The Irish standard., 1897-06-12
The President of the University Of
Minnesota,
DELIVERS A FINE ADDRESS
On 1.-THE Legal Profession as a
Conservative Force"
A POLITICAL GERRYMANDER

Is Scathingly Denounced In Burn->
ing Language.
President Northrop delivered the fol<
lowing admirable address the other day
before the senior class Of the law de-
partment of the State University of Min,
nesota. His subject was entitled "The
Legal Profession as Conservative
Force in Our Republic" Among those
present were Chief Justice Start, Justicd
Mitchell, Justice Canty, Justice Collins!
Of the supreme bench; Judge William,
Lochren, late United States Pension
Commissioner, and now of the fedcraF
bench, and Judge Stephen Mahoney, one.
of the regents. President Northrops
mastery address was filled with patr1ot--
ism, as the following extracts will
show: l.
There is in this country altogether tod
much unfairness in legislation of par
ty character; and against this the legal
profession ought to set it's face as a
f1nt-not merely against what Is TECH
nically unconstitutional, but against
what is unfair and wrong, and alien to-
that Justice in whose temple they serve.
No legislation Of this class Is more dan
gerous than that which seeks to give a.
party undue power by an unfair division
of state into congressional and legisla-'
tive districts, of which we already navqF
an alarming number of examples. 1t
will not do for respectable gentlemen
to look on while these things are done
and merely shrug their shoulders and
smile, content that the rescality shall
go on provided it works for the advan-
tage of their party and they themselves
are recognized as merely looking on; It
will not do for these respectable gen.
tlemen to cry out like Macbeth, when
the full enormity of the deed appears,
"Thou canst not say did it." YOU can
not innocently stand by and see mur-
der committed in cold blood, and neither
try to prevent nor punish it. The GER
rymander is the deadliest assassins stab
aimed at the heart of justice that has
ever been devised. It is the most gigan-
tic Of all grand larcenies the larceny Of
peoples rights. No matter where it
exists or when or how 1t began, no
matter whether it be venerable with an,
tiquity and free from original taint of
injustice, as in Connecticut, or w11ether
it be fresh in it's infamy, as in states
where it has just appeared, let it by,
all means be swept out of existence
everywhere and be buried in an eternal
grave. This nation can live and pros
per only by justice; and this justice fer
bids the accidental majority today In
any state to gag and bind for all time
the accidental minority. We imperil,,
the good of all when we favor or con-
nive at such deadly wrongs as perhaps
only revolutions can repair or avenge.l
No man can foretell the future, but in +
the light of what we have already
passed through in some parts of our
country, and, with the rapid change in
population by immigration and emigra-,
tion, what we are liable to encounter
in any part Of our country, political cy-i
clones that sweep everything before
them; storm clouds, filled with the
strangest combination of elements, be-
fore which no party can stand, In view
Of this We can see the imperative neces-
sity of guarding in every way possible |:
the Justice of our country. If the ele-
ments Of discomfort ever get control, /.
you may be sure that the 'villainy you I,
teach them they will execute, and It
shall 60 hard, but" like Shylock, they
will better the instruction."
It would be grave mistake, how
ever, to suppose that any considerable !.
number of our people desire to subvert 4
our institutions. Organized labor may,
under the pressure of distress, In its !;
cropping for relief, seize upon measures. Il
that seem to promise we'll. but that IN
reality are incompatible with the funda-a
mental principles of justice and OIL
economic wisdom as we'll. But this q L
not because organised labor wishes toi
destroy our institutions, but merely bel
cause It does not for the moment seeI
what the entire results Of the propose2
measures would be. Organized laborI
wants Just what every good eiti1eni
wants, that which is best for the cOans3
try. The trouble is not less to IND 6dt1
what that is than I'd get It.
The power Of the people under our ky
tenn of government to change our IaN
and our institutions alike, without
| Violent revolution, i5 rnqusst
". en- under the most unfavorablS 4
mander that could IS devised. shstsgt
not legislature In the country
the wage-earnefs could not