New-York tribune., 1908-07-31
THE ROCKY LEGAL ROAD
FLEDGLINGS TOO M4AI.
Thousands of Young Lascyers Seek
Uork IN Pain.

Ever since the law schools turned out their
graduates at the recent commencement exercises
the downtown district Of New York has been IN
aded by the largest army of budding barristers IN
the history Of the district where every other VIII
Gov gems 70 bear the gold lettering Of an attor-
ner-at-iaw In former years. Of course. there nave
been AT this many young men VINO arrlNeu
hoping TO get places with some recognized nrr' o.
if their capital and their confidence were eaualiH
great 10 start in practice for themselves To-Day
however. the host seems too great 10 ne aS''i"
lated.
Older lawyers who have fought their fight and
succeeded have noticed the present condiuoh anu
have advanced several theories as 70 the cause.
One is that the law schools turning out more
graduates than are needed. Another is that too
MANY Of the graduates might better have taken up
some other calling and that they are nhill'eu III
sernperanaent and by reason OF the snall diiiouh1
IF knowledge they have acquired for making
living in practce Still another explanation IS thaC
IN the recent financial furry the Law business
suffered with the rest and that persons in dispute
are more willing 10 arbitrate than to incur the eA-
pense of suits.
as for the number of young lawyers. by the
latest statistics available. those for the scheIaStic
wear of 1896 there were ninetyeight law schools
in the United States. with Ell students. TINS
was an increase Of two law schools over lhe year
preceding. and Of about seven hundred s'uoehts-
Il Is safe say. especially by observation Oh tie
growing popularity Of the study of law IN unlVer-
sties that there was a proportionate growth dur
ing the year that ended last June.
In the same period there were almost ten thou
sand more medical students than law students hst-
e6 The fact that medical students seem 10 hnd
work easily has been explained by the opportuhl'!
of n-sc4ice I'm small towns we'll as by the great
amount NJ hospital work open TO the young physi-
rfan The newly made lawyer. however, mas there
IS more sickness tfaan litigation in the country ois-
ariets and comes to the larger cities TO pesln MS
career.
Tha, hur6ress cf voing men are meeting disap-
,,oin+r,ent In New York may he judged 10y the
number Of advertisements in The Law Journal
and other publications. saying that law schoO'
graduates work as stenograpleTs OF type
writer's Such advertisements. too. natufaiy Were
net inserted until after the writer had been con
,sn.sa that he could get p place in law office
doing the hllmhlest work. such verifying clta-
tjens and running errands between his employer :
ofrce and the law library.
F7,-en This however. does not imply that in for
,77er wears the newly hedsed LII B. found things
easy i'm New York He had read of the large in
come Of some Of the best known lawyers, but ne
found that If hoped 10 be in ary office ne "oulo
be Obliged to accept something between - ana e
e week as salary. because the most Vaiuapie re-
,sr5 ne was 10 receive was experience. Usual
Il, he teoh II And so has sprung up in Ger
tasn streets on the eastern fringe of Greenwich
7-fllsge Cheap brick boarding houses. community
f ir,recHieus hut cheerfally hopeful young chaps.
who are much worse off than the art student col
onv because the young lawyers must dress ike the
average citizen. end perhaps q little better
F2,,t this year there hundreds who are denied
,be chanoe of increasing the legal Latin Quarter
One well known lawyer remarked yesterday;
i sometimes think there are FIVE thousand young
law school graduates in town this summer search
ing for place. I am sorry, but those VINO mo
4bex can't make their way in this profession will
certainly he all the better fitted by their training
zrben they finally consent work at something