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William Locke Whitney

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William Locke Whitney

Birth
Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA
Death
16 Jan 1920 (aged 43)
New York, New York County, New York, USA
Burial
Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii, USA Add to Map
Memorial ID
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By A. T. Griffiths

William Locke Whitney died in a New York hospital January 16, 1920. On February 8, he would have been forty-four years of age. Though he was born in Cleveland. Ohio, his parents. Dr. and Mrs. J. M. Whitney returned with him to Hawaii when he was nine months old. In his boyhood days he was one of a group of young men who went to school at Punahou, roamed Oahu's hills, sailed boats and swam in these tropic seas and lived the delightful out-of-doors life of that period, and who are now potent factors in the life of the Territory. He was a son of Hawaii in spirit and pleasure and pride in Hawaii gave zest to his service to her.

He was graduated from Punahou in 1894 at a time when political events were stirring and when civic responsibilities and duties were emphasized in the minds of youth. He continued his education at Oberlin College from which he received the degree of A. B. in 1898. His professional training was secured in that admirable school, Columbia University Law School, in which he completed the course earning the degree of LL.B. in 1901. Two trips abroad during summer vacations broadened his view of life. He married Saide Mae Sutton June 6, 1901.

Returning immediately to Honolulu, he entered upon a professional career which was to prove unusual and to have great influence upon the body of laws and their interpretation in juvenile cases and even upon social conditions generally in the land he loved.

He soon began the work which largely occupied his thought and time for more than a decade and which earned him the title of friend of youth. Outside of two years, 1901-1903, in the law office of W. R. Castle and six years as deputy attorney general of the Territory of Hawaii, he was largely concerned in the hearing of cases of youthful offenders, in the administration of juvenile law, and in the reform both of court practices and of the law itself with regard to boys and girls who were guilty more of error than of crime. ' As district magistrate from 19031906, he really established- the Juvenile Court in which children /were tried separately from adults. He removed boys and girls who were apprehended for correction from the influence of criminals and hardened wrong-doers and minimized the evil conditions with which susceptible young people would have to come in contact. He revolutionized the trial of young offenders.

He was not merely a just judge. He carried his interest into the homes and street life of the unfortunates who came before the Court and sought to understand the causes of their derelictions, to give aid and to remedy the conditions which lay at the bottom of their troubles.

Not satisfied with this reform, he was largely instrumental in framing and in having the Legislature of the Territory pass the first Juvenile Court Law. This law established a system of probation for boys and girls called before the Court and provided for the appointment of probation officers.

The present Juvenile Court Law, passed by the Legislature in 1909, is largely the result of his experience and the work of his hand and heart. It provides more effective machinery and more humanity in the trial of the waifs of the streets.

To the Board of Industrial Schools, established by law in 1915, to whose care are now committed the agencies for the reform of juvenile offenders. Judge Whitney was guide and counselor in the time when the Board was determining policies and plans.

While his work in Juvenile law has been preeminent, he has also won an enduring place in other fields of jurisprudence. His unusually sound knowledge of the principles of law and his judicial frame of mind qualified him admirably for the position of judge.

In the Attorney General's office he was a student of Hawaiian law and procedure and became as practicing attorney and judge of the court an adept in applying and interpreting it.

During this period as a judge in the Circuit Court from 1909-1917, he served the entire time as Juvenile Court judge, and from 1911 to 1917 as judge of the Land Court, fields in which he won distinction for himself and confidence and esteem from the community.

In 1917 he resumed again the practice of law and became a member of the firm of Smith, Warren & Whitney. Those who know him have no doubt that those same qualities which made him a successful judge would, had his life been spared, have won him a distinguished place at the bar.

As a Trustee of the Oahu College and for several years as secretary of the Corporation, Judge Whitney again demonstrated the breadth of his sympathy and of his point of view. With large insight and discerning judgment he made a very real contribution to the development of Punahou in the last twenty years. Coming to the Board in 1907 when less than ten years out of College he brought the buoyancy of the young man, a growing experience in dealing with youth and a sympathy for their interests and ambitions, and a rare devotion to the purposes and ideals of service of the school which had sent him forth.

