Cuba as a member of the Insular Civil Serv¬ ice. as it was termed by the late President Theo¬ dore Roosevelt, and act¬ ed as secretary to Major Tasker 11. Bliss. “While in Cuba, I saved enough money to return to the University, where I read law with Governor Ehringhaus and others whom I re- momher with much af¬ fection. After receiving my license in 1003, I went to Greens¬ boro. where I resided for a year and a half. “I suppose I am one of few men who have been elected to or defeated for public office by such narrow mar¬ gins. After going to Hendersonville in 1905, I decided to run for Mayor of that city in 1Я07. There were more Republicans there then than there arc now. and I was elected by the very narrow margin of 17 votes, running on a straight Democratic ticket. I was the first Democrat ever to be elect¬ ed Mayor of Hendersonville. "1 guess my administration was too active in the matter of public im¬ provements — we paved a great, inany streets and sidewalks during the fol¬ lowing two years and when I ran for reelection I was defeated by only 15 votes; two less than the margin by which 1 wan first elected. "In 1913 I was appointed solicitor of the 18th district bv Governor Locke Craig, and was nominated and re¬ elected in 1914. Again I was chosen by a very small majority — 84 votes, as I remember it. And right here, let me call your attention to what 1 consider a coincidence. My official advancement seems to run in ten-year cycles. 1 was first elected Solicitor iii 1914, I was named to the Superior Court bench during the last two weeks of Governor Morrison's term in 1924, and was elevated to the Supreme Court in 1934. "My appointment by Governor Mor¬ rison was the last judicial selection he made 'luring his tenure of office. Two years later I was renominated with¬ out opposition, and had none in the general election.” With a whimsical smile. Judge Schenck mentioned his enlistment during the World War as a case of "patriotism getting the better of my judgment.” “I had served an additional four years as solicitor." he said, “and had been renominated for another term in 1918. Receiving a commission as Major, Judge Advocate. I resigned the solicitorship and took up my du- (Conlinurtl on page twenty-two)