Beverly banner. [volume] (Beverly, N.J.) 1877-1964, 1890-03-01
RULED BY LAWYERS.

Few people realize how true it is
that this country is ruled by lawyers.
Each one Of the three great divisions
of the Government is in the hands Of
attorneys. The judiciary, which, under
our system, can set aside any law it
pleases, is of course made up entirely
of that class. The Chief Executive of
the United States is a lawyer, and so
also are all his Cabinet officers except
Blaine and Wanamaker OF the 80
members of the Senate, no less a num-
Der than 81 are lawyers. The last
House of Representatives (the callings
of the present one are not at hand)
contained 220 lawyers out of a total
membership of 1873. The legislative
branch was therefore controlled by a
two-thirds majority Of lawyers in one
House and by a three-fourths majority
in the other. 1t is clear, then, that
the legal profession has complete pos
session of this Government in all its de-
partments. A lawyer surpervises the
building of our new navy, another com
mands the army, a third arranges our
interior affairs and fourth even tells
us how best to grow sound turnips and
big squashes. One would suppose
from these facts that there is no pratt
cal knowledge of affairs, no executive
ability, no discretion, wisdom or rat-
riotism ontside Of that comparatively
small class Of the community that is
versed in the technicalities Of legal jar
gon. The student of the affairs of the
world, however, knows that nearly the
opposite is true that instead of lawyers
having a greater, they have rather a
less share of these qualities than their
fellows. Their training tends to eramp
rather than extend their mental hori-
zon. 1t excludes them from that per-
sonal rough-and- tumble contact with
affairs that is so desirable, renders them
technical rather than practical, and
constitutes them skillful only in making
the worse appear the better cause if it
but represent the large fee. In most
places where the Anglo Saxon race
predomimates there is a strong preju-
dice against electing lawyers to legis-
lative halls for which it would be
very possible to show good reasons if it
were the purpose of this article to enter
the argument. We content ourselves
with stating the facts. In most of the
British colonies layman is generally
given preference at the polls over a
lawyer. THE hired advocate" is a dis
advantage and is almost sure to be
beaten if opposed by capable business
man. In the present British Cabinet
there is not, we believe. one lawyer,
except in the judicial officers. In the
House Of Commons only one member
in ten is Il lawyer, and in most cases he
is only nominally one because knowl-
edge Of the law was made part of his
education. Though the farming inter-
est is vastly more important in the
United States than in England, there
are 1862 agriculturists in the House of
Commons and only u in the House
of Representatives. Commerce and
manufactures are represented by 2S3
members in the former and by only 48
in the latter. 1t cannot be truthfully
said that the House of Commons of
late years has been given to the franz
ing and special laws for the special
benefit of interests predominating in
Parliament. On the other hand it is
obvious that the whole mass of legisla-
ton for special and selfish interests
which now encumbers our statue books,
State and national, grew up under our
bad system of attorney representation.
Wealthy men hire attorneys to do for
them in our legislatures things that
they would be ashamed to do for them
selves. In nine cases out of ten when
a lawyer is anxious to go to Congress he
holds brief on behalf of some private
interest.