The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-02-01
MORE ABOUT LAWYERS WHO AP'
PEAR FOR THE WHISKEY
INTERESTS.

In a speech on Thursday before the
Joint committee on Propositions and
Grievances, Mr.. Cameron Morrison, of
Rockingham, attorney for certain dis
tillers and whiskey dealers, declared that
the News and Observer had been unfair
and unjust" in it's criticism of lawyers
who accepted fees to represent liquor
men, He also asserted that this paper
did this because they dared to oppose
the imperial will' of the editor of this
paper Along the same line he had much
more to say in criticism, showing that the
editorial had struck hard. 1t was not
directed at Mr.. Morrison personally or
at any other particular man who was in
Raleigh as attorney of the whiskey in
terests, but at every paid attorney who
left the path of legitimate argument and
sought to defeat effective temperance
legislation by setting up a bugaboo: at
will hurt the Democratic party" That
is not legitimate argument for paid
attorney to make, and Mr.. Morrison dis
He declared-and truly-"that there We're
| not enough liquor dealers, distillers or
extreme prohibitionists in North Caro-
lima to destroy the Democratic party, for
| it is immortal" If a lawyer accepts fee
| from the prohibitionists and comes to
Raleigh to urge prohibition and he makes
| no argument except that unless his eli
ents get what they want sit will hurt the
party" nobody ought to give weight to
his statement When he became the at
| torney of the prohibitionists, he was in
honor bound first of all to stand by his
client His devotion to his clients in
terests blinded his broader vision. The
| same argument holds good with refer
\ ence to attorneys for the whiskey men.
It is a fact that of the scores of men
| who visited Raleigh last week with ref
| erence to temperance legislation, not
single man came to oppose effective tenn
| perance laws unless he was paid
to come by distillers or liquor deal
ers. Hundreds of men paid their
own expenses to come here to ad-
vocate temperance legislation. More
than score of lawyers were here
| to speak in advocacy of it, without fee
and at their own expense. Every lawyer
who spoke against the legislation was
| paid by the liquor men. This paper has
not denied their right to accept the fee,
| and to make argument before the COM
mittee any more than it denies the right
| to appear for any man in court who
stands charged with the commission of
any crime. The comment of this paper,
which has brought forth denunciation
from some attorneys, was that such paid
lawyers had no right to assume to speak
for the Democratic party while in the
pay of whiskey men to fight legislation
that will be injurious to the business of
i making drunkards. That proposition has
not been answered. 1t cannot be sue
C6SolulAy dnoWClCu' ~ ID ~ pam -
statement of truth that none can ques-
ton it.
The attorneys for the whiskey men have
not made any public reply to the more
serious criticism made by the News and
Observer of those who go privately
among the members and seek to influ-
ence them by whispering: ut will hurt
the Democratic party" AS long as they
keep the fees of the liquor men they
have no more professional right to do this
than they would have to make whisper
ing communication to a member of a
jury.
There is no paper that has greater re-
| spect for the legal profession than the
| News and Observer. 1t criticises no at
torney for accepting the fee of any client
and making argument for him in open
court or before a committee. It's criti-
cism is directed at men who dehase an
honorable profession by becoming lob
| byists and doing things that are not
worthy of the noble profession to which
| they belong. In this class we do not in
clude any man who discloses his attor-
| neyship and confines his services to his
| clients to public argument.
SPANKING TN THE OLD REGI ME