New-York tribune., 1907-09-07

more than ever before in heir history. Ihe
high standard OF admission has been developed
practically in the last fifteen years, although
preceding that period there was a steady ad-
vancement but without any radical chahge-
This is especially true of law and medicine In
the legal profession the man without at least a
high school education cannot be found except
ing among the old members of the bar. In medI-
cine the so-called Quack is thing of the past
The circuit rider and the seIf-taught eVahgeiiSt
are dying out. Young men are stiH admitted
to the practice Of law from lawyers Offices, put
the requirements for permission to be enrolled
as students have been made so high in the MAJOR =
ity of the states in the Union that 1t IS mn
possible for the unprepared to get a foothold.
Doctors apprentices are not. The SanSrados
with their Gil Blases are figures OF the past
The uneducated eXhorter can be found only IN
primitive communities. And the great ad-
yancement in the standard demanded is dis
tinctly in keeping with the times, with the more
general prevalence of education. competition anu
the critical state of mind of the people.
Europe was far ahead of this country IN plac-
ing a stiff barrier in the way of indlscrlmlntte
admissions. To-day we are as jealous OF the
high reputation of our professional men as they
are abroad but we stin have something 10
learn In its youth this country was a fine heId
for the professional adVenturer. 1t was through
the abuses prevalent in the practice of law and
medicine that advancement was compelled Ihe
reputable members organized to protect them
selves and the people The medical and legal
professions formed associations which influenced
legislatures to pass laws demanding certain
fitness AS the years passed these laws were
made more and more stringent. 1t was meth
cd of reform far more effective than any other
that could have been employed
FIRST LAW LECTURES
Lectures on Jurisprudence were first delivered
In this country in 1873. This was at William
and Mary College The College Of Philadelphia
followed in 1890 Columbia in 1894, and Harvard
in 1915. The Harvard Law School was opened
in 1917. The first classroom instruction dates
from 1893, when a private school was opened al
IitchfieId Conn. At that time the requirements
for admission were not obstacle, while to-
day there is not a school that does not demand
a high school education. and the best demand
a degree in the arts or sciences. Among tie
states excepting in some states In the South'
written examinations before admission to the
bar by commissioners having Jurisdiction are
required. This examination is not open to any
one who may present himself 1t must be pre-
ceded by three years preparatory study in MOST
states, and the applicant is not permitted to
enter an office without preliminary examina-
ton, in which knowledge of Latin and mathe-
matics is insisted upon.
The admission to the bar by the states is
closely scrutinized by the American Bar Asso-
citation II has a standing committee on legal
education. AS it numbers among its members
lawyers of high standing in nearly every state
In the Union, action by this committee has ef-
feet In 1901 the Association Of American Law
Schools was founded. 1t holds its meetings at
the same time and place as the Bar Association.
thus making cooperation possible. Self-pro-
lection is the basis for the national and state
bar associations, and the result has raised the
standard Of the profession throughout the
country.
ADVANCEMENT IN MEDICINE.
The advancement in the medical profession
may be said to have also been largely due to
the association of reputable practitioners. There
were more abuses to be corrected than In the
law. 1t was matter of life. and not of prop
crty merely. An eminent physician said re-
Gently in an address that hundred years ago
more persons were killed by so-called doctors"
than by disease. He also said that George
Washington would have lived a ripe old age
if the lancet of his physician had not drained
his body of vitality. blood In the old days
there were medical schools but investigator
has estimated that of the 3.50e doctors in this
country in 1916 only 400 had degrees. In other
in doctors offices.
To show how radical the change has been
since then the following from address de-
mvered by President Eliot of Harvard at
alumni dinner is pertinent:
There ought to be in the Harvard Medical
School an extended instruction far beyond the
limits of any one students capacity This in
wolves, of course, some optional or elective sys-
TEN within the school Itself, whereby the indi-
vidual student should take what is for him the
best four years worth, the faculty supplying
teaching which it might take single student
eight, twelve twenty years to pursue"
FIRST MEDICAL SCHOOL.
The first medical school in this country
founded in Philadelphia in 1865. 1t was later