The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-04-16
FOSTER LAW LECTURE.

Deliverd by Prof. Wurts Before Enthu- siastic Student Body in Hendrie Hall Last Night.
 Prof. John Wurts, M. A., M L., hold CT of the Lafayette s. Foote professor ship in English common law, in the Yale law school delivered last night in Hendrie hall and before very enthu siastic student body, the first Foster lecture on Systems in Legal Educa- tion."
 The members of the faculty attended in body and the popular law lecturer was introduced by Chief Justice Simeon E. Baldwin.
 Among other things he said: In our generation, we have seen every line of thought and social activity undergoing a change and educational ideas have not been immuned from this unrest. We see this attitude so pronounced in the preparation of the young men for ad- mission to the bar, and the law schools of the country have not only been they have also been always willing to do their part in this noble work. They have devised means to facilitate the student work; the inductive method is now used to no small extent. Some three or four law schools have gone so far as to demand college degrees for admission, but when we refuse all but the college bred man, some think we sacrifice very often the substance for the name
 Now we hear the question: What system has your school adopted? The old rule was the study of the text books 1t was the old system that Jus tinian recommended to the law stu dents of his time and this system, sup plemented by the lecture system and the case book system, forms the meth cd of to-day.
 In those Roman days. the admission of the young lawyer to the bar was the first step of his education, for he had only learned the fundamental prin- ciples, and now was to learn their ap- plication. Then his education was his memory. To-day the tendency is to combine the practical workings of the law with the theory, terminology and science of the law. Such an attitude to- day seems indispensable.
 While some have adopted the text TX tnJ +Iz za lecture and case book system, few have been so radical as to confine the legal education from the beginning to the cases as precedents-from which he de- duces the principle of law found there applied.
 Such system would perhaps be most beneficial to those who have a knowl- edge of the law, but to apply such a system to young man who does not know the rudiments of science which he adopts is like beginning a young mans study of medicine first in the technical dissecting room. It has been the unanimous opinion of friends who were trained by tn cease method that their first year was worry, strain and misapplied energy, while those who have begun under the lecture and text book system say that he sees the pro- fession in historical way, It looms up before him as a science. He is not turned loose in a laboratory of books but is directed by careful guidance through the clements: gradually this work becomes more experimental by cases carefully selected to demonstrate the application of well known princi- pies already learned; also are added lectures and experience teaches a more rapid growth and more practical knowl- edge by a combination of all these three methods, and it is sadly in error to decide to use one method exclusively for different people require different food; one mans wants may not be what the majority wants; the happy medium gives best results less superduous en- ergy wasted and the study of this most lawless of laws becomes a pleasure, mol a task,