(IMG) William O. Douglas writing
       
       Go East,Young Man by William O. Douglas
       
       In his autobiography, William O. Douglas wrote about having polio a
       kid.  His doctors predicted he would never walk again.  Through the
       faith and love of his mother, her daily massages, his own
       determination, and his love of the great outdoors, he regained the
       full use of his legs.  He is known for the argument that a tree can
       be a plaintiff in court [1].  Below is a relevant paragraph from Th
       Oregonian [2]:
       
           "Imagine a current member of the U.S. Supreme Court proposing t
       an old tree should have the right to sue to block a timber sale. ..
       Once, such a justice existed, and his name was William O. Douglas. 
       served on the Supreme Court from 1939 to 1975 and easily earned the
       distinction as the greenest justice in American history. He also
       hailed from the Pacific Northwest."
       
       My 2008 book review follows:
       
           "On one leg of this junket, Moore and I were somewhere in Maine
       riding a caboose, the only way to reach a remote cement plant.  It 
       a warm spring day and Moore sat by an open window.  The benches in 
       caboose, as usual, ran along each side of the car.  Moore sat with 
       leg under him and The New York Times held by his two hands in front
       him.  He was absorbed in reading when the brakeman, sitting opposit
       let go a wad of tobacco juice that passed between Moore's face and 
       newspaper and went smack out the window.  Moore ruffled his paper a
       muttered something inaudible and returned to his reading.  In a few
       moments the brakeman let go another wad of tobacco juice, and it al
       passed between Moore's face and the paper, neatly clearing the open
       window.  Moore, flushed with anger, turned to the brakeman and
       shouted, "What goes on here?"  The brakeman rose to his feet, clear
       his throat, and said, "I'm sorry, sir, if I upset you.  But I think
       you must admit it was some spitting."  I could no longer contain
       myself and broke into loud laughter, to which first the brakeman an
       then Moore succumbed."
       
       The author describes how his bout with polio left him with weak leg
       As a form of therapy he spent much time hiking.  The best parts of
       this book come in the first half where he describes the outdoors in
       Washington.
       
       Through his agricultural work and hopping freight trains, he met ho
       and wobblies.  He was sympathetic toward them because they were
       comparatively generous and decent human beings.
       
       He worked while putting himself through college and law school and
       sent money home.
       
       What I found most interesting about his history with the SEC was hi
       transformation from cynicism to optimism about government.  He did 
       like Washington but he went there to fix some of the problems he
       experienced in his youth.  In the beginning of chapter 26 he states
       that it was during his work at the SEC that he grew to regard the
       majority of representatives and senators as worthy public servants.
       In several parts of the book he references regressions in the
       political scene, yet he became increasingly hopeful.
       
       The theme of automation also fascinated me: the potential for machi
       to eliminate labor.  I've seen its like before in the Jetson's: a
       utopian future where robots do all the work and people have 100%
       leisure.  He seemed to view labor as some sort of day care for adul
       In chapter 21 he states "An automated society could give to those w
       had hobbies endless hours of joy. ... But how about the men and boy
       knew who frequented the pool halls and beer joints in Yakima?"  And
       chapter 25, "The computer world would have depressed Brandeis. ... 
       becomes transformed when a machine separates him from his fellow-ma
       
       As a side note, I noticed that FDR made an analogy in his Quarantin
       Speech delivered in Chicago on October 5, 1937, that compared human
       beings to disease organisms [3].  This speech was given to rebut
       isolationism.  I found it ironic, considering that our enemies of t
       day also gave speeches that used analogies to disease.  Though to b
       fair, FDR was advocating a quarantine, not an amputation.
       
 (TXT) [1] Trees have standing
 (HTM) [2] Oregonian article
 (HTM) [3] FDR "Quarantine speech"
       
        title: Go East,Young Man
        author: Douglas, William O. (William Orville), 1898-1980
        isbn: 0394488342
       
 (DIR) BenCollver - Phlog
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