Arba Seymour Van Valkenburgh
Encyclopedia
Arba Seymour Van Valkenburgh (1862–1944), was an American
jurist
who served as a Judge
of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
.
on August 22, 1862, the son of Lawrence Van Valkenburgh and Sarah Ann Seymour. His parents moved to Michigan
, and he attended public schools in Ypsilanti.
Van Valkenburgh then attended the University of Michigan
, graduating with an A.B. degree
in 1884.
Following graduation, Van Valkenburgh settled in Kansas City, Missouri
, where he began reading law
in the offices of Dobson, Douglas and Trimble. In 1888 Van Valkenburgh was admitted to the Missouri bar and entered into partnership with Delbert J. Haff, remaining together with Haff for the next decade.
Van Valkenburgh married Grace Elizabeth Ingold (1869-1933), daughter of William A. Ingold (1840-1919) and Frances A. Thirds (1846-1904), on September 25, 1889. Officiating at the ceremony was Dr. Cameron Mann (1851-1932), Rector of Grace Church, where the wedding occurred, at that time located at the southeast corner of the intersection of Tenth and Central Streets in Kansas City, Missouri.
Van Valkenburgh was appointed U.S. Attorney for that district in 1905, served until 1910.
As District Attorney he was called upon to prosecute the important "packers' rebate cases" involving Armour & Company, Swift & Company
, Morris & Company
, Cudahy Packing Company
, and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
in a conspiracy to defeat the tariff
regulations of the Elkins Act
. Beginning the prosecutions in 1905, he secured convictions in the District Court and affirmations in the Circuit Court of Appeals (153 Fed. 1) and in the U.S. Supreme Court (209 U.S. 56) These were the first cases to be carried through the courts of last resort and it was through them that the Elkins Act was properly interpreted and made effective.
nominated Arba Van Valkenburgh served as a U.S District Judge for the Western District of Missouri.
The following cases are representative of those tried before him while on the bench of the District Court:
During World War I
Van Valkenburg presided over a number of high profile political cases. Van Valkenburg was the presiding judge at the trial of a young syndicalist
activist from Kansas City named Earl Browder
for refusal to register for the draft
and conspiracy to interfere with same. Browder, later the General Secretary of the Communist Party USA
, was sentenced by Van Valkenburgh to two years imprisonment, which he served at Bates County Jail in Butler, Missouri
and Leavenworth Penitentiary
.
Van Valkenburgh was also the judge who sentenced Carl Glesser, a naturalized American citizen of German birth and publisher of the Missouri Staats-Zeitung, to five years in Leavenworth after Glesser had pleaded guilty to violating the Espionage Act for thirteen articles he had published. Glesser began serving his sentence on April 30, 1918.
Moreover, Van Valkenburgh presided over the May 1918 trial of socialist activist Rose Pastor Stokes
for alleged violation of the Espionage Act through speaking against war profiteering. Although Stokes proclaimed that she had "at all times recognized the cause of our entrance into the war" and "at no time opposed the war," Stokes was found guilty at trial and Van Valkenburg delivered a draconian sentence of 10 years' imprisonment, declaring Stokes to be "part of a systematic program to create discontent with the war" and to advance the cause of revolution.
as Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on March 18, 1925. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and received commission that same day.
During his tenure as a Circuit Judge Van Valkenburgh participated in the decisions of more than 500 cases and wrote some 170 opinions. Important among these were:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
who served as a Judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Arkansas* Western District of Arkansas...
.
Early years
Arba Seymour Van Valkenburgh was born on a farm near Syracuse, New YorkSyracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
on August 22, 1862, the son of Lawrence Van Valkenburgh and Sarah Ann Seymour. His parents moved to Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, and he attended public schools in Ypsilanti.
Van Valkenburgh then attended the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, graduating with an A.B. degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in 1884.
Following graduation, Van Valkenburgh settled in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, where he began reading law
Reading law
Reading law is the method by which persons in common law countries, particularly the United States, entered the legal profession before the advent of law schools. This usage specifically refers to a means of entering the profession . A small number of U.S...
in the offices of Dobson, Douglas and Trimble. In 1888 Van Valkenburgh was admitted to the Missouri bar and entered into partnership with Delbert J. Haff, remaining together with Haff for the next decade.
Van Valkenburgh married Grace Elizabeth Ingold (1869-1933), daughter of William A. Ingold (1840-1919) and Frances A. Thirds (1846-1904), on September 25, 1889. Officiating at the ceremony was Dr. Cameron Mann (1851-1932), Rector of Grace Church, where the wedding occurred, at that time located at the southeast corner of the intersection of Tenth and Central Streets in Kansas City, Missouri.
District Attorney
Arba Van Valkenburgh was appointed as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the western district of Missouri in June 1898.Van Valkenburgh was appointed U.S. Attorney for that district in 1905, served until 1910.
As District Attorney he was called upon to prosecute the important "packers' rebate cases" involving Armour & Company, Swift & Company
Swift & Company
Swift & Company is an American food procession company a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS S.A. , a Brazilian company that is the world's largest processor of fresh beef and pork, with more than US$30 billion in annual sales as of 2010. It is also the largest beef processor in Australia.Swift &...
, Morris & Company
Morris & Company
Morris and Company, whose president was Edward Morris, was one of several meatpacking companies in Chicago, Illinois, and in South Omaha, Nebraska....
, Cudahy Packing Company
Cudahy Packing Company
Cudahy Packing Company was a U.S. meat packing company established in 1887 as the Armour-Cudahy Packing Company and incorporated in Maine in 1915. It was founded by Patrick Cudahy and his brother John Cudahy, Irish immigrants from County Kilkenny who came to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to avoid the Great...
