Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1895-06-12
WISE SAWS ABOUT LAW.

A Lively Talk by Justice Brewer to Mary
land University Graduates.
Hon. David JOSIAH Brewer, associate
Justice of the United States Supreme
Court, Monday night, June 3rd, made
an address to the graduates of the
Maryland University, law department,
at the twenty-fifth annual commence
ment.
The exercises were held at Music
Hall in the presence of large gather
ing of the people, including many
ladies.
Justice Brewer prefaced his address
with an allusion to a recent topic of
great national interest. He said: ut
is almost as hot to night as the recent
controversy over the income tax, but
can assure you the discussion will
not be so long" He continued with
an address filled with praise for the
profession of law and an exposition of
the qualities of the successful lawyer.
Some of the lighter veins of thought
which ran through the address were
happily expressed and were quickly
caught and appreciated by the audi
ence. Among other things, Justice
Brewer said:
st is blessed thing to be lawyer,
right kind, and take it no one is per-
unless he is of the right kind. 1t is
the rule of our profession to work hard,
live we'll and die poor. And to such a
life | most cordially invite you.
"Never sign your own name as plain
tiff or defendant, but only as counsel.
lone class of persons would as soon
expect to find baby that meyer cried,
a woman that never talked, Shylock
loaning money without interest, Nor
mon advocating celibacy, a gentleman
without a cent opposed to an income
tax, or candidate for the presidency
hurrying to express himself on the
silver question, as an honest lawyer.
Il admit that lawyers do not support
themselves by planting potatoes or
blowing corn, though there is many an
attorney who would bless himself and
bless the bar and bless all of us if he
struck his name off the court rolls and
entered it on the books of an agricul-
tural society.
1--WE are not, as profession, physi-
cally speaking, like Pharaoh's lean
kline. Those pictures which Dickens,
that prince of slanderers, and others
like him, draw and call attorneys are
nothing but atrOclOuS llbels.
From time immemorial, size physi-
cal, as well as mental, has been consid-
cred one of the qualifications of a
judge. Justice and corpulence seem
to dwell together. There appears to
be mysterious and inexplicable con-
nection between legal lore and large
abdomens. l do not know why this is,
unless it be that in order that justice
may not easily be moved by the foibles
and passions OF men she requires as
firm and as broad foundation as
possible.
George Washington's Ratchet is not
popularity regarded as one of the heir
looms of the legal family. l can say
that for over thirty years have been
a judge, and of the many thousands of
lawyers who have appeared before me
l have never found but single one
upon whose word l could not depend.
"While other professions and avoca-
tions are constantly putting on striped
clothes, how seldom does any lawyer
respond to warden's roll CALL
1.-The business man needs us to draw
his contracts, the laborer to collect his
wages, the doctor to save him from the
consequences of his mistakes, the
preacher to compel the payment of his
salary, the wife to obtain a divorce and
the widow to settle her husbands es
tate. The people need us in the Legis
lature and in Congress to hold the of
fees and draw the salaries. Every
convention and public meeting needs
us to fill the chair and occupy comfort
able seats on the platform. Every
man accused of crime needs us to es
tablish his innocence through the YER
dict Of twelve of his peers. In short
it may be said of us, in the language
of the itinerant vendor of soap, every
body needs u.s. and, like that very
useful article, nothing tends to keep
society SO clean as the presence of a
lawyer
blot from American history the
lawyer and all that he has done and
you will rob it of more than half it's
glory. Remove from our society to
day the lawyer, with the work that he
does, and you will leave that society
as dry and shifting as the sands thai
sweep over Sahara"