Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-06
WOMEN AS LAWYERS
Theme of the Addresses at
College Banquet.
SUCCESS AND FAILURE
TOPIC DISCUSSED BY MRS. ELLEN
SPENCER MUSSEY.
Senator Hepburn Favors Admission OF
Women to Legal Profession
Guests at Function.

guests In attendance. Inc nan Was peduIi-
! fully decorated with cut flowers, ever
greens. palms and carnations, the latter,
| the adopted flower of the school, predom-
| mating in the color scheme. Orchestral
| music was rendered while the guests were
| being served.
The dinner card was unique. being in the
| form of a railroad ticket each coupon of
which read that it was issued by the Wash
| ington College of Law via some law text
book to the subject to be discussed by the
speaker.
Miss Gertrude Ballard Fowler of the class
| of 1906 acted as the toastmistress, and her
| introductons were bright and entertaining
Miss Fowler first introduced Mrs. Ellen
| Spencer Mussey, the dean of the college,
| who responded to the toast Via Black
stone to Our Successes and Our Failures.
| Mrs. Mussey said, in part, that the meas
| ure of success and failure is ones ideals. so
that If we tried by the measure of
| financial prosperity, by the number and
doubtedly failure. IF our success is de-
| pendent upon marble halls, upon the
| throngs of students, then are we failures
| But if we are to be judged by other stand
| ards we need feel no shame.
THE time was when woman, like the
| giraffe, was quite content with what she
| found in her own purely domestic pasture,
| but during the last fifty years she has be-
/
! edge that grow on the tallest palm trees,
| until at last she aspired not only to study
! law but to have a college of law created
| primarily for her, as all other colleges or
| law had been created primarily for men,
| but she has generously held out hos
| pitable hand to her brother In the law
The Brain Worker.
| There has never been any question about
| Woman's right to labor with her hands, but
| directly she wishes to be brain worker or
| to be trained as one, then is the time that
| she is in danger. Somebody has defined a
| brain worker as man who spends all ne
makes trying to live up to the position he
| holds. but that is not the KIND or brain
worker we graduate from Washington COL
| lege of Law.
| ITO succeed we must adjust efforts to OBJ
| stacles 1t is no shame to fall, but to stay
| down, in that lies defeat.
Other Responses.
| The other toasts ard those who responded
! in order were: John w. DeMain of the class
of 1907, Via Clarke on Criminal Law to
Opportunity.' Mr. DeMain talked of the
benefit to be derived by those who had
| knowledge of the law, whether they ever
expect to enter the active practice Of the
| profession or not, and congratulated the
! dean of the college upon the success at
| tanned by the school up to the present time.
| Prof. E. c. Foster of the faculty, wa
| Clarke on Contracts to Present Response
bilities" Judge Foster SAID he derived the
| greatest pleasure in divulging to the stu
| dents of the college the law as it had been
| told to him, and the law, he added, is for
| woman as well for man, if she cares to
| enter upon its study, although some col
| leges do not extend the invitation for her to
| enter.
Mrs. Ella D. Gates of the class Of 1906,
| Via Norton on Bills and Notes to Woman
and the Law" Mrs. Gates handled
| her Suhipct with saving that the law
! had as bright a future for woman as for
| a man, and that in all ages woman was
prominent in the formation of laws. She
| pointed to the fact that a woman who was
on the throne of England was responsible
for some of the finest laws that have ever
been spread upon the statute books of that
| or any other country since the beginning
| of time.
Lawyer in Literature.
Prof. E. c. Brandenburg of the faculty,
| Via Brandenburg on Bankruptcy to the
| LAWYER in Literature Professor Brandon
| burg quoted the verse from the book of
Job "Oh that my adversary had written a
| book and said he was not aware whether
that was intended for praise or not, but
he was certain that when a lawyer used
| his book on bankruptcy as an authority in
| a court of law he always praised it, and he
was equally certain that the lawyer on the
| opposite side gave it as much and gener-
ally great deal more praise, but the quail
ity was generally different
| Miss Pepita Larroque, 1905, "Via Cooley
| on Constitutional Law to Parallel Be
tween the Spanish-Amercan and the Anglo
| Saxon Woman" Miss Larroque is from
| Uruguay. South America, and spoke enter
| tainingly. At the close of her address she
received round of appla use.
| Mrs. Nanette B. Paul of the class of 1900,
| which was the first class graduated from
the college, responded to the toast Via An
drews- Stephen on Pleading to the Small End
| of the Law Mrs Pan1 said wa
| proud of the fact that she was member
of the original class of the college. She
believed, she said that a woman should
! know the law. even If she did not enter the
practice. and that the basic principles would
be of great value to her through life.
Seantor Heyburn's Address.
Senator Hepburn of Idaho responded to
the toast, Via Bigelow on Wills and Pro-
| bate Law to a Station Not Yet Officially
Designated" The Senator said he had
| changed the trend of the remarks he de-
sired to make. 1.-The law is a marvellous
thing to learn and be able to eXpound,'' he
continued, land l am in favor of women
| In the law. The question is, what are you
going to do when you finish the course
Il suppose you are expecting to go into
the practice, and l want to say that the
first woman admitted to the bar in
| Idaho studied law in my office. She never
| took up the active practice of the profess
| Sui, Uut WdS oOIuc lllIio oSO tltCttu 10 the
office of superintendent of the county
| schools in the county where she lives. You
should know the law that you may be ad-
| vised to your own rights, and / want to
greet you in the great work which you
| have undertaken. Every one should know
the elementary principles of the law and
use the knowledge to good effect"
Guests Present.
The following were present:
Mrs. Mussey, Senator Hepburn, Mrs Fos-
ter, Mr. Brandenburg, Miss Gillett, Mr..
Smith Thompson, Mrs. Paul, Mr.. Newton,
Miss Jannson. Mr.. Persons, Miss Grogan,
Mr.. Fits, Mrs. Fits Miss Hill, Mr.. Con-
saul, Miss Meyers, Mr. Runyan, Mrs. Con-
saul, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Coulter Captain
| Portman, Mrs. Adams, Mr.. Adams, DIR. A.
Portman, John De Maine. Mrs. KEN,
4 Judge KEN. Miss Kent, Mr.. Coope,
] Mrs. Coope, Mr.. McMorris, Mr.. Thomas.