The Cairo bulletin., 1910-06-29
WickERsHAM SAYS lT is HE
WHO WILL SOLVE PROB
LENS OF GOVERNMENT.
WITH RARE EXCEPTIONS
Days OF Sef-resd Lawyer Is Passed
Says Attorney General in Speech,
To Harvard Law School
Association.

Cambridge, Mass. June 2S.--,The
college trained lawyer will solve the
great legal and economic question of
government In this ana the next gen
Grafton Tlat IL The opinion OF AT.
torney General Wiekersham, express.
cd in an address today before the
Harvard law school Association.
Mr.. Wickersham made an able All.
dress. In his opening words he de-
clared ho had been able to obtain
scant leisure from the duties of of.
ficial life and referred to himself as
IAN overburdened public official
whose mind was necessarily crowd
ed with prosaic and exacting details
of government.
"Contentment with meliocrity,
Mr.. Wickersham continued, rs in my
opinion, one of the greatest dangers
which confronts successful demoa-
racy everywhere. The hope OF
averting 1t rests largely with men Of
sound legal education.
For, this same contentment with
mediocnity breeds an lmpatienee with
any sort OF superiority, a desire to
belittle all excellence, readiness to
impute wrong motives to anything
net easily understood, to accept cal
umny as truth, without inquiry, and
gradual lessening for advancement,
ais II Is perceived that peace. which
is often mistaken for happiness II
alone to be found by accepting con
tentedly place In the undistinguish-
ed mulbitude,"
Here the attorney general quoted
from the report Of committe some
time ago appointed by the faculty OF
arts and science of Harvard, which
expressed tie opinion tnat in award
ing hiSa rank or distinction in col.
lege. emphasis should be laid more
largely than II is upon ability to deal
with facts and principles as com
pared with information acquired or
memory.
ut is precisely that ability which
is the ideal of the legal profession, =
said Mr.. Wickkersham, and the
achievement is characteristic Of its
most honored leaders and is utterly
inconsistent with a contentment with
mediocre things.
"That clear thought, sound learn
ing an consumate ability to deal
with facts may be attained without q
law school training is abundantly at
tessed by many illustrious examples.
Many examples may be cited to sus-
tain the theory. But as early as
Blackstone's day, thoughtful lawyers
realized that onl occasional and ex
ceptonal men accomplished good re-
suits by this haphazard sort Of ed.
ucation.
But the tendency of all collective
instruction is undoubtedly to dis,
courage the free development OF In.
divicual characteristics. to induce
conformity with conventional stand.
ards and to furnish the mind with 3
certain excellent .equSpmrG admir-
ably adapted to the ordinary exigen.
cies Of life, but not always fitted tu
attack and master exceptional liffl-
culties. The genius OF Langdeli res
cued the Harvard law school iron.
that tendency
"1h he rapid growth Of our popuia
tion. tae marvellonsly developed 10
cilities of intercourse and communi
cation by land and water and all
nave given rise to problems OF In
crensing complexity concerning the
relation of individual effort to the
general public, which by reason OF
the' obvious inability of any single
state of the union to deal with them
haye been pressed upon the national
government for solution"
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