Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-01-04
BRILLIANT
BAR BANQUET.
The Fourteenth Anniversary of the New
Mexico Bar Association Was a Mem
Orable Affair.

kind of men tina the territory needs.
1t is about time that New Mexico be
cut loose from the apron strings Of a
territorial form Of government. 1t Is
tired of them, and can take care of it.
self. Il am for statehood first, last, and
all the time, no matter what admins
tration gives it to us. Gentlemen, I pro-
pose a toast to the state OF New Mex
leo"
THE JUDICIARY"
POSTMASTER Twitchell introduced
Chief Justice Mills by referring to the
adage that the mills of the gods grind
slowly, but that this Mills administers
the law with expedition, as is shown By
the batch of thirteen unlucky prisoners
sent to the p~enitentiary recently by
him from Las Vegas. Justice Mills, in
response to the toast, THE Judiciary
said that according to Bacon, Judges
ought to be more learned than witty.
more sedate than plausible" He de-
scribed the three courts in the terri
tory which are actively engaged In
hearing general Observation-Disclosures of
the peace, district courts and the su-
preme court. The justices of the peace
are virtually dictators in their several
precincts, and comparatively few cases
are appealed from them to the distIic.
court. Lawyers have generally learned
when they bring a suit in a justice OF
the peace court to have the justice of
the peace draw up the complaint, for a
justice of the peace never quashes Il
complaint he has drawn up himself
Judge Mills, in a reminiscent mood, told
wittily of a number of Justices of the
peace whom he knows, and who are
characters in their way. The judge
then referred to the variety of cases
heard in the district court, from petty
misdemeanors to capital crimes, from
cases involving a pittance to those like
the Elephant Butte dam case, involv-
ing the welfare of large districts. In
no part of this broad land judges do
more work or see more of human IA
ture than in New Mexico. A judge
must be extremely careful, for a foul
sentence may do more harm than many
foul examples, as one only pollutes the
stream, while the other pollutes the
source from which it flows. One trou-
Bile judges have to face is that attor.
neys sometimes mistake their remedies
There is a remedy for every wrong
Lawyers should take example from the
negro who, after futilely praying
Lord, send a turkey to this nigger,'
prayed, Lord, SEND me to the turkey
And behold, the Lord did. In speaking
of the supreme court, Judge Mills said
that correct decisions and pure judg-
ments are the voice of God speaking
through men. The real throne Of the
country is i'm the supreme court. Just
laws and true policy are one. To the
credit of the supreme court of New
Mexico, it a be said that of all the
appeals which have been taken from 1t,
only three Of them have been reverse
by the supreme court of the United
States. II cannot Imagine amy judge
doing what he does not believe to be
right" said he. Judge Mills paid a trib-
ute to the bar, which has done so much
to aid the bench in giving correct de
cisions. He said to his knowledge nc
reputable lawyer YER sought to mislead
him or was discourteous to him. He
warned the bar to keep up its standard
for the admission of candidates, lest
the association become decrepit and
die.
THE BAR"
Colonel Twltchell introduced the mex
speaker, Hon. T. B. Catron, as the rec
ognized leader of the bar, and with one
exception, the oldest practitioner in
the toast, THE Bar" and did 80 elo-
Quently and with wit and humor. The
lawyer is the connecting link between
the law and the people, said Mr.. Cat
ron. He helps to make the LAW. he helps
to execute 1t. He leads or goes with his
client among the ~intricacies and diff .
culties that surround him. If he would
succeed he must apply himself, he must
understand his Ease and the bearing of
the law in connection with the facts in
the case. Every judge who admins
ters the law has been at one time a
member Of the bar. In order to succeed
fha 1Qyyvaa> MI ,Sf ho yya iaopAIaooL, IN, Nh n
Judge. The bar Is the superior in hon
esty, integrity and intelligence to any
other portion OF the human a The
Jesuits, powerful as they are, are but
insignificant in power to the bar when
1t acts in harmony. No country could
wlthstan nd the wishes of the bar or pre-
vent what 1t seeks to accomplish when
1t acts together. 1t can overturn any
government or revolutdonize any sys.
tenn when acting in harmony. There
has never been a legislature nor a leg
islator who did not receive his inspira-
tion from a lawyer. Lawyers are re.
membered when Judges are forgotten.
Themistocles. Denosthenes, Cicero,
caesar, Cato, were members Of the bar,
and they are remembered, though the
judges before whom they pleaded are
forgotten and unknown. From the time
of Moses to the time of the dawn of
liberty in England the name Of not a
judge Is remembered, unless 1T IL
as a member OF the bar. The greatest
amount of civil liberty exists where
are most members Of the bar.
and where they WELD the greatest in
duence. In every country where laws
axist and are respected, even under a
despotic government, there is liberty
% be found, for liberty is found solely
Upon the law and the enforcement of
law. The lawyer has the grandest
Of all professions, and the most de.
ightful of all avocations. The bar has
lone more to bring New Mexico for