The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-06-30
A Splendid Address Delivered by
 Hon. Thomas G. Jones.
AS PRESIDENT BAR ASSOCIATION
Interesting Resume Of Noteworthy Changes in LegiS- latiOn by State and Government ---Detailed
 Statement of Important Alabama Acts.

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 The following is the address of Hon Thos. G. Jones, President of the Ala bama Bar Association, delivered at tn, opening of the annual meeting on Fri day, June 18th: x
 Annual Address by the President Fellow Memebers of the State Bar As.
 sociation:
 Unavoidably absent at the last an. nual meeting, 1 now avail myself 0i the first opportunity to thank the As sociation for it's kindness to me. Ar unsolicited election to the presidency Of this Association. which has neer held by so many distinguished men, is one ot the highest honors our profes- sion can bestow, and am deeply grate. ful for it.
 Since our last meeting five members of this body, distinguished alike in public and private life, have passed away. It would be work of love to pause, and here pay tribute to them but that will be more fittingly done by committees, as is our custom, in the memorial pages devoted to the lives and charac cters of our dead.
 This Association has been in exist ence for nearly a quarter of century. AA IL hdo IiOl ddl us lOuuu- CTS desired, it has nevertheless been a great conservative force in Alabama. . Fixing as 1t does in a large measure the standard of a profession, which of necessity enters so largely in public and private affairs, its power for i'll or good is necessarily vast. When it first began to recommend Legislation, 1t had to encounter many prejudicies which the ignorant and suspicious have always entertained against the profess sion. It took timhe to overcome these obstacles, and to induce the public to accept the Association, as a disinterest- ed adviser.
 Those who pass statutes and those who expound them, are not the only lawmakers. The many and valuable papers written by members of this As- sociation in the past twenty four years have. and will continue to have. wide influence in bettering our jurispru- dence. The Association has, killed many bad measures. and caused enact- ment of many wise statutes. s4
 The weak part in the work of the Association has been It's inability, in most instances, to bring to legal con- demnation those members of the bar who have been guilty of ufIeofthy practices. Its committees have no power to summon and swear witnesses. They cannot justly proceed on hearsay or idle rumor. investigation in some recent cases has been baffled by the unwilingness of parties residing out of the State, to whom reparation had been made or promised, to give evidence upon which prosecution could be safely based. Happily these cases are few. The most powerful corrective. Of such evils, is the stern determination of the Association, and other members of the bar, to ostracise those whose methods bring reproach upon the rro- fession.
 The Supreme Court Is overworked, and without any. fault of its members, cannot keep up with its business. To what extent changes in our Judicial system may be expected from the Con- stitutional Convention Is difficult to forecast. as the Committee on that de- partment has not yet reported. In. view of the dieinclination of it's mem bers to create new salaried officers for any purpose whatever, it is not be- lieved the plan some times discussed, of having an intermediate court of sp- peals for the relief of the Supreme Court will be entertained. The cniy practical plan seems to be an increase temporary or permanent, of the number of its judges. The whole influence of the Association should be united in an earnest effort to relieve the con- gested docket of our highest court.
 have carefully noted all the statutes found in our Supreme Court Library. Alarge number of States have had no session of their law.maklng body since our last annual meeting, and in some of them the printed acts have not been published and distributed. In the dis charge of my duty I now call your at- l tention "to noteworthy changes in leg islative matters of general interest in inc several States, and in Congress in lhe preceding year.
 Alabama.
 The most important legislation of the late General Assembly was that pro-