The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-03-12
MANY WEAK LAWYERS
But the Hayseed Assembly
is Hostile to Monopoly
lin Learning.
DUNN BILL REpEALER BEATEN
Census Of State Attorneys-Their
Marvellous Annual
Increase.
DUNN BILL REpEALER BEATEN
Specsnlrot tho .Jcrscu Cisu Nears.

TRENTON, March II. 1S96.-At the
House session yesterday afternoon the
lawyers had a symposium, and very freely
expressed themselves on the merits OF
their own profession. It was far from
being a mutual admiration society, and
the point of difference was whether the
Dunn act which allows a person TO Sc
cure the endorsement of FIVE counsellors
which will entitle him to an examination,
and if successful TO admission at the bar.
was a good law. Robertson, the Repuo-
lican leader, introduced a repeater to
the, Dunn act, and the bill came up on
final passage.
Robertson favored his own Dill, OF the
ground that the bar was becoming over
crowded by irresponsible mea and that
the profession was of sufficient Importance
for those who desired to enter i, TO spena
a term of apprenticeship. IN no other
profession is there such latitude allowed
He quoted for instance that no five phy-
sicians came together and elected 10
say whether a citizen was quaiitied to
become d physician and on their recon-
mendat:on was allowed to practice the
science of medicine. while in the case OF q
lawyer, a young man entering the profess
sion of law goes to five friends, and
even whether they believed he had an
aptitude for the profession or not, they
would sign his recommendation. With this
the student would come to Trenton. hay
ing packed his head full of the answers
from year to year by the examiners
These questions are pretty wen known
and students generally study our lae
answers TO them and with TINS seant5
H. = wi ~ orc hofn;sa the ny1 miners NILE.
Robertson thought it was about Time
there should be a change. -,
Assenblyman Scovel opposed the psn
because he thought The Dunn act gave
Door but talented young men a chance
to get INTO the profession. he eXpialnsd
how q man could be employed, during lhs
day and study at night, ana ne Nensureu
the opinion that soma of the brightest
men at the bar were those who had en-
tered the profession in that way.
A~ssemblyman Skinner talked at some
length on the subject, and ne favored the
bill because he thought thar the time
served as an APPRENTICE in a LAWYERS once
was Of great advantage; and that tne
young man woul learn more law and more
pract ce by such an apprenticeship tnan
could be extracted from law BOOKS
Assemblyman Queen explained that the
Dunn act was passed for the peneht OF
one man, meaning ex-Congressman john
r.. Dunn, of Elizabeth. but that hundreds
Of other men had taken advantage OF
ii, until now there We're too many weak
lawyers.
who is a farmer, thought the Dunn act
a very, good one. 1t made lawyers
easy. gave the people Of the State lots
of LAWYERS, and had no doubt cheapened
litigation by the fact that there was
sharp competition in the profession Ii
it turned out bad lawyers, he said. those
people needing the services OF a lawyer
Could avoid the bad ones and go to the
good ones. He then turned to Assembly
skinner with the remark:-"The
gentleman from Essex is AVA up in
me band wagon now, n he certainly
should not make an attempt to shut others
out"
Assemb1yrnan Lloyd was of the opinion
thar the bill was in the interests or
suitors. He thought there were too many
know how to handle the cases pleaded IN
their hands and the suitors were the
Assembiyrnan Reed took up the argument
in this strain. and said he was in favor
of letting the Dunn act remain, for II
had been pacuniarly advantageous TO
nfm. He explained that he. had re-
iginallv been entrusted to sorne OF these
irefficient lawyers by their friends.
The Robertson Repeater did not pass.
The vote was II for it and 81 against it.
ri is estimated tina there are LOO law
vers in the State Of New Jersey, and
the passage of the Dunn act the
number of admissions each year has IN
Der of admissions before the act was
ragged. the number of admissions for
fhe past ten years have averaPed fifty
four. but In the last Two years there has
heen a notable increase. In 1895 the
admitted was nearly 100.