PLAN No. 637. AN ATTORNEY BECOMES CHIEF JUSTICE IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
To win this position in twelve years would seem impossible but if you knew the man and the plan he pursued it would appear to you quite possible.
In the university he developed himself in public speaking. He became a good speaker, and before his term had expired had won a reputation as an excellent debater. He was not of the argumentative type, but more of the persuasive turn of mind. He endeavored to win people to his convictions rather than to compel them to follow his ideas. He took an extra year at the university and obtained a special degree. Before his school was over he concluded that the Philippine Islands offered the best opportunity for a young man in the law work, so he secured, through his connection at the university, a position to instruct in a law school in the islands, as the American law was to be followed there. From instructor he was soon advanced to the head of one of the law schools, and within twelve years after leaving the university he was appointed to the position of associate justice of the supreme court in the Philippine Islands. Being an American and familiar with the American laws, and having specially qualified himself while at the university for this work, he won, with little difficulty, the position which he now occupies.