The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1908-01-31

/
state of Oklahoma, and spoke Of it de-
risively as the product of certain corn
field lawyers
/ But l read over the constitution Of
that State, and l may say here that if
the constitution Of Oklahoma is the prod
uct Of the brains Of 'cornfield lawyers
they have succeeded in framing one Of
the best constitutions OF which l have
/ ever heard"
These were the words OF William Jen-
nings Bryan when he addressed the stu
dent body of the Georgetown University
Law School in the main lecture hall Of
the law school building last night.
The subject OF Mr. Brysn's speech was
"Cornfield Lawyers" and I'm dealing with
| It he outlined the positions or the indl-
vidual and the State Mr.. Bryan was in
| PRODUCED by Harry NJ. Clabaugh, justice
Of the District Supreme Court and dean
/ Of the law school OF the Georgetown
/ University. In a short speech. Judge Cla.
baugh paid glowing tribute 10 Mr.
Bryan, and after hearty reception sub
sided. a rousing cheer was given for the
/
MIR. Bryan's speech.
Tt can be Of advantage" said Mr.
/ Bryan. TO some men not 70 know what
they are talking about. These 'cornfeld
lawyers have written the best constl-
tuition in the United States. The trust-fed
lawyers had been shooting holes in the
| constitution. and the 'cornheld lawyers
patched up the holes that they made. It
is these 'cornfeld lawyers that are the
real gauge OF the law OF. this country.
A lawyer can get larger fees I'm the
city. but in TIE end you will End that
! the county-seat lawyers have done their
duty, and filled their places we'll These
men have not lived in vain. even If their
pocketbooks do not show up so well, or
the newspapers do not mention their
/ names in connection with certain large
cases with large fees
Il Will attempt to define the relation
between the indi, it;sial and the state. but
in attempting this / will say that II is
not an accurate definition. There are
| separate spheres Of the individual and
| the state. There is the line that we fol-
low We emphasize the thing which We
| turn our attention to.
/ People often differ. not because their
! purposes differ. but because they follow.
/ different paths We have those who en-
1 phasize the individuals part and We
/ have those who emphasize the states
/ part. The individualist would enlarge on
what the individual can 90. while the
! socialist would enlarge on what the state
can do.
'Tolstoi IS the greatest exponent Of in
4 dividualism When I went 20 see him. a.
/ / was leaving, he said 20 me, / am glad
you came. expected 10 find you a social
/ ist,' TOlstoi believes that the greatest
purpose Of man is to find out Gods will
and shape himself according to that will
/ ! say. reform the Individual first and
/ then all viii be well. The individual
must do much and he can do much, but l
cannot agree with Tolstoi.
Every Man a Teacher.
Every man is the teacher OF environ
! ment Violence is the prominent charac-
/ teristic and force is the main feature OF
the government. in which environment
plays an important part The line OF
/ progress is between two extremes. This
/ IS best illustrated by the Korean lions
/ in Japan. 7 was so Impressed with these
I lions that ! got two just like them. and
I II any Of you ever come out 20 see nc,
you will see two stone images, Korean
/ lions. one on each side Of the door.
zone has its mouth open and the other
| has its mouth shut One is the radical
and the other is the conservative, and
I go up and down the steps between
I the two. II il were not for the eonserva-
/ tive the radical would go too fast. and
/ if it were not for the radical the con-
| servative would not go at all
| "A young man should have something
to do. There are two paths TO politics
law and journalism. As man grows older
| he pays more attention to ethical thought
| A certain physician who saw the neces-
sity Of killing off the older ones Of US
! by chloroforn overlooked the moral man.
! There is the moral and the physical man.
| You should not impeach the truth OF
( the Declaration Of Independence. This doc
| trine means men are endowed By their
/ creator with certain inallenable rights.
natural rights that none can take away
All are equal before the law. This Is true
IL IS NOT only true, but Il is q self-evident
truth It is not worth while talking 10
a man who denies the existence OF in
alienablo rights.
In addition, laws must be Just. An
archists have not been made anarchists by
the teachings of Herr Most and Emma
/ Goldman, so much as By the i-eouality
| in the execution of the law Law should
| be Just in its making, its Interpretation.
and its execution.
As 10 Taxation.
IF We do not reach justice in local
| taxation, what shall we reach in national
taxation? We consume in proportion to
our needs. God gave US our needs and
| He distributed them in democratic way.
! One man needs so much and there are
| limits to our needs. Our needs are uni
form. We are made to pay for what we
/ consume. Every economic question is at
/ heart moral question.
'Jefferson's doctrine Of self-g government
is right The art of government is the
art OF being honest. Government is in
the end a simple thing. In proportion to
/ your intelligence and industry shall be
! your reward. Man will accomplish more
and earn more IL he produces something.
THE largest reward is drawn by the
man who does the best in his line
Natural law is the law that measures
| mars service in proportion to mans
products. Law is commensurate with
mans contribution to society. Our form
| Of government is the best. II It were a
monarchy IL would be the man who could
stand in with the monarch. The demo-
crazy rests on the consent OF the gov
erned. 1t discaTds the implements OF ter
ror and survives because Il is strong and
good and just"
The entire law school turned out to
AZ snan~sta.. -. -