Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1893-06-23
SO SAYS MIR. PECK TO THE LAW
STUDENTS.
Plain, Homely Common Sense and
What 1t Means in the Legal Pro
fession-The Crank the Poorest Pos
sible Lawyer-Industry and Learning
High in Importance.

! try condition of the weather the at
tendance was unusually large, the floor
Of the chamber being nearly filed.
The speaker was introduced by Mr..
! George Ingersoll, the president of the
I graduating class. The address was
warmly received.
In opening Mr.. Peck sail: 1T is
Il pleasant thing to come back to the
old home. Though many years have
passed away since l ceased to be Il
citizen Of Wisconsin, have not yet out
grown the pride which belongs, Of COM
mon right, to all within her borders. |
! bring YOU the SalutatiOn of Il returning
W. nderer; one who cannot say that
he is sorry for his pilgrimage to am
other commonwealth, but who is thank
full that fortune, both in the old days
and in the new, cast his lot in Il goodly
land and among Il goolly people
Continuing Mr. Peck said: 1T seems
like Il dream that L have reached the
age when young lawyers ask me to let
them into the secrets Of experience,
and to give them counsel upon the
career which they have planned for
themselves. All of you, | presume,
have some definite purposes for the flu
| ture | hope that | shall say nothin g
to disturb your happy confidence, yet,
if [ direct your minds Inward, some Of
| YOU may see ghosts and ScarecrOWS you
had not thought of. Looking into your
| faces, | cannot repreSS Il panS when
| thlnk OF the mistakes you will make,
mistakes sad and foolish, but inevitable.
To-day, in the language of our re-
yered chief magistrate, it il a condition
and not IL theory that ConfrontS you.
| The gates are swinging open, and YOU
are about to enter the enclosure that
separates the bar from the laity. /
will speak to YOU practical things,
though the word practical is one of
| the most dangerous in our vocabulary.
l wonder how many of you really com
prehend the responsibilities you are as
suming? Practicing law is no dilit-
tante occupation. He ought to be Il
! brave man who dareS to accept its bur
dens and its responsibilities l dare
say you are fully impressed with all
| this, but, at the same time, you are not
much troubled by misgivings. Doubts
are the clouds of afternoon. 1t is the
glorious privilege of youth to be brave,
and it is we'll that it should be so.
Professional distinction is the ambition
of almost every young lawyer. Grant
that there is a selfish motive at the bot
tom OF his hopes and longings, never
! theleSs it is right that it should exist.
Without personal aspiration there can
| be no progress. The wrath Of man
shall praise Him. saith the scripture;
and so it is that out Of anger and sell
fiShneSs, and greed and cruelty, the
! glorious structure Of our Jurisprudence,
fair and beautiful in its proportions,
majestic in its strength, and enduring
in it's fiImneSS, has been upbuilt. Am
bition is not to be flung away, but cher
iShed with Il constant watchfulneSS
| which Will not let it crush out other
and nobler passions.
I'm Il large sense every man must
sail by his own lights The play of cir
cumStanceS enter into all cur plans Of
! life and vet. instead of drifting help
| leSSly, we may try to control our des-
| TIMES, and by the trying 1 am sure bet
! ter lives may be lived and better re-
suits secured.
I after many years of observation
and experience I have reached the be-
! lief that the most useful quality, the
most powerful influence in winning
professional distinction, is Judgment
the plain, homely quality, common
sense. Next to integrity, or rather
with integrity, common sense is the
lawyers mont useful weapon. 1t is
not a quality, but an aggrega ton of
qualities. It is the equilibrium Of all
faculties. What does it do for the
lawyer? 1t enables him to look straight
forward to the result before it is an
nounced, and to wait in patience for
the rose and laurel of victory. With
it men of very ordinary abilities may
become distinguished and successful
members of the profession. Without
it no man can be a truly great lawyer
| Let me warn you against that fail
ing that is the antithesis of common
| sense eccentricity The poorest pos
Sible lawyer, if | may use the term, is
the crank. Don't imagine yourself a
genius. Perhaps you are one, but it is
better that you should not know it.
/ sum up what / have to say upon
/ the first requisite of professional sue
cess, judgment, by appealing to you
to cultivate it with all your heart and
mind and soul
! The second quality which the prac-
ice OF law demands, as condition Of
success is industry Work is the truest
! tonic for feeble souls. The worker
| wins. In more senses than one, evolu
| ton is the survival of the fittest.
/ Il name as the third essential to a
good lawyer, learning. Having all
I these qualities, failure is impossible.
The true lawyers character is beauti-
ful trinity judgment, industry, kIowl-
! edge
Then followed detailed directions as
: TO what TO read. and why each class
| of legal literature should bear perusal.
| 'Some truths are self-evident." con-
| tinued Mr.. Peck, "and Therefore in a
certain sense, it is almost an insult to
Ia young lawyer, ardent. hopeful and
ambitious TO advise him not to be a
, rascal. yet temptations Will surely
come. You viii find by and by that
your reputation is measured. very
largely. by the estimate in which YOU
are held by other lawyers Be scr1pu-
lous in keeping all your obligations
with them.