The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1883-03-14
BRAIN vs.. Drawn.

,,healthy OVercrSwdinG OF the ITO
IN - The entering Glamour Cast
,,. Lawyers Psth-DemSnd for
',.rr,sters Behind the SuPpiy-StA'isties
D., are Grotssquely Appalling - The
l.'-,.,v Host OF Justices Legionaries.
~. London people are registering their
unions concerning a plague similar to
W., which has afflicted all the principal
49,, ,,is, of America for many years. The last
- ~, ot students admitted to the bar is the
VA', ri,ste cause of their complaint, al
iSoneh the disease has been acknowledged
a., growing one for at least two genera
49, Asls well known, the profession Of
Nv law in England is divided into two
'-s,cbes barrisiers and solicitors, the tor
pc, appearing in the superior courts rs
nlIssders of abstract questions OF law, or
nhrscriced siiters Of evidence; the latter oc-
rranylns the apparently subordinate, put IN
Vut!t more profitable and responsible, po-
snon of business managers Ior lltlgants:
y" o,bsr words, the solicitors undertake all
Az! AZ VnTreliminaries for either suit or defense
Wy mar, used to be all sorts Of grades of
I'm lint recent acts of parliament have
sSonted the equity title as being the most
Sonorable. and applied it TO all--and these
sNicitors make the arrangements pre-
T",inary TO a trial, even TO the extent OF
shjfting producible evidence and max
;ng ami briefs to be- submitted to special
nissders for their Judgment as to whether
lie projected suit can be brought with rea-
sonable chance of success. 1t was pleader
and on account of his Judgment on certain
Sorts of i. esding that Judah 7. Benjamin
walked quietly into the position of leading
counsel In the English courts, and that
when he was the representative in England
cf inc losing side of the greatest lost cause
that has ever been tried in the forum of the
universe. However much his judgment
NAV baye been in iault in political appeals,
he knew all the maXlms and definitions OF
the laws of all nations, and he had the fac
nlty which Aaron Burr so strongly eulo'
gized when he said, "All law is that winch
islorcibly put and plausiby maintained"
BENJAMIN had both the faculties of force
and plausiOility, and his learning is as
great as his memory, readiness and skill.
file has retired from active practice as a
torsenic orator and shrewd examiner
Of witnesses, his physical health being
such that excitement of the kind
incident 10 such work might bring death
wear or two sooner than it is sure to come.
So he retires, but he will probably, in re-
tirement, continue to make an enormous
income, simply as chamber counselor
and il is exactly 10 such men, and to others
like jack Scott, Lord EldOn, who knew no
interval betweeua dinner with his Kitty in
Cbancery Lane on u penny herring and
10000 year, that the ranks of the legal
profession have become SO crowded of late
years. Every fifth youth of fair education
and decent family training has at some
time or another vision Of doing some
thing great as lawyer. The fundamental
principles seem, to Il young fellow OF aver
Gge brains and instruction, so plain and
the reputation and fortunes gained by those
who have successfully applied them. so
enormous, that this way of winning high
place in the world seems but the simplest
and easiest that can be adopted. Hence
the records show that in all the larger
cities of the world the throng OF sucking
barristers continues to increase. The
London Times, in commenting on the sub
jeCt, states that, according TO the record in
the Rolls office. there were ut the beginning
OF this century, including counsel, special
pleaders and equity craftsmen, 600 or 700
barnsters, while to-day the number has
risen to 1850. So with the solicitors, who
were called attorneys until recently, there
we're not more than 800 Of the class IN 1900
and to-day there are 5000. The population
OF London has, it is true, grown largely in
the time. 1t has nearly tripled, but this
will not suffice to explain the multiplica-
ton OF the membership of the bar by ten.
nor that of the attorneys by five, for, how
ever wealthy London may be, it is, rela.
lively to the numbers of its population,
poorer to-day than it was fifty years ago.
AS the Times says, this movement has
been going ON in the face OF changes which
are adverse to lawyers for.
tunes" The law itself has been
reformed and simplified; the people
are less inclined than ever to seek in litiga-
ton redress for their real or supposed
grievances, preferrlng the simpler or less
expensive method Of arbitration, and alto
gether, whether in London, New York, St..
Louis or elsewhere, the numbers of those
who start in life with the intention of max
ing law practice their means of livelihood
continue to increase. 1t is q curious phe.
nomenon, look at it which way one will,
anu the TACT that nearly three-fOurths of
those who enter the profession either be-
come mere debt collectors or have to ioin at
late period the ranks shopkeepers and
railroad men makes it still more curious.
The glamur of the name of lawyer is re-,
Sponslble for vast amount of INSTRUCTED
energy, and much grief OF that hope.de.
ierred kind, which is said to make the
heart sick. In ST. Louis there are five
times as many would-be practitioners as
there is business to support, and this rule
seems to apply everywhere, Itseems, also,
likely to continue to- apply until men learn
mat 1t is both more honorable and profita.
ole TO produce something than to wait in
solemn dignity for fortune to intervene in
iayor OF sentimental aspiration to be
something better than the men who labor
Tor a living.