The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-05-03
Address Delivered by Judge Hamilton Mcwhorter of Athens, Ga- Before the Association of Surgeons of the Southern Railway.

 of the Southern Railway. held in Bir- mingham. Judge Hamilton McWnorser delivered an eloquent and impressive address on the law and its relation to property.
 Judge Mcwhorter said:
 Mir. President, Members of the Associa-
 tion of Surgeons of the Soutnetn
 Railway. Ladies and Gentlemen:
 The privilege of addressing tnis distinguished assemblage Is so cordially apprecfated that beg, in the very pe- ginning, to acknowledge the honor tnA. you have done me and express tne pleasure that it gives me.
 bring greetings to this Assoc'a.lon ,.. of his fellows, from my home city, which has furnished to the world from your ranks a name that will STOW Tn iustre and enduring fame as ions as flesh is heir to pain and sufferinE-
 bring greetings from my native State, which alone of all the states oi this great Union, has voted represeh- tative of your noble profession mtg ,, Ie hs Hall of Fame--whose memory VII pe cherished as long as the introduction of anesthesia is attributed to profes- atanal initiative and skill, and Wnose naarhle statue will forever remain silent but eloquent memorial 70 your honored profession--Dr. CraWIora W Long.
  nv city and State, and your noble nrnfession. wherever it may assemble nr sncouraGed by these associations, nriviIered by these ties. and cheered by these reflections. I put aside my own diffidence and am encouraged 70 address you.
 In the discharge of our duty to .he srest company which we have the honor to represent, the lawyer and the surgeon are inseparable. and yet I uo not purpose to address you merely as the attending surgeons of the SoSthern Railway Company.
 However, we would be blind and in- sensible to the objective symptoms of the situation If we did not realize fhe condftions which confront us. and consequently, with your permission, win consult with you about the treat raent of these conditions as relating. to the great property under our care. Az ter careful diagnosis, beg to pre- scribe skiilfui prescription or Tne' Law"
 Tha natural person Is convalesceds strengthened and reinvigorated from the books of materia medica. The ar ticificial person Is fostered, strength ened, and developed by the law--its sta.tutes--its enactments and It's pro- visions. It is the child Of it's loins, ] and without its protecting aegis It must wither and decay and die. |.
 The only protection to property is the law It stands over 1t like silent sentinel, the potent and ever watchfui guardian of invested capital.
 Whether the law originated from necessity. cr was conceived in con- venience. resulted from conquest. or sprung like seed from the mind of man terminated by natures mysterious bsnd nav form the basis of much theoretical discussion, but all will agree that its voice is "the harmony of the world"
 The sovereignty of the law is an epic to the aAngio-Saxon race. for to his rugged manh ood the dogma, the king can do no wrong" was meturea inlo the vital principle. the law IS sa- preme.
 And if this living principle is pre- served and perpetuated. 1t, will mature Into fruition the highest type Of man. hood, the safest form, of government and the most enlightened system sqf riviiization-- where the rights Q. person and property can rest in complete se- .urity under it's protecting aegis.
 The assertion and protection of in- slvtduai and property rights. like thread of gold, runs through the Anglo saxon system of legal Jurisprudence and finds iodgment in the organization bf its courts.
 
 armed people, because its courts is the last resort of power and the citadel of its final Jurisdiction
 The Executive may be moved by thirst for power and seek to usurp and absorb centralizing authority in himself; or the law-making power may iugxle with temporary agitation and rIanlor, but the final refuge of individ- nal and property rights under the AnrIo-Saxon system is the courts which can prune the usurpation of the one and restrain the hasty and fren- zied action of the other
 The system of Angio-Saxon Juris- prudence can be best illustrated by contrasting it with the Latin system-- its great rival for racial existence and
 The supreme power under the Anglo Saxon system is the Law, but under the Latin system 1t Is the executiVe, therefore the Latin court is mercy the arm of the government, either to execute the vengeance or dispense the grace.
 Ii is but the avenue to executive favor or the rod of imperial displeas- ure
 The Latin judge is merely the agent of his imperial master--servile, sun servient and fawntnE.
 The Anglo-Saxon system is ground ed on individual and property rights and the Judge Is amenable to no au- thority save the imperial majesty of the Law.
 The Anglo Saxon judge is indepen- dent of the executive and declares rights" and accords justice"
 The Latin judge Is merely the hand of his imperial master. extending grace and dispensing privilege
 The Anglo-Saxon court is one of the trinity of The Law. springing from the same constitutional source. each CO., ordinate and independent, but the court is, the final lodgment of power the greatest of the three.
 The contrast might be continued. but this suflces to illustrate the distingu- ishing characteristics of each.
 The court, under the Anglo Saxon system. holds the ark of the law and is it's final lodgment and restiltE; place vicious may at times assail 1t. the wise and thoughtful will ever cherish it as the palladium. of their individual and property rights for these rights" can find no safer refuge or repository than a wise. upright and indepeDdens judiciary.
 { As tiie silent atmosphere. here and there perhaps pollIIted-broods over all nature, supporting and sustaining it in its soft and beneficial embrace. so the Law and It's courts hovers around and about individual and property rights, possibly at times, in the fraiity of human nature. misapplied and mis- directed. but at all times it's anchor it's shield and its guard.