 Marshall considered returning to Columbia City after leaving office , but instead bought a home and opened a law practice in Indianapolis , where he believed there would be better business opportunities . Harding nominated him to serve on the Lincoln Memorial Commission in 1921 , and then to a more lucrative position on the Federal Coal Commission in 1922 ; Marshall resigned from both commissions in 1923 . He spent over a year writing books on the law and his Recollections , a humorous memoir . The latter book was completed in May 1925 and subsequent historians have noted it as unusual , even for its time , for not disclosing any secrets or attacking any of Marshall 's enemies . Marshall remained a popular public speaker , and continued to travel to give speeches . The last he delivered was to high school students in the town of his birth . 
