, 1905-11-29
Leqal Talent Commercialized

When Mayor Weaver, of Philadel-
phia, needed a first-class lawyer to as
sIst in his reform campaign against the
Durham ring, he went to New York
and engaged Elihu Root. There are
many able LAWYERS in Pennsylvania,
hut there was none to be had by the
Mayor of Philadelphia in a great pub
lie emergency. All the best lawyers
held retainers from private corpora
tons, all but one brave and public
spirited Philadelphia lawyer, who
stood by the Mayor from the beginning,
and who did work of inestimable pub
lie value.
AS it is in Pennsylvania so it is in
other states. The railroad and other
great corporations take into their SER
vice, or ''retain' the best legal talent
with a double object, namely, to con-
duct their legal business and to prevent
these lawyers from taking briefs against
them. 1t is a question how the State
of New Jersey or any of its municipal
tiles would fare in some great conten-
ton between the public on the II
hand and several combined powerful
corporate interests ON the other hand.
Let us suppose that all the railroad and
trolley interests in New Jersey should
be united in some litigation with the
state or a municipality, where could
there be found in the state a first-class
lawyer not connected in some way
with these corporate interests? Would
it not, indeed, be hard to find a first
class New Jersey lawyer willing to take
up IN important fight against these
interests? If Mayor Weaver, in his
battle against the most infamous set
of public robbers that has ever dis
graced government in this country,
could not find the desired legal counsel
in his city and had to go to New
York, would not the State of New
Jersey, dominated as it is by great cor
porations, have to seek foreign counsel
in an emergency to aid it's Attorney
General?
lime was when such a thing was I'M
imaginable. That a the period be-
fore the growth of the great corporation
and before the spirit of commercialism
had entered the legal profession tosuch
a great extent. Has not professional
pride given too much place to CONNER
ial gain in consequence of the large
pecuniary rewards offered to legal
talent. Recently the nation saw with
aInazement the engineer in charge of
the construction of the Panama Canal,
a work that would have made him
famous, resign his high duties because
he was offered a private corporation
job at a much higher salary.
That sordid spirit, subordinating
honor to dollars, permeates the legal
profession too much. The Federal
government is not sure of the services
of men who demonstrate a high order
of ability while in its employ because
of the temptations of greater pecuniary
rewards held out to these men by
wealthy corporate interests. The
government cannot compete with
these corporations in salaries, but there
is something to more than offset the
additional dollars in the honor and
prestige of public duties well perform
ed. John w. Griggs, as Governor and
as Attorney-Genera of the United
States, did not ear as much money Is
John w. Griggs, corporation lawyer,
but he was a much more honorable
figure. Mr.. Griggs shrank in moral
dimensions when he resigned the At
torney-G eneralship to take a corpor-
alton brief.-Newark advertiser.