Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-07-12
POLITICS AND
THE LAWYERS
Goysrnsr Wilson Addresses
Kentucky Gar Association,

special 81 Chtted Press W1Te.
Lexington, KY, July 12:-Gover-
nor Woodrow Wilson, Of New Jersey,
delivered an address before the Ken
lucky State Bar Association here to-
day. His subject was The Lawyer
In Politics" He spoke in part as
follows:
The lawyer is, by very definition,
an expert in the law; and society
lives by law. Without it It's life is
vague, inchoate, ~disordered, vexed
with a hopeless instability. At every
turn Of It's experience society tries to
express its life, therefore, in law; to
make the rules of its action universal
and imperative. This is the whole
process of politics. Politics is the
struggle for law, for an institutional
expression of the changing life Of
society.
The lawyers ideal part in this
~unending struggle is easy to conceive.
There is long experience stored up in
the history of law. He, above all
other men, should have a quick per-
ception OF what is feasible, Of the
new things that Will fit into the old,
of the experiences which should be
needed, the wrongs that should be
remedied, and the rights that should
be o completely realized.
He should at every turn be the
mediator between society and the in
d%ividual, between groups of men, be-
tween all contendlng and contesting
interests. He should show how DIFF
~ferences are to be moderated and an
tagon1sms adjusted and society given
peace and ease of movement.
He can play this ideal part, how
ever only If he has the right insight
and sympathy. If he regards his
practice as a mere means OF liveli-
hood, If he is satisfied to put his ex-
pert advice at the service of any in
terest or enterprise, If he does not
regard himself as an officer Of the
State, but only as an agent of private
interest, If above all, he does not
really see the wrongs that are accu-
mulating, the mischief that is being
wrought, the hearts that are being
broken, and the lives that are be-
ing wrecked, the hopes that are be-
ing snufed out, and the energies that
are being snapped, he cannot play the
part of guide or moderator or advis-
or In the large sense that will make
him a statesman and & b~enefactor.
If l contrast with this ideal con
ception of the function Of the lawyer
in society what l may be excused for
calling his actual role in the strug-
gle for law and progress and the
renovation of affairs, l bpne That
Twill pst be ipterpreteAs suggestins
a-view of our gTsat6rofession which
is in any wise touched with cynicisu
or even with the spirit of harsh crit
fcism. The facts do not Justify a
cynical view Of the profession or even
losing the spirit VIII Which mas rrp1ffgg6fntthlgg
action of the greater members Of the
bar and Of the immortal judges who
have presided at the birth and given
strength ana fibre to the growth ana
liberty and huma might. l wish to
submit what l have to say In all fair
ness and without color even of dis
couragement.
The prepossessions of the modern
lawyer are all in favor of his close
Identification with his clients. The
lawyer deems himