The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-10-12

tend with. One need open at random any legal directory to note that there is usu- men and children.
 Tn the light of e careful study of ex- tstins conditions is it difficult to fore cast the near future or hazardous to shall have elapsed the business. even in cities of the fourth rank in population. If not handled by the great trust, title, insurance or fidelity and casualty compa- two to half a dozen firms. each with its large stan of lawyers whose practice has been absorbed? For the count" nr" tioner there will still be an opening, such as it Is, though it is far from improbable g that the operations of the companies will in time be extended even to ..-1 .o-..~.--- districts.
 These facts and the trend of progress of which they give evidence. should in no way discourage any young man who feels impelled to take up the study of this, the noblest of all professions. He should distinctly realize. however, that as a calling law is fast becoming obso- These important statements have been submitted to representative members of the Chicago bar for confirmation or de- nial and they have been requested at the same time to state what in their opinion, are \the indispensable qualifca- tions for a successful law student, espe- cially in view of the shrinkage which. according to M-. Chapin, the law busi- Views of Judge Moran. Former Judge Thomas A. Moran, lec- turer on law and chancery practice in the Kent College of Law, expressed his views of the situation with perfect frank ness as follows:
 T assent to nearly all the statements of MT. Chapin as reported to me. With slight notifications the picture he draws ~(k L. just as we'll for Chicago and other large cities. In fact, he has by no means ex- hausted the subject, for he has not men, tioned the bankrupt law and the consol- idation of great business interests, both of which have withdrawn a large amount of law business from the general prac- titioner. concur with him also in the opinion that, although the country law as we are by the influences that have curtailed our practice, 1t is only ques- ton of time about their being affected to the same extent.
 Mir. Chapin meant that the necessity for legal counsel would ever be any less than 1t Is at the present time, for that would be the exact opposite of the truth. Human wealth Is increasing at an unex- ampled rate. human affairs are becoming more and more complex every day and new legal entanglements are arising on every side. For instance, the so-called tTu5tS nave gwen Tlb6 tO d WUOle WOIiu of new law. So that 1t is no more prob- able that society will be able to get along without lawyers than that 1t will get along without food and drink.
 All that Mir. Chapin means, I sup pose. is that owing to the amalgamation of the legal profession with certain cor porations doing a. correlated business there are not one-half as many lawyers So far as the consolidation of business interests is concerned. l look for a reac. tion. Many of the great aggregations will go to pieces and the lawyers will integration. But the economic redistri- button of the law practice has been inn mensely profitable to those who have brought 1t about and will be more apt to be extended than abandoned.
 Now, with reference to qualifications for the bar, I should say, in the first place. that nc man will make good lawyer who Is not physically sound and strong. If he has dull ears, weak eyes, weak nerves, a weak brain. a weak heart or weak stomach, he will never do for a lawyer. His labors as a student and as a practitioner will impose on him phys ical strain which will, if he is weak, kill him, unless he 1eylects his work. To be good trial laws CT he must also pos sess fairly good personal presence. a strong voice, great powers of endurance and not a little physical courage. Where intellects are balanced the mere physical superiority of the lawyer sometimes d,- cides an important case.
 "In like manner no man will make a good lawyer unless he possesses a more than strong mind By strong mind I mean one that can grasp abstract ideas. that Is not confused by contemplating several objects of thought at the same time. and that can endure prolonged a. tention and ratiocination without suc- cumbinE to fatigue. A good lawyer must be able to read law or pleadings for hours at a time without sore eyes, sleep mess. headache or weariness. He must delight in analyzing filmy and elusive dis functions and in reducing chaos to system and order.
 Tt is indispensable to success that a lawyer should be by nature business man. His business Is the teaching of business men their business. He occupies much the same relation to them that d teacher of mathematics does to his class. If business affairs are distasteful to him or specially difficult for him to compre- bend he is not cut out for lawyer.