Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-16
TITLES FOR LAWYERS.
The One Learned Profession Which IL
without Handle.


at has always seemed strange to me that
the legal profession. which is of the
foremost of the learned professions. may
bestow upon-its members no distinctive title,
a.; can the medical, for instance" said a
member of the District bar to a Star re-
porter.
"a man came in my office the other day
and handed me his card which bore two
or three initial letters at the end of his
name. He was a compounder of drugs:
rot druggist in the sense that he owned
a drug store, though he might have oWend
one, bat he was licensed to put up prescrip
tons, and therefore entitled to place GER
tain distinctive letters after his name.
"a man upon graduating in medicine is
authorized to place after his name the let
tiers ND which signify that he is doc
tor of medicine, and the public by courtesy
and long-fixed and establish d custom calls
him doctor which is distinction above
that of the average man in life. To call a
physician Mr. would be grounds almost for
a duel, would be taken as an insult and
certainly a slight. Physicians are very
sCrupulous in applying their titles to one
another. and in a hospital, when half a
dozen physicians are together, the title
Dr. is applied so often that it may be
scooped up fairly.
deny that the profession Of the law is not
as learned and as ancient as that OF med-
cine. lawyer should have some distinc-
tive title which would be recognized by the
public and by law land be susceptible of
protection by the law as Is the title Of NJ. D.,
which Is an offense to assume II the holder
be not legally entitled thereto. But law
yer, until he ascends to the bench. is SIM
ply Mr. like any man who can neither
read nor write.
Even veterinary surgeons assume the
title of Dr. civil engineers may place the
Initials C. E. after their names; dentists
A. =. Al 20 ~ r.
itials Dds the calling Of a minister Is
made distinctive by the prefix Rev. and
upon the comforting of certain degrees the
recipient may be and is saluted as DR.. In
short, all of the actually learned profess
sicns and some professions which are not
learned, bestow upon their members a dis
t;nctive title except my own.
1.-The legal profession Is itself to blame
II should years and years ago have adopt
ed title such az for example only Judge
thrown around it the safeguarding protec-
ton of the law, of which its members are
the makers and constructors, prosecuted all
men who attempted to use it without L.
cense and cherished 1t in a general way as
zealously and carefully as does the
medical profession its badge of distinction
In this way the so-called shysters could be
rooted out and exterminated as thoroughly
as the medical profession suppresseS Spu-
rious practitioners of medicine, and de-
cided tone would be impaired to the pro-
fession at large.
Inc governing the entrance
into the legal profession would be drawn
tighter and made more difficult, its member
ship considerably lessened in all probability
and every man when he was disposseased
from government position would be estop-
ped from hanging out his shingle as an at
torney.' to the material profit of the public
a. large.
"The great difficulty would be at this time
in deciding upon the proper designation
If it had been determined in Blackstone s
| day it would have been too firmly fixed now
! to admit of question. 1t Is quite likely
| he wever, that the learned profession of the
| law, having existed for untold centuries
without a title, will have to continue for
all time to come to struggle along under
! the indefinite designation of Mr."