Mastin
H. Jones, familiarly known as "Mass" Jones, in addition to being a man
of great shrewdness and an able lawyer, represented the witticism and drollery
of the District Bar. He was a natural born humorist. He would have made a
first-class comedian; one that would have improved on the original playwright,
by improvising between the lines. He had the peculiar faculty of making others
laugh without smiling himself. It was difficult to tell when he was serious.
Here is an illustrative incident. It was while he was the Prosecuting Attorney
for this District. I was present. The case was the prosecution of the defendant
for selling liquor. The defense was, that it was not liquor, but ginger ale and
sold as such. The witness swore that this was what he called for. Then the fun
began. He was plied with all sorts of questions in a most amusing, quizzical
manner, as to how he came to have such a thirst for ginger ale about that time;
how it looked, how it smelled; how it tasted; how much he poured out; how many
times he drank; what the interval between each drink; why he was drinking ginger
ale so many times; how he felt after the first glass, after the second, the
third, the fourth, the fifth, and to describe his feelings minutely. (An
Englishman I once knew, said he could tell water when he saw it, it looked so
much like gin.) In summing up, "Mass" said to the Jury in his quiet,
inimitable way: "Gentlemen, you might think from my manner of examining the
witness, that I know a great deal about drinks, and the effect thereof, but
(raising his voice and vigorously raising his arm) the fact, nevertheless is,
that I never drank a gallon of liquor in my whole life." Then, after a
pause, and lowering his voice, "at one time, gentlemen."
Though "Mass" was a good man, and I believe, belonged to the church, he had the eccentric habit of sometimes swearing when he was provoked, without being sensible of it. On a certain occasion he was noting down some points in the argument of the opposing lawyer. Brother Teter, whom many will recognize as a widely known and facetious clergyman of the Methodist Church, came in and took a seat where he could look over "Mass'" shoulder. Just then the opposing lawyer traveled very provokingly outside the record in his remarks, and "Mass" noted down, "By God, he is traveling outside of the record. By God, I will travel outside of the record also." Whereupon Brother Teter said to him, "Brother Jones, how can you profane so in court?" "Mass" looked up and said, "Who told you that?
If you hear anybody
say that I use profane language, you are authorized to say for me, that he is a
d--d liar."
But Mr. Jones had
his serious as well as humorous side, for he was a thoughtful and reflective
man. He was a fine trial lawyer, pre-eminently expert in the examination of
witnesses, and was a formidable adversary in any case. He was a man of high
character, perfect integrity, and held in high esteem. He filled various offices
of public trust, and always with efficiency. From 1870 to 1874 he was the
District Attorney, and was one of the most efficient that ever filled that
office. He was three times the candidate of the Greenback or National Party for
Judge of the Supreme Court--in 1879, 1880 and 1882. The variety of his
characteristics, his eccentricities and oddity made his name a familiar one in
Southern Iowa.
He was born in
Putnam County, Indiana, in 1828, educated at the public schools and at Asbury
University, at Green Castle. He was admitted to the Bar of Indiana in 1851 and
came the same year to Davis County. He began the practice of law with Harvey
Dunlavey as partner. This partnership continued for several years. He was
subsequently a partner with Judge Henry C. Traverse. Later he took into
partnership his son, Samuel Jones, and this continued until the retirement of
the father in 1880, when he was succeeded by his son, Samuel, who inherited his
father's talents, developed into an able lawyer, served efficiently four years
as District Attorney, and subsequently removed to Kansas where he attained a
high professional standing. The father died at Bloomfield, in 1899.
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