The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-09-27
BAR ASSOCIATIONS WORK.

The removal of the bar association of
the city of New York into the elegant
and commodious building just complet-
ed for it's future home, which Shows
in it's architecture the influence Of the
white City" suggests a considera-
ton Of what a powerful influence for
good the united bar Of any city may
be in furthering good government.
when 1T rises to the ideal of the profess
sion and puts into effective practice
its ethics. Whatever of mistrust of
lawyers exists in the popular mind is
solely due to themselves, and that they
can remove the cause of this distrust
and replace it with public confidence
is shown by the career Of the bar asso
citation of the metropolis since, under
the initiative of Ti1den and Evarts. it
was formed in the closing years Of the
SOS. 1t was Tilden who gave the key
note to the movement when, at the
meeting called to form it in 1870. he
said:
II the bar is to be merely a mode of
maKlng money, making 1t in the most con-
venlent way possible, but making 1t at all
hazards. then the bar is degraded If the
bar Is to be merely an institution that seeks
10 win causes and to win them by back door
access to the judiciary. then it is not only
degraded, but 1t is corrupt. IF the bar will
do its duty to its profession the bar can do
everything else. 1t can have reformed con-
stltutions, 1t can have reformed judiciary. it
can have the administration OF Justice made
pure and honorable. and can restore the iu-
dietary and the bar until it shall once mora
De, as 1t formerly was, an honorable and eIe-
waited calling
Not only the bar but the bench it.
self had fallen into disrepute when the
movement for it's regeneration was
thus begun. Fisk and Gould PLAYED
with both as gamblers play with cards.
Who has not read with a blush for
the American bar and judiciary that
shameful story Of the Erie railway.
how eminent counsel aided the two
wreckers in their schemes. and how
the Judges were their mere pupnets
used to make their robberies secure be-
hind the DEGREES of courts? No more
scandalous story is written on the
pages Of the history of our bar and
judiciary than are those on which is
recorded the story Of Erie. IT was 70
this condition that Tilden and his as
soclates addressed themselves, and
they began it by renovating the bar
itself, by forming an association to re-
store and enforce the ethics of the pro-
fession and to bring their united in
nuence to bear in purifying both
bench and bar. The impeachment Of
Cardozo and McCunn by a COMMITTEES
of the association followed, and Bar
nard only escaped their fate by A
prompt resignation A committee was
formed to take jurisdiction Of COM
plants against members of the bar,
and no name was too great to be ex
empt from a summons to an examina-
ton and defense. 1t will be recalled
that Charles OConnor was brought to
bar for alleged extortion in his charges
for services rendered Mrs Forrest in
her suit for divorce, charges from
which the great lawyer came out com
pletely indicated.
But the most signal instance and the
most valuable one, showing what a
bar association can dc, was in its as
sault on Maynard. It's great value was
in the evidence it afforded that such
an association, so motived and SO act
ing, had removed the cloud of popular
mistrust, and was sustained by the
public in it's efforts against the most
powerful political machine that ever
dominated any state. Maynard, as as
sistant attorney general, had abstract
ed the corrected returns from Duchess
county on which the election of a SEN
ator depended, and, with 1t, the con-
troll by the Democrats of the senate
and the pending senatorial election. He
sat with the canvassing board, and
not only did not inform it that the cor
rected return had been received. but
he advised them to count the fraudu-
lent return. The bar association in
yestigated the affair by a committee
all but two of whom were Democrats.
They unanimously found him guilty.
and the association attempted to secure
his removal by the legislature This
failed because the machine that had
profited by his fraud controlled it.
David B. Hill obtained the senatorship
as the beneficiary of Maynard's crime.