The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-05-10

Chicago. May S.-The temptations of the legal profession as well as its highest op- portunities are set side by side in vivid contrast in this discourse. which has an interest for all classes. The text is l Tim othy 1, 8, "The law is good If man use 1t lawfully"
 Paul had all the mental qualifications of a great lawyer. When he stood before Felix and as his own advocate tore into pieces the charge mNie by the proseeut- ing attorney, Tertullus; when he argued before King Agrippa until the king ad- mitted he was almost persuaded;' when he pleaded upon Mars hill with the jury of Greek scholars until at last even that central seat of Athenian culture was shaken to It's very foundation by his proclamation of the unknown God" we find the highest development of forensic training and legal acumen. As one sehooled in the law, Paul knew the mighty and majestic power of the law, both spiritual and temporal. Therefore he lays down the broad proposition that law is good for the community and that 1t is needed not only for the vindication of the right but for the punishment of wrongdoers whether the laws that they break are human or divine.
 But though the legal profession offers such wonderful opportunities to defend the weak and punish the bad, there are some cynics who profess to believe that an honest lawyer does not exist. Sir Hartley Williams. a celebrated Australian judge, once pesslmistically commented upon the fact that there was a pious law yer in his circuit who used to regularly pray that he might get clients Imagine, said the judge, ''the insult to the AL mighty contained in the request that God should stir up strife among the people, foment discord and promote litigation, just to serve the selfish purpose of this pious solicitor?' But that cynical com ment of the learned judge might have been entirely wrong. That lawyer might be innocent of any desire to foment strife and only anxious to have the opportunity of serving his fellow man and be able to redress the wrongs of some injured per- son.
 The noble profession of the law Is often unjustly maligned. Like other profes- sions, 1t has in its ranks unworthy men who disgrace it, and there is no profess sion in which trickery and rascality reap so rich a harvest. But it has also in it's ranks noble, honest, sterling men, whose knowledge and talents are devoted to the cause of right and justice. I want to say to all young men who are entering that profession that If they set before them selves a lofty ideal and hold fast to Christian principle they may win suc- cess in 1t, serving God faithfully and keeping their character unstained. Let me try to give you briefly my concep- ton of the principles of a Christian law yer
 The Christian Lawyer.
 He will never champion cause that he knows to be dishonest Why? Because he would be aiding one man to deprive an other of his rights. Oh, the wrongs that are perpetrated by the rich and powerful! Oh, how many there are who suffer all their lives at the hands of unscrupulous foesl For years in the French Bastille was confined state prisoner known as the Man With the Iron Mask" He died in 1703. This prisoner was supposed by many writers to have been a twin brother of Louis XIV He was confined in his living tomb with an iron mask over his face lest he should come forth and claim the French throne and thus cause revolu- ton. The Iron mask concealed the face because the prisoner was supposed to be faclally an exact duplicate of the reign
  Louis XIV as one of the most stony hearted monsters who ever sat upon a throne. No matter what his own rights may have been, to protect those rights he was not justified in praetieing a lifetime injustice upon brother. How many men are trying to deprive their brother man of his rights The lawyer who helps them in their nefarioVs attempt Is a par taker with them in their crime. I am not H-.. 14..k- n lawyer to defend a criminal In court. Ev- cry man is entitled to a fair trial. Even the wretch Czolgosz had his rights before the law, and Justice required that those rights be protected. A lawyer often does a heroic part in defending a criminal or in pleading that mercy be shown him, but there Is no heroism-there Is only shame lh aiding a client to cheat and defraud an- Iother.
 Yet there are great many lawyers who affirm that they have nothing to do with the honesty or dishonesty of a client All that they must do is to present the best side of a civil suit, and then the judge or the jury will decide whether a cause is just or unjust. If drunkard by his own carelessness falls off a moving electric car they will bring suit against the street car corporation for $10000 and not have one qualm of conscience If a distant rel atiye by technical flaw can break a will they will help him do 1t and divert the money of a rich man into a channel where 1t was never intended by the testator to go. This was the way the estate of a famous lawyer statesman was legally stolen. Every one who read his will clear ly understood what the dead statesman wished to have done with his property He wanted to have built a great public institution Yet some distant relative with whom he never had any close af- fiiliation, by the aid of scheming lawyers, broke that will It was only because one of the new heirs was intrinsically honest that part of the estate was placed at the disposal of the trustees who were ap- pointed to carry out the scheme
 There is an old saying that nothing is