The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-06-18

By the thoughtful courtesy Of the county commissioners, with the kindly cooperation of A. D. Osborne. Esq, clerk of the superior court, the third story of the new building was arranged for our occupation. Here we had li- brary ample for our needs, recitation rooms, an office for the dean, a lavatO- ", etc., all lighted and heated and cared for at the expense of the county. As some equivalent for this generous pro- vision, the free use of our library, soon to be greatly enlarged, was granted to 1 the courts and to members of the bar. | Let me add that we always received every civility from the county commits sioners, nor, so far as recall, did they ever have reason to regret their hos l pitalitY to their young tenants At times the noise made by the students in their rapid climb to reach the recitation room in season for the eagerly awaited exercise provoked an animated protest 1 from the Sheriff, whose duty it was to protect the court from annoyance. But, usually, the demeanor of inchoate at torneys was sufficiently decorous, if not entirely dignifed. In this connection one important fact should not be over looked, to wit, the opportunity to attend the sessions of the Supreme Court of Errors, Superior courts and Court of Common Pleas, held in the same build ing. The value of this privilege to the young law student can hardly be exag- l gerated.
 Immediately after our removal, which, as have said, took place in the spring of 1873, greatly increased activity was manifest in the conduct of the school The sum of $25,000 was quickly raised and promptly expended in establishing library worthy of the name. Cover nor Marshall Jewell indicated his inter- est in the school by establishing three prizes of $50 each Subsequently reduc- ed to one prize of that amount). In 1874 Honorable J. M Townsend, the l father of our loved and respected Pro- lessor W. K. Townsend (whose recent 1 promotion to the Circuit court of the l United States was source of great sat- l isfaction to all the alumni of the school and the community at large), showed his intelligent sympathy with our la bors by establishing a prize of $100 for the best oration at our commencement, delivered by member of the graduat- ing class.
 Another event of marked significance in our history was the addition of Hon. orable Lafayette S. Foster, IL. D., to 1 our corps of instructors, his subject be- ing Parliamentary Law. As presiding officer over legislative bodies, State and national he had attained well deserved l pre-eminence and his name added largely to the prestige of the school | He died in 1880, having made testament tary provision for the endowment of a 1 professorship of Common Law. The recent death of his widow, who had a life interest in the legacy puts the sum of $60000 at the disposal of the Law de- partment of Yale.
 | Meanwhile the moot courts took on new life and interest. The Kent club, for cultivating skill in debate, greatly l increased in numbers and enthusiasm. In all directions there were most grati- | flying indications of healthy and hope ful progress.
 On the 24th of June, 1874, occurred, in the Center church, the semi-cent ennial anniversary of the school, Honorable l Morrison R. Waite ILL. D., Chief Jus | tice of the Supreme court of the United 1 States, presiding, with a historical dis course by ex-Presdent Woolsey and an oration by Honorable Edwards Pierre pont, ILL. D. From this date our com- i meneement exercises consisted of speaking in competition for the Town send prize and an oration pronounced by some man prominent in the public eye as judge, statesman, educator or lawyer.
 The following figures will serve to show the steady growth of the school: During the decade preceding 1870 when the first class graduated under the new regime, the number graduating was eighty. In the following decade it was 166. In the second decade thereafter it was 311 In the third decade, 607. The first degree of M. L. was conferred in 1875, and the first degree of B. c. L. in 1878.
 The records of the class of 1875, num- bering seventeen at the time of it's graduation, we'll illustrate the improve ment in the quality of the school since the year 1869. One member is President
  another is Judge of the District court of the United States, another is Justice of the Supreme Court of Errors of the State of Connecticut, another has been Governor of Colorado, another is Judge of the Supreme court of Baltimore, an- other has been recently reelected, by a largely increased majority, Mayor of the city of New Haven; another, at the time of his death QS9S), had been for years School Fund Commissioner for Connecticut; another was for two years Mayor of the city of Waterbury, Conn. another was Judge of District court in Maine. Others achieved marked pro- fessional success.
 In 1881 the school was enriched by the accession of Honorable E. J. Phelps, IL. D., to fill the chair of Equity. Eas- fly one of the leaders of the American Bar, an accomplished diplomatist, of wide and generous culture, most win ming and gracious in manners, yet with the dignity and repose of bearing which l belongs to the best breeding hy his