The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-03-14


Of young men are compelled to go TO
eastern institutions in order 10 obtain a
knowledge of the principles of govern
ment and the science OF law The best
citizenship is obtained when the people
are acquainted with the science or gov
eminent and a knowledge of law is in
dispensable to a proper education II the
opportunities for acquiring this knowi-
edge can be obtained at home II win prove
of inestimable value to the people OF
Utah. l cordially indOrse Professor
Whiteley's plan. w. H. KING.
In the next place it may be said that
the required higher standard of legal ef-
ficiency sufficiently justifies the effort 20
establish for Utah a school OF law. For
whilst on the one hand Salt Lake City
is distinctiverv honored by jurists of the
first rank and by lawyers who are mas
ters in legal scholarship, yet on the other
hand it is frankly admitted that quite a
number of Utah lawyers, though they
have crossed the DOnS assinorum of the
bar examination. frequently find them
selves on very uncertain ground-mayo De
not so much from natural fault as from
misfortune Since it is in law as in other
professions inadequate training Is certain
to lead TO subsequent confusion Scotch
miStS are quite as often subjective as OBJ
jective and mind clouds are by no means
of infrequent occurrence
You will pardon me If ] cite one authen-
tic case. l could easily give more than
few. A young English miner came here
a few years APPROXIMATELY he was
ton. He had crossed the bridge of the
three RS-could spell potato, work the
rule of three and knew the earth was not
a fiat. Shortly after his arrival he be-
came a teacher. but finding his ambition
too seriously trammeled he turned his at
tention to the study of law After q
years private reading he baffied the skill
of his legal examiners: but some square,
headed dlgnitary doubted the ring Of the
metal. So in open court the candidate
was riddled through with the grape shot
of legal questions Again he bafiled both
judge and jury. crossed the RubicOn in
triumph and became Utah lawyer. and
at the present time holds the distin-
guished position of prosecuting attorney
in a southern county. An instance surely
of legal, or illegal development that
would make a genuine Blackstone sneeze
for a week. Professional gentlemen in
this city have repeatedly expressed 10 me
their desire to see a higher standard for
entrance examination
No great faculty or profession. whether
of medicine or law. can afford to be in
different to the qualifications of its mem
bers. Happily. well trained powers with
the sovereignty of knowledge are steadily
crowding out the empirical forms of ad-
venturous practice.
1t is the ministry OF science to scatter
the clouds of ignorance and TO clear the
fields of human activity for the educated
worker.
OUR METHODS.
Our pole star of work is TO take the
best of what is old and the best of what
is new. We are ancient enough 10 admire
Blackstone and modern enough to appre-
ciate Kent We are English enough TO
be the devotees of common Law ana Am
erican enough 10 defend the wisdom Of
code procedure.
1t is a matter of supreme pleasure to
us to work on the lines of the great east
ern school OF. law. for they combine the
good of both the English and German
jurists; they. give an equal care TO his
Yfsf 10 and nil 10
Holmes, in his terse way, mas well said:
THE history of what the law has been
is necessary to the knowledge of what
the law is. and with equal ciearneSS the
scholarly Austin says:
Unless the history and philosophy Of
law were vel understood no good code
could possibly be constructed; and unless
those branches OF knowiedge continued
to be studied a good code even when con-
structed. would intailibiE deteriorate.
We most strongly hold that a clear
knowledge OF the fundamental principles
of law is absolutely paramount. Nothing
can take its place: it is the only sure key
for efficient work What is the essential
verify of law? We grant the question is
as trite as II is relavent: nevertheless it
is the glory OF Fundamental principles to
have a perennial freshness. We find re-
statements of first principles all the way
down the legal lines. from the Roman
jurists to the American federalist We
may answer the question with Aristotle
dictum-the nature of thing is best seen
in the end II is expected TO realize, or in
words more freely English. the ideal of
thing best explains its nature. In this
sense we may affirm that law is a body or
system of rules for the government of
human conduct. Such rules as rest on
the logical distinctions and are derived
from clearly defined principles of right
and wrong.
These principles. when eSpounded in
logical sequence. furnish the subject mat
ter of legal text books. ana We regard this
a sumcient reason for the use of text
books, and so far we have made use of
the Horn book series of text books. They
have very original and distinctive fea-
lures and specially written for college
work They are already adopted by some
81 Of the American schools % law.
But at the same time, when we study
law as science, we shall best md II in
the cases rather than IN the text books.
Our method is TO combine the case form
with the text book form of work We
cannot too earnestly emphasize this car
dinal difference:
The text books give us knowledge. the
cases give US power to use that knOwl-
edge in the calculation of the problems
that confront us.
You viii kindly pardon me if / stay
with this subject sufficiently so at least
to make myself understood. l do this as
an educator. We have right to demand,
the public has a right TO demand of any
educational system not only a reasonable
knowledge of facts relative to the sub
iects taught but a right 70 demand the
power TO deal with the problems of life
as they arise. In other words. the i'm
Dartation of knowledge is secondary, the
power of self-reliant thought is supreme:
ii must be attained or there is no educa-
ton in the proper sense of the word.
Allow one Of your two boys TO become
n Veritable walking encyclopedia, and
help the other to self-thinking-to a
trained judgment-start them both in the
struggle of life. with or without money;
both may live. but only one Will succeed
The thinker will be the master anyhow.
PERHAPS there is no other profession to
which this doctrine is SO applicable as TO
the profession of law
In the legal profession both the lSnowl-
edge and the power of il must be attained.
We think this can be done by the adoD-
ton Of the two methods-text book law
and case law. Beginning with the first
and as soon as practicable handing in the