Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, March 27, 1909, Page 63

f BEMIDJI, BELTRAMI COUNTY AND NORTHERN MINNESOTA. CHARLES W. SCRUTCHIN. learned men in the legal realm, of whom may be mentioned in particular the re- doubtable Frank P. Chapman, then dis- trict attorney of St. Croix county, Wis- consin. In the year 1880 Mr. Fisk located at Ada, Minn.,, and he was admitted to the bar in open court at Crookston in 1881. In recognition of his ability as a pleader and analyticad prowess he was chosen as the first county attorney of Norman coun- ty, which, through his influence became an independent domain or county of itself in 1881, having been sperated from Polk county. Mr. Fisk also practiced law throughout the state of Washington for a period of ten years, but the year 1900 witnessed his settlement in Bemidji, as he, in com- mon with the thousands of others who have settled in this city and county, fore- saw the vastness and scope of this field as a place to live. Mr. Fisk is prominent in public life, he has accomplished much good for this section of the state, and is recognized among Minnesota’s most profound and successful lawyers. CHARLES W. SCRUTCHIN. Known Colored Lawyer Who Has " Earned Widespread Fame, Well It will do the student of Nature a world of good to analyze the trials, virtues and attainments of this gentleman. From an ordinary street gamin, Mr. Scrutchin has risen to the apex of one of the most widely y - known criminal lawyers in the Northwest. Struggling against adversity; being de- prived of those privileges which the Consti- tution of the United tSates warrants; with no professional opportunity before him, taken in a general sense, Mr. Scrutchin be- gan hewing out a reputation in the face of the most obstinate and discouraging cir- cumstances. He managed to secure a pub- lic schcol education, then aspired for an academic and law graduation, which he acquired by dint of hard work, overlooking the shortcomings of other men as affects congeniality and felicitous and generous treatment, and by persevering to the last degree of patience, stolidity and a respon- sive spirit, Mr. Scrutchin, like the village smith whom the immortal Longfellow idolized, “owes not any man.” By virtue of his winning personality, his astuteness, his strict appli- cation to business, his ableness as a pleader and assimilator of Blackstone, he has gained an exalted position in the legal realm, and tcday he is recognized as one of the most forensic and facile practitioners before courts ranging from Municipal to Supreme Court, possessing as he does in abundance, all the qualifications therefor. Personally, Mr. Scrutchin is a veritable “good fellow” all the way through. As above asseverated, he owes not any man, inasmuch as the niche he occupies in the legal sphere has been achieved through his own individual efforts, business acumen and endowed brilliance -as an orator, rea- soner and recontaur, and as a man who impels the wholesome admiration of all who meet him, Mr. Scrutchin is especially famed through- out the Great Northwestern country. He has been retained in the majority ot the most sensational criminal cases which have ever come before the Minnesota courts of late years. That he has proved successful in his management of the various cases with which he has been entrusted is evi- dent by the universal approbation which his methods have invoked. Superlatives would fall far short of intelligent elucida- tion relative to the conception of law and its majesty as possessed by Mr. Scrutchin, thus The Pioneer desists from delving into them. Mr. Scrutchin’s success and stand- ing are gauged by his career as a success- ful practitioner, as one who has accom- plished results, not omitting his generosity and willingness to serve as a humanitarian and a law-protecting and law-abiding citi- zen. He is esteemed for his morality and the clean, manly life he observes; for his en- thusiasm as a citizen; as a man of inordi- nate intellect; as a liberal man in every sense of the word, and as one whom every one is glad to greet and exchange the tid- ings of the day. The Pioneer could con- tinue for an indefinite time to laud Mr. Scrutchin. Columns could be devoted to his merits and deservingness as a citizen, professional man and scholar. But why, forsooth, should we essay to do so? Mr. Scrutchin is universally known. That is sufficient so far as popularity goes, and all satisfying to those who read as they run. In some cities merchants refuse to buy from farmers who patronize mail order houses. YRR TR el T