The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-07-02

Religious literature is the expression
Of a peoples aspirations; poetry is tbs
pOrtraiture of its sentiment; but law
is the application Of human notions OF
right and wrong, of punishment ant
| remedial justice between sovereign and
subject, between man and man. He
! who masters this vast subject has made
himself acquainted with the course OF
| history. ancient and modern. He VII
be more than an historian in the Ordi-
nary acceptance OF that term. He
will be struck by the evolution Of the
ideas of justice and equity in the pro
greSs of time and in the face OF diff
/ ficulties. He will see men eminent In
/ this profession. jealous for the cause
of right above every other considera-
ton. The growth of law, the evoiu-
ton of those prescribed rules of civil
conduct, and the upbuilding of that
punitive and remedial Jurisprudence
thereon, are the most significant facts
of history or social philosophy. Error
and wrong have been tolerated but the
persistent increase on the side OF right
has been the beacon of promise. for the
| future Law is the science OF justice
and many are its eminent votaries who
have followed it in that sense.
The profession offers inducements the
like of which are offered by no other
in our country. 1t offers hope TO the
ambitious, standing and competence 20
the successful, seductive calling for
the youthful orator. 1t offers Oppor-
tunities for the man who is willing TO
work and wait, for the man who courts
intellectual controversy, for the man
who delights in mental strategy and
warfare. 1t calls for all that tends TO
the highest intellectual development
of the individual. 1t calls for work,
for ingenuity, for wit for originality
and an ever-preSent mental vigilance.
Every avenue Of knowledge contributes
to a lawyers success. Every seni-
ment of pathos, Of unavenged justice,
of the fear of defeat, of the aggrand-
izement of victory, may be at his COM
mand. In the very nature of things,
all else being equal, the successful law
yer will be the intellectual inferior OF
any profession. An old lawyer once
said: Anybody can preach, as he has
no one to follow him."
So much for the intellectual side, but
what of the moral side? Webster said
"An eminent lawyer cannot be a dis
honest man. Tell me a man is dis
honest. and l will answer he is no law
yer. He cannot be because he is care
less and reckless of justice; the law is
not in his heart is not the standard
and rule of his conduct" From the
nature of the profesSion-science Of
justice-it is most likely true that the
most eminent, those most thoroughly
imbued with the basic principles of
iuridical science are less apt to be dis
honest as lawyers. than had they
chosen some other calling. 1t is true
that the record of crimes on the part of
lawyers is a record 10 their praise. 1t
is true at the same time that the Oppor-
tunity for defalcation and the betrayal
of trust IS the best of all professions
save those acting in purely fiduciary
capacity.
So far the case against the lawyer
has not been made out There are
shysters in the profession it is true.
Men who are not in any true sense law
yerS Men who make what little !
Of law they have a means !
TO defraud their fellow man. Men who |
rob their clients under the guise of fees. |
Such men would rob a train or a trav
eler but for the fear Of consequences.
These are but the accidents of the pro
feSSiOn. So far as the mass of the |
profession is concerned the impeach-
nent by Junius Jr. has not been made
good. Had Junius inquired if the
American bar shows signs of degen-
sracy he would have asked a more sig
lificant question
The country has become commercial
Zed in the late acceptance of that term.
This is q, commercial age and the COM
nercial methods have affected every
walk Of life. 1t has tended on the one
land to avarice and the undue consid-
ration of money. Along with other
hingS it has commercialized, In a mea-
ure, the law profession. In this is
of a measure of degeneration.
n days past it was regarded as unpro-
essiOnal 10 in any way solicit law bus
ness, but through the use of collection
gencieS commercial business has been
Openly in many large
tiles business is solicited through
gents. Corporation business is large
= given for or through Influence"
n the interest Of the corporations, eSpe-
tally transportation, light and water
lawyers become lobbyists
nd lend themselves Do all sorts of en-
arprises to influence legislation and to
efeat justice. Franchises are bought
Ike merchandise and largely through ,
he aid Of lawyers. Hardly a city in ]
be nation Of any size but has had evil I
ence Of purchased municipal legisla-
on engineered by some lawyer. The '
me was when men in congress would (
efuse to vote, explaining their remote 7
oSSble interest in the pending legisla
on. Now men sit in congress and vote {
n matters affecting the corporate in
erestS of the corporation for which
ley are the paid attorneys. The ira
itional dignity OF the profession has
/ many ways been lowered by CON-
In addition 10 making
he profession the means of mere =
loney getting and lowering the odd :
me ethics Of the bar. it hss resulted | ?
! lending some OF the acutest OF legal
Itellect % damnable purposes-to the Z
ID that the aim and spirit Of law shall =