The National tribune., 1909-02-25
the bully. He abhorred blasphemy and

the bully He abhorred blasphemy and
he despised scandal.
Lincoln's intimate associates at this
time were men most of whom were 10
have a career only a little less brilliant
than his own. They were to become
noted at the bar, were to make names
as Governors of States, United States
Senators. Cabinet officers, and to COM
mand the plaudits of the people on the
bloody field of honor in the greatest Of
all wars Among them were men who
were TO be the charter members" of
the great Whig Party and later of the
Republican Party. There was Stephen
A. Douglas to start with. Edward Baker.
Ninian Edwards. John A. McClernand.
Shelby NJ. Cullom, John NJ. Palmer,
Mai Stuart, Lyman Trumbull, James A.
McDougall, O. II. Browning. David Da-
Wis, Edwin NJ Stanton. Leonard SWEET.
Stephen T. Logan, William II. Herndon.
Joshua Speed, John ]. Hardin and
Richard Oglesby--a galaxy of brilliant
men, men who have made the State and
the Nation famous. Lincoln was the
dear familiar of most of them. meeting
and practicing with them for a period
of 23 years. AS lawyer he held his
own, too, was never non-suited, seldom
lost a case, and his arguments stand
to-day as keen, shrewd, convincing as
the day they were made. 1t Is recorded
that Lincoln's manner and his dress
seemed so uncouth that Edwin NJ. STAN
ton, to whose assistance he had been
sent by friend of Stanton's in pc
culiarly difficult case, and that the
learned gentleman, who was afterward
to become his Secretary of War. re-
ferred to him in as "the long-armed
creature from Illinois, and disdained
his assistance, but he lived to revise his
opinions. An Englishman named Bad
delcy was turned over to Lincoln. who
was placed in charge of his case by his
partner, Stuart. The Englishman was
SO disgusted that he took the case away
from the firm. just because of the per-
sonal appearance OF Lincoln. Baddeley
described his trousers as too short, his
coat too big all homespun stuffs, and
said he had the appearance "of rustic
on his first visit to the circus"
His First Law Office.
That first law office of Lincoln. which
was such a haven of rest to the har-
assed, Gebt-ridden young lawyer, was
a dreary enough place. The furniture
was of the very toughest manufacture,
the table being homemade. The chairs
were common wooden ones, the miser-
able excuse for stove burned wood,
and there was lounge whose sole COW
ering was a buffalo robe, and this was
of bench in the room. The library
comprised some 25 Illinois Reports and
perhaps 20 volumes of law books. legis-
lative reports and a few Congressional
documents. all piled up on rough
shelves about the walls There is not
much resemblance in this poverty
stricken little Office to the palatial sur
roundings Of the veriest law cub of to-
day, but there was no paucity of brains
in that gloomy little coop. at any rate.
That Lincoln did not believe a large
library necessary to law student is
left in letter in his own handwriting,
dated Dec 3, 1858, after he had himself
become noted at the bar and was an
authority. The letter was addressed to
a Mr. James T. Thornton, who wanted
Lincoln to become law instructor to n
young man. Lincoln declined. 81 am
absent altogether too much" he wrote,
ito be a suitable instructor for a law
student. When man has reached the
age that Mr.. Widner has and has al
ready been doing for himself my judg-
ment is that he read the books for him
SELF without an instructor. That is the
way I came to the law. Let Mr.. Wild
ner read Blackstone's Commentaries,
Chitty's Pleadings. Greenleafs Evil
dence, Story's Equity and Story, Esq. s,
Pleadings. get a license and go TO the
practice and still keep reading. That
is my judgment of the cheapest, quick
est and best way for Mr.. Widner to
make a lawyer of himself"
Honesty i'm Lawyer.
Think of a course like that. and the
man who recommended it, and the
long, costly and laborious methods of
acquiring q legal education to-day.
Then think of where Lincoln landed,
and remark the derelicts along the legal
pathway of to-day, and it is easy to un-
derstand that Lincoln knew that Il
young man who could not apply him
self sufficiently to read himself into the
law would never amount to much in
the profession. Lincoln pleaded for
honesty in the practice of law, too. Let
no young man choosing the law for q
calling yield to that popular belief
Chat honesty and law practice are not
compatable), he wrote. IF in your
judgment you cannot be an honest law
yer, resolve to be honest without being
a lawyer. Choose some other occupa-
tion rather than one in the choosing of
which you do in advance consent to be
a knave.'
If Lincoln were living to-day he
would want to scourge large part of
the legal fraternity out Of his presence.
He believed that it was as much the
province of a lawyer 10 keep down liti-
cation as the pettltOSgefS or To-Day De-
lieve in increasing il. Discourage liti-
CATION" he wrote, persuade your
neighbors to compromise whenever you
can Point out to them how the nOmi-
nal winner is often the real loser in
fees, expenses and waste of time. AS a
peacemaker the lawyer has a superior
opportunity of becoming good man.
There will always be enough business.
Never stir up litigation. a worse man
can scarcely be found than one who
fiend than he who habitually over
hauls the register of deeds in search of
defects N titles whereon to stir up
strife and put money in his pocket? A
moral tone ought to be infused into the
profession, which should drive such
men out Of it."
While Lincoln believed in observing
the law, he has asserted emphaticall5'
that he did not believe that all law was
good. He urged that reverence for the
law should be 1.-The political religion Of
the Nation" but there was n string tied
to this suggestion Of blind adherence to
law. He said. But when 1 SO press
ingly urge strict observance of all laws,
let me be not understood as saying that
there are no bad laws, or that griev-
ances may not arise for the redress of
which no legal provisions have been
made. / mean to say no such thing.
Eut L do mean to say that altho bad
laws. if they exist, should be repealed
as soon as possible, still, while they con-
tinue in force, for the sake of example,
they should be religiouSly observed"
The first case with which Lincoln's
name was connected as an attorney was