Charles W. Tillett
One off Ihe ablest Inuyers «if modern times.
He won ninny n linrd-fongiit bnttle in our
eourts and never pulled his punches. At
the» same time, he was. at times, as tender¬
hearted as a woman.
By R. C. LAWRENCE
CORKA II A KKIS immortal¬
ized «be Methodist itinerant in
her elaiwie "Circuit Rider's
Wife”; and such a hero was Rev. Jolm
Tillett, father of niv subject, who was
once the spiritual shepherd of fifteen
churches in Robeson County, and who
sired two famous sons: Dr. Wilbur
Fisfee Tillett. Dean of Vanderbilt I'ni-
versity, and Charles W. Tillett **f the
Charlotte Bar.
In our state, the Governorship alter¬
nates between the east, and west; and
it so happens that of the many Caro¬
lina lawyers whom I knew during my
forty years of practice at the Bar, one
of the ablest lived in the east while the
other had his residence in the west.
Primate of the eastern bar was Jas.
11. I'ou of Raleigh. He usually repre¬
sented large corporate interests; and
was therefore usually called upon to
lend the defense. It has been said that
the French have no equals in the elan
of the attack, while the British have
no superiors when acting on the de¬
fens»*. If Mr. Poll had been a British
soldier, ho would have been a Field
Marshal, for lie was a master strate¬
gist; be knew how and what position
to take, anil lie knew bow to maintain
it against all coiners.
A Conciliator
Pou was a peacemaker, a rompro-
misor. a conciliator. He won bis legal
victories after the manner described
bv the Psalmist : “Her ways are ways
of pleasantness; and all her paths are
pence." He was noted for the quality
of bis gracious suavity; for his defer¬
ence toward the court and bis breth¬
ren of the Bar; for the solemnity of
his countenance; for the silky smooth¬
ness of his voice. He would take his
legal enemy into hi- loving embrace,
deftly smite him under the fifth rib
and mortally wound him. But having
■lone this, lie would then proceisl to
pour into the wound the wine ami oil
of consolation, even ns did the Good
Samaritan who heeded the cry of the
wounded man on the Jericho road.
Carolina lawyers can never forget the
figure of the master strategist. Janie-
II. Pou. In Kipling*- language, if Pou
was overwhelmed. “He knew defeat,
but mocked it ns lie ran.”
Mr. Tillett on the other hand was
no peacemaker, no compromiser, in*
conciliator. When lie entered the legal
lists, he did so armed ca|>-a-pie. hoi-
meted in iron, armored and vizored
in steel; and he tilted with his oppo¬
nent with all the fiery courage of the
Disinherited Knight, when he entered
the lists against Sir Brian du Bois
Guilbert at the tournament held be¬
fore t hr? perfidious King John as re¬
lated in the fascinating pages of
Scott’s l ratlin»’. Tillett was Field
Marshal of the assault, a fierce and
fiery tighter — and he never knew when
lie was licked.
Yet this lion-hearted warrior was
as tender-hearted as a woman. When
this writer lay ill many years since
in a Charlotte hospital, as conscious¬
ness returned to him. he saw landing
a hove him the figure of his friend.
Charles W. Tillett. from whose eve*
the tears were streaming.
Hard Worker
Tillett was n toiler, a burner of the
midnight oil; lie prepared bis ease-
down to the last small fact, for noth¬
ing pertaining to his case was too
•mall to escape bis notice. After the
same fashion he made himself master
of the legal questions involved, and
when the ease was tried, he would
have before him every rase decided by
the Supreme Court having any pnssi
hie bearing on the issues involved.
I cite but two of the many recol¬
lections I have of the otit-tanding abil¬
ity of this master lawyer. He appeared
in the celebrated
сам*
of Patterson v.
McCormick, tried in the superior
court of Scotland County. Although
that case involved n«M|iu*stions of fact,
but only intricate questions of law
arising upon the construction of a
complicated will. Mr. Tillett ad¬
dressed the court for two days, mak¬
ing an argument which for its clear¬
ness and cogency fascinate.! every law¬
yer who heard it. He had a blackboard
brought into tlie courtroom, and illus¬
trated bis argument with graphs and
diagrams! Judge William F. Hard¬
ing, tin* presiding Judge, said it was
the greatest argil men I to which lie ever
listened.
When the Bar of Kolieson was cited
for contempt by Judge Robert B.
Peebles, SO great wa- the legal reputa
lion of Mr. Tillett that he was se¬
lected with one accord t" head our de¬
fense, and ho did so with characteris¬
tic zeal. One branch of the ease was
taken before Justice Connor of the
Supreme Court on a writ of habeas
corpus, and that Jn»tice requested bi-
colleague, Justice Doiigla-, to sit with
him. Tillett was so fiery in bis as¬
sault upon the action of Judge P«*o-
blee, so ironic and sarcastic were his
characterizations, so vitriolic was hi-
langunge, ho made such a murderous
attack upon the action of the court
below, that Justice Douglas could not
stand it. and left the bench !
Quick to Make Amends
Fiery as was his temper, /caten¬
as was his zeal, he never left an un¬
healed wound and was always quick
to make the amende honorable, if he
found himself in tin* wrong. Justice
Walker once wrote nn opinion decid¬
ing adversely to the Tillett intere-l-
a case which Tillett llioiigli! be mani¬
festly should have won. Hot anger
ilained within him, and lie addressed
a caustic letter to the Judge. Now the
Judge n as an old and intimate friend
of Mr. Tillett, and loved him as a
brother; so instead of taking offense
at the caustic letter, he replied in
terms of patient mildness and in af¬
fectionate terms. On ii- receipt. Til
lelt’s heart was molted and his eye*
overran with tears, for he felt ho had
wounded the heart of a faithful
friend.
lie found recreation us a gentleman
funner, and on hi* farm near Char¬
lotte he raised nearly every variety of
vegetable which can In* grown in the
( Continued on page twenty-one)
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