Berks Barrister Winter 2018 - 19

w w w.BERKSBAR.org

Fred B. Gernard of Lehigh County then rose to second the
nomination "heartily." He went on, "For twenty-five years, since
I became a member of the Bar, the name of Christian H. Ruhl
has been uppermost in the entire Lehigh Bar. There has been no
litigation of any importance I know of in which his name has not
been mentioned. I know he is one of the finest men in character
and inspiration that a young lawyer could get acquainted with;
and it gives me unusual pleasure to second that nomination." 12
There being no further nominations, Christian H. Ruhl was
elected by acclimation. A year later he opened the 32nd Annual
Meeting of the PBA at Bedford Springs. As was the tradition at
the time, the meeting began with the President's Address, which
he titled "Some Observations on Law: Its Administration and
Enforcement." The transcript of his remarks extends for 28 pages.
For the most part, the address is not riveting, giving proof
to the observation that his oratorical style was more logical
than emotional. However, this writer finds most interesting
Mr. Ruhl's comments on the Eighteenth Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution, the one prohibiting the manufacture, sale or
transportation of intoxicating liquors.
"It is a regrettable fact that violent opposition to the
enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment has developed in
sections of our great country, which may possibly be fostered and
encouraged by members of our profession. I do not profess to be
the keeper of any one's conscience. If, however, there are such, I
cannot reconcile such conduct with the obligation which every
member of the Bar assumed to support the Constitution of the
United States when he was admitted to practice his profession,
and became an officer of the court...A citizen may not be in
sympathy with the prohibitions and restraints of the Eighteenth
Amendment, yet, so long as it constitutes a part of the whole, he
has neither legal nor moral right to refuse obedience thereto, nor
to assist and encourage others in like conduct."13
At the time, "Reading's folk hero" was 26-year-old Max
Hassel,14 who by then was already a wealthy bootlegger, having
a controlling interest in three Reading breweries and others in
Lebanon and Easton.15 In December 1925 he had been charged
with bribery of law enforcement personnel. The preliminary
hearings in early 1926 attracted a lot of attention, but delays
by the prosecution ensued until the Spring of 1927 when the
trial ended in a hung jury.16 Then, the re-trial resulted in his
acquittal.17 In expressing concern about attorneys' attitudes
toward the 18th Amendment, was Mr. Ruhl thinking of Max
Hassel and his involvement with the Berks County legal
profession?
While his PBA presidency ended in 1926, his presidency
of the BCBA continued. In 1931, the Bar Association was
incorporated with Mr. Ruhl being the first subscriber on the
charter and Cyrus G. Derr, considered the Dean of the Bar at
the time, the second. Mr. Ruhl, now 78 years old, continued
as president. However, two years later, at the Annual Meeting
on October 2, 1933, the fifty members present overwhelmingly
approved a bylaws change limiting officers to a one-year term. As
Judge Smith notes in his history of Bench and Bar, "The import
of the action, carried by an overwhelming vote, spoke for itself.
The complexion and activity of the Bar...changed markedly
thereafter." 18

A year later, during the Annual Meeting, E. H. Deysher was
elected president, and a testimonial banquet for C. H. Ruhl, the
outgoing president, and Thomas K. Leidy, the retiring secretary,
was discussed.19 In fact, the testimonial dinner was held at the
Wyomissing Club on December 6, 1934. While Mr. Leidy was
indeed honored, "[n]o mention is made of the retired President C.
H. Ruhl. It appears he did not attend." 20 His thirteen-year reign
as president had come to an unceremonious end.
Less than three years later, on October 21, 1937,21 Mr. Ruhl
died at the age of 84. Almost exactly one month before, his
wife of 59 years had passed away. In reporting on his death, the
Reading Times described its cause as "pneumonia, aggravated
by shock and grief over the death of his wife on September 20,
1937." They had had no children.
Unlike what transpired following the deaths of Judge Endlich,
Cyrus G. Derr and Judge Golden, there is no record of a Bar
Association memorial service. There was simply a "terse note"
of his passing in the Association's minutes, and Judge Smith
has written in his book: "Older bar members recall that his
administration was an autocratic one and was responsible, at least
in part, for the Bar's reorganization."22
While he may have overstayed his welcome in bar leadership,
it is quite apparent that he was an exemplar lawyer and one
committed to his profession. It is also worthy to make note
of his devotion to his wife, partnering with her to advance the
community and their church.
As a Bar Association, we can take pride in knowing the caliber
of those who went before us in serving the greater profession and
our community.
Author's Note: It is with great gratitude that I thank Tameka
Altadonna of the Pennsylvania Bar Association staff and Lisa Adams
of the Henry Janssen Library staff. Without their generous research
efforts, this article would not have been possible.
"The Judge Who Inspired a Dinner Club," The Berks Barrister, Fall 2016, pp.
9-12.
2
"An 'Ornament' of the Berks Bar Was PBA President 1916-1917," The Berks
Barrister, Winter 2016, pp. 16-19.
3
Historical and Biographical Annals of Berks County Pennsylvania, Volume 1,
compiled by Morton L. Montgomery (1909), p. 551 (hereinafter "Biographical
Annals")
4
Id.
5
Id.
6
Book of Biographies of Leading Citizens of Berks County, PA (1898), p. 399
7
Reading Eagle, October 22, 1937, p.1
8
Id.
9
Biographical Annals, p. 551
10
Volume XXXI, Report of Pennsylvania Bar Association (1925), p. 287
11
Id.
12
Id. 288
13
Volume XXXII, Report of Pennsylvania Bar Association (1925), p. 19
14
Edward A. Taggert, "Bootlegger-Max Hassel, The Millionaire Newsboy"
(2003), p. 70
15
Id. 55, 64, 70
16
Id. 60-68
17
Id. 68-70
18
Calvin A. Smith, Esquire, Berks County Bench and Bar-A Commentary
(1981), p. 134
19
Id. 136
20
Id.
21
Reading Times, October 22, 1937, p. 1
22
Berks County Bench and Bar-A Commentary, supra at 142
1

Winter 2018 | 19
http://www.berksbar.com/
Berks Barrister Winter 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Berks Barrister Winter 2018