Between boys and books there is with most men a long gap but Judge Whitney easily bridged it. He was interested in both. He was the first chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Library of Hawaii and for many years chairman of the Library Committee of the Oahu College Library.

As son and husband he gave to his family the deepest measure of love and devotion. In all the relations of life, whether at work or at play, he was tranquil and self-possessed. No impatiences upset his imperturbability in the stress of life. Underneath his calmness were vigor and strength.

Judge Whitney was a good citizen. He mercilessly condemned fraud and wrong doing and gave freely of his time, energy and experience in the promotion of community enterprises and the betterment of community conditions. He had the vision of the idealist and the vigor and the practicality of the man of experience. In those days when human freedom was in danger from the attacks of the Hun, Judge Whitney quietly took up training for the struggle which he foresaw, joined the National Guard of Hawaii in which he became a Captain in a Coast Artillery Company and put his business affairs in shape ready for an instant answer to the call of his country for service.

His influence touched Hawaii in numerous ways and places where men and women meet. He early fulfilled the heart's desire of parents by uniting with Central Union Church of which for several years he was a Trustee. As secretary of the Social Science Association for many years, he gave guidance and spirit to that unique organization. His joy in companionship and his radiant social nature found expression not only in the University and country clubs of which he was a member, but also in the gatherings formal and informal, commonly denominated society, in which he found delight and from which his gaiety and wholesome enthusiasm will be much missed.

William L. Whitney was a worthy product of our American institutions and life. He had a strength of character which came from inheritance, rigorous home training and the teachings of school and church; he had a trained mind which he used less for his own advancement and more for the good of his fellow men; he had vision which saw into the future not only of men but of institutions; he had fineness of spirit which found expression in appreciation of the needs of others and in sacrifices for them. He enjoyed life and he radiated the joy with which his soul was filled. He was strong and he gave freely of his strength. He lived a life of service.
By A. T. Griffiths

William Locke Whitney died in a New York hospital January 16, 1920. On February 8, he would have been forty-four years of age. Though he was born in Cleveland. Ohio, his parents. Dr. and Mrs. J. M. Whitney returned with him to Hawaii when he was nine months old. In his boyhood days he was one of a group of young men who went to school at Punahou, roamed Oahu's hills, sailed boats and swam in these tropic seas and lived the delightful out-of-doors life of that period, and who are now potent factors in the life of the Territory. He was a son of Hawaii in spirit and pleasure and pride in Hawaii gave zest to his service to her.

He was graduated from Punahou in 1894 at a time when political events were stirring and when civic responsibilities and duties were emphasized in the minds of youth. He continued his education at Oberlin College from which he received the degree of A. B. in 1898. His professional training was secured in that admirable school, Columbia University Law School, in which he completed the course earning the degree of LL.B. in 1901. Two trips abroad during summer vacations broadened his view of life. He married Saide Mae Sutton June 6, 1901.

Returning immediately to Honolulu, he entered upon a professional career which was to prove unusual and to have great influence upon the body of laws and their interpretation in juvenile cases and even upon social conditions generally in the land he loved.

He soon began the work which largely occupied his thought and time for more than a decade and which earned him the title of friend of youth. Outside of two years, 1901-1903, in the law office of W. R. Castle and six years as deputy attorney general of the Territory of Hawaii, he was largely concerned in the hearing of cases of youthful offenders, in the administration of juvenile law, and in the reform both of court practices and of the law itself with regard to boys and girls who were guilty more of error than of crime. ' As district magistrate from 19031906, he really established- the Juvenile Court in which children /were tried separately from adults. He removed boys and girls who were apprehended for correction from the influence of criminals and hardened wrong-doers and minimized the evil conditions with which susceptible young people would have to come in contact. He revolutionized the trial of young offenders.

