Martin Joseph Wade

Martin Joseph Wade (October 20, 1861 – April 16, 1931) was a United States representative from Iowa and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

Education and career Born on October 20, 1861, in Burlington, Chittenden County, Vermont, Wade moved to Iowa with his parents at an early age, eventually settling on a farm in Butler County, "which was then largely a broad, unbroken prairie, and the usual hardships of pioneer life were experienced". He attended the common schools and St. Joseph's College (later Columbia University) in Dubuque, Iowa. He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in Iowa City, Iowa from 1886 to 1893. As Wade would write in autobiographical information submitted to Congress following his election, he had refused to make any campaign speeches during the race because he considered it an improper thing for a judge to do. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1904 to the 59th United States Congress. Wade presided over the Davenport sedition trials in 1917 and 1918, and sentenced Daniel Wallace to 20 years in prison for making a speech opposing the draft and critical of the United States' allies.