, and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington or as the Q, the Burlington Route served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri,...
in a conspiracy to defeat the tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
regulations of the Elkins Act
Elkins Act
The Elkins Act is a 1903 United States federal law that amended the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The Elkins Act authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission to impose heavy fines on railroads that offered rebates, and upon the shippers that accepted these rebates. The railroad companies were...
. Beginning the prosecutions in 1905, he secured convictions in the District Court and affirmations in the Circuit Court of Appeals (153 Fed. 1) and in the U.S. Supreme Court (209 U.S. 56) These were the first cases to be carried through the courts of last resort and it was through them that the Elkins Act was properly interpreted and made effective.
District Judge
On June 14, 1910, President William Howard TaftWilliam Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
nominated Arba Van Valkenburgh served as a U.S District Judge for the Western District of Missouri.
The following cases are representative of those tried before him while on the bench of the District Court:
- Smith vs. Kansas City Title & Trust Company, in which the Federal Farm Loan ActFederal Farm Loan ActThe Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916 was a United States federal law aimed at increasing credit to rural, family farmers. It did so by creating a federal farm loan board, twelve regional farm loan banks and tens of farm loan associations...
was sustained and the creation of land banks held valid, this ruling being affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court (255 U.S. 180). - Missouri vs. Holland, sustaining the Migratory Bird TreatyMigratory Bird TreatyThe Migratory Bird Treaty or Convention is a environmental treaty between Canada and the United States. It was originally signed on by the U.S...
between the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Great BritainGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and the Act of CongressAct of CongressAn Act of Congress is a statute enacted by government with a legislature named "Congress," such as the United States Congress or the Congress of the Philippines....
enforcing it (258 Fed. 479, affirmed 252 U.S. 416). - Chicago, Bulington & Quincy Railroad vs. United States, involving the interpretation of the Federal Safety Appliance Act (affirmed 237 U.S. 410).
- United States vs. Emery, Bird, Thayer Dry Goods CompanyEmery, Bird, Thayer Dry Goods CompanyEmery, Bird, Thayer & Company was a department store in Downtown Kansas City that traced its history nearly to the city's origins as Westport Landing....
, involving the interpretation of the Federal Corporation Tax Law of 1909 (198 Fed. 242, affirmed 237 U.S. 28). - St. Joseph Railway, Light & Power Company, vs. Public Service Commissions, which defined certain important principles of valuation of public utilities and the regulation of rates by public authorities (268 Fed. 267).
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Van Valkenburg presided over a number of high profile political cases. Van Valkenburg was the presiding judge at the trial of a young syndicalist
Syndicalism
Syndicalism is a type of economic system proposed as a replacement for capitalism and an alternative to state socialism, which uses federations of collectivised trade unions or industrial unions...
activist from Kansas City named Earl Browder
Earl Browder
Earl Russell Browder was an American communist and General Secretary of the Communist Party USA from 1934 to 1945. He was expelled from the party in 1946.- Early years :...
for refusal to register for the draft
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
and conspiracy to interfere with same. Browder, later the General Secretary of the Communist Party USA
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
, was sentenced by Van Valkenburgh to two years imprisonment, which he served at Bates County Jail in Butler, Missouri
Butler, Missouri
Butler is a city in Bates County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,209 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bates County.Butler was the first city west of the Mississippi River to have electricity.-Geography:...
and Leavenworth Penitentiary
United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth
The United States Penitentiary , Leavenworth was the largest maximum security federal prison in the United States from 1903 until 2005. It became a medium security prison in 2005.It is located in Leavenworth, Kansas...
.
Van Valkenburgh was also the judge who sentenced Carl Glesser, a naturalized American citizen of German birth and publisher of the Missouri Staats-Zeitung, to five years in Leavenworth after Glesser had pleaded guilty to violating the Espionage Act for thirteen articles he had published. Glesser began serving his sentence on April 30, 1918.
Moreover, Van Valkenburgh presided over the May 1918 trial of socialist activist Rose Pastor Stokes
Rose Pastor Stokes
Rose Harriet Pastor Stokes was a Jewish-American socialist activist, writer, birth control advocate, and feminist. She was active in labor politics and women's issues, and was a founding member of the Communist Party of America in 1919. She was a figure of some public notoriety for having married...
for alleged violation of the Espionage Act through speaking against war profiteering. Although Stokes proclaimed that she had "at all times recognized the cause of our entrance into the war" and "at no time opposed the war," Stokes was found guilty at trial and Van Valkenburg delivered a draconian sentence of 10 years' imprisonment, declaring Stokes to be "part of a systematic program to create discontent with the war" and to advance the cause of revolution.
Appeals Court Judge
Van Valkenburgh was nominated by President Calvin CoolidgeCalvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
as Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on March 18, 1925. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and received commission that same day.
During his tenure as a Circuit Judge Van Valkenburgh participated in the decisions of more than 500 cases and wrote some 170 opinions. Important among these were:
- Wolf Bros. vs. Hamilton Brown Shoe Company, viewing important principles of the law of trademarkTrademarkA trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
and unfair competition (206 Fed. 611, affirmed 240 U.S. 251) - United States vs. Utah Power & Light Company, involving public lands and water power rights (three opinions: 209 Fed. 554; 230 Fed. 328; 242 Fed. 924).
- Whitesides vs. Norton, which involved riparian rights and incidentally, the boundary line between MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and WisconsinWisconsinWisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
(205 Fed. 5).