Festus Walters

Who was Festus Walters?

Festus Walters was an Ohio jurist and advocate for Gubernatorial judicial independence known for the controversial decision to try an Ohio National Guard commander for murder following the Washington County Courthouse riots of 1895. Among “the Ohio Five” arriving at Cornell University when that revolutionary institution opened its doors, he was life-long friends with fellow Cornellian and fraternity brother, Senator Joseph B. Foraker.

In 1898, the official history of the Republican Party in Ohio stated that:

[t]he Republican party may well be judged by its degree of intelligence, its usefulness and safety in the management of public affairs, and its achievements during the forty years of its existence. It is a party of principle, and though its opponents may criticise its doctrines they cannot deny that it has always had the courage of its convictions. As long as it continues it will attract to its ranks men of brilliant minds and intellectual giants who give freely of their great gifts to aid the maintenance of a party that has done so much for the prosperity of the country.