The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-07-09

BAR Association on The southern Law
yer and the Negro,'.was as follows:
Mr.. President and Gentlemen OF the
Alabama State Bar Association:
II any North Carolinian does not reel
at home in Alabama 1t is his own
fault Everywhere he will meet the
sons and descendants of his own peo-
ple. and family names familiar In his
home county greet his ears.
Your honored President recalls his
noted ancestor, the Swiss Baron de-
Greffenreid, who was the leading col
onist of the ancient borough of New
Berna your Secretary's forbears were
lawyers and planters in East
ern Carolina more than six
ty years ago. To the representa-
tfves of the older settlers who went to
the Gulf States before and during in
the flush times. should be added the
ed in when the mineral wealth of Ala
bama began to be developed-when the
coal. which had lain hidden In its veins
since the ferns and trees grew rank
in the geologic ages. began to be clad
In the garments of a corporation and
to become a familiar figure on Wall
street. And now one greets a recog-
nizable face In almost every group.
Bench and Bar of Alabama.
The character and record of the
Bench and Bar of Alabama are the
pride of her sons and are thoroughly
recognized by the profession in other
States. The names of Clay and Lips
comb of Saffold of Brickell and Stone
of Goldthwafte and Clopton. and 9TH
ers of equal ability. are engraved in
imperishable lines upon your judicial
annals. The lawyers who preferred
to remain upon the arena of their
triumphs at the Bar. men
like Mr.. Smith. Governor Watts
and others were worthy of
the court. Those who have in recent
years succeeded to judicial station have
fully maintained the high standard set
by their predecessors
AS a member of the committee upon
the Universal Congress of Lawyers,
which has been called to assemble in
st. Louis on September 2Sth, trust. 1t
may not be deemed inappropriate for
me to say a word. 1t is the earnest
wish of the American Bar Association
that the judges and lawyers of Ala
bama shall be fifty represented on that
occasion.
No gathering of American lawyers
will be complete II x lacks the pres
ence of the senior senator from Ala
bama, the great advocate of the con-
struction OF an isthmian canal. the
lawyer of persistent purpose that ha s
never tagged, the publicist whose ON
niscience is the marvel of his COM
peers:
Statesman, yet friend to truth. of
soul sincere,
In action faithful. and in honor
clear
And fully abreast of Senator Morgan
Is his honored colleague a typical rep
resentative of the learning and chiv-
airy of the Southern lawyer of the old
regime:
age may DER his brow be flung.
But his heart, his heart IS ever young"
We shall likewise look for the In
tellectual face of my friend. DR..
Hannis Taylor of Mobile. a North Car
Gilman by birth and education, whose
learning and researches into the fields
of international Jurisprudence and
constitutional law have given him a
reputation co-extensive with the con-
fines OF civilization.
influence of Lawyers In South.
With the abolition of slavery the
commanding power of the planter class
in the South came to an end. There are
large farmers still, 1t is true, but they
are for the most part men of consid-
cradle business interests. and rarely
engaged in public service. 1t would
in my opinion. be better for the South
If we could see a greater proportion
of successful business men and man.
ufacturers, farmers and merchants
representing southern STATES in the
halls of Congress
Some fifteen years ago the peculiar
conditions and the secret organization
existing among the agriculturists OF
the South kindlCd wide spread preju-
dice against lawyers as a class anc
opposition to the profession became
the shibboleth of a political faction
These animositiec have for the mos
part passed away, and probably in nc
State or country Is the influence OF
lawyers more deeply felt than in the
South.
1t is foreign to my purpose today tc
enter into an analysis of the cause Of
such influence and its effect upor
Southern character, interesting though
such an inquiry would be. 1t is enough
that we should appreciate the higf
measure of responsibility that such
an influence carries with 1t.
Lawyers should Cultivate Land.
One of the causes 1 believe to b.
the fact that so many of our lawyers
| have always been Identified with the
prevailing occupation of the people
the cultivation of the soil. As lawyers
began to accumulate wealth and slaves
| from inclination and necessity they
| became, to some extent. planters. The
white population of the Southern States
outside of the larger cities. Is almost
exclusively descendants of English
! speaking races: Saxon and Norman
and Dane are We" with an admixtur'
of Celt and little Huguenot but We
all yearn to become land owners. I
| Is true that the demands of a larg'
practice, may stifc this longing for
season, but in the end nature viii
assert herself.
| / have never subscribed to the view
so frequently expressed that lawye
should confine his attention solely t
the practice of his profession. His in
fuence in the community and his sue
cess in law will generally be NOR
marked If he becomes personally in
terested in the prevailing occupation
of his neighbors and friends.
Agriculture is the universal occu
patton of the South. and q lawyer. l.
his means and other conditions Justi
fy. will generally lose nothing b,
owning a farm. If he is a city lawye
with more money than leisure. hi
farm may be a plaything. from whic
not cash returns can hardly be ex
pected. But the lawyer of thrift fror
the small town will find a welt chosen
well managed small farm the wises
investment for his savings, the sourc
| nj w nd rIx o.,