He was not merely a just judge. He carried his interest into the homes and street life of the unfortunates who came before the Court and sought to understand the causes of their derelictions, to give aid and to remedy the conditions which lay at the bottom of their troubles.

Not satisfied with this reform, he was largely instrumental in framing and in having the Legislature of the Territory pass the first Juvenile Court Law. This law established a system of probation for boys and girls called before the Court and provided for the appointment of probation officers.

The present Juvenile Court Law, passed by the Legislature in 1909, is largely the result of his experience and the work of his hand and heart. It provides more effective machinery and more humanity in the trial of the waifs of the streets.

To the Board of Industrial Schools, established by law in 1915, to whose care are now committed the agencies for the reform of juvenile offenders. Judge Whitney was guide and counselor in the time when the Board was determining policies and plans.

While his work in Juvenile law has been preeminent, he has also won an enduring place in other fields of jurisprudence. His unusually sound knowledge of the principles of law and his judicial frame of mind qualified him admirably for the position of judge.

In the Attorney General's office he was a student of Hawaiian law and procedure and became as practicing attorney and judge of the court an adept in applying and interpreting it.

During this period as a judge in the Circuit Court from 1909-1917, he served the entire time as Juvenile Court judge, and from 1911 to 1917 as judge of the Land Court, fields in which he won distinction for himself and confidence and esteem from the community.

In 1917 he resumed again the practice of law and became a member of the firm of Smith, Warren & Whitney. Those who know him have no doubt that those same qualities which made him a successful judge would, had his life been spared, have won him a distinguished place at the bar.

As a Trustee of the Oahu College and for several years as secretary of the Corporation, Judge Whitney again demonstrated the breadth of his sympathy and of his point of view. With large insight and discerning judgment he made a very real contribution to the development of Punahou in the last twenty years. Coming to the Board in 1907 when less than ten years out of College he brought the buoyancy of the young man, a growing experience in dealing with youth and a sympathy for their interests and ambitions, and a rare devotion to the purposes and ideals of service of the school which had sent him forth.

Between boys and books there is with most men a long gap but Judge Whitney easily bridged it. He was interested in both. He was the first chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Library of Hawaii and for many years chairman of the Library Committee of the Oahu College Library.

As son and husband he gave to his family the deepest measure of love and devotion. In all the relations of life, whether at work or at play, he was tranquil and self-possessed. No impatiences upset his imperturbability in the stress of life. Underneath his calmness were vigor and strength.

Judge Whitney was a good citizen. He mercilessly condemned fraud and wrong doing and gave freely of his time, energy and experience in the promotion of community enterprises and the betterment of community conditions. He had the vision of the idealist and the vigor and the practicality of the man of experience. In those days when human freedom was in danger from the attacks of the Hun, Judge Whitney quietly took up training for the struggle which he foresaw, joined the National Guard of Hawaii in which he became a Captain in a Coast Artillery Company and put his business affairs in shape ready for an instant answer to the call of his country for service.

His influence touched Hawaii in numerous ways and places where men and women meet. He early fulfilled the heart's desire of parents by uniting with Central Union Church of which for several years he was a Trustee. As secretary of the Social Science Association for many years, he gave guidance and spirit to that unique organization. His joy in companionship and his radiant social nature found expression not only in the University and country clubs of which he was a member, but also in the gatherings formal and informal, commonly denominated society, in which he found delight and from which his gaiety and wholesome enthusiasm will be much missed.

William L. Whitney was a worthy product of our American institutions and life. He had a strength of character which came from inheritance, rigorous home training and the teachings of school and church; he had a trained mind which he used less for his own advancement and more for the good of his fellow men; he had vision which saw into the future not only of men but of institutions; he had fineness of spirit which found expression in appreciation of the needs of others and in sacrifices for them. He enjoyed life and he radiated the joy with which his soul was filled. He was strong and he gave freely of his strength. He lived a life of service.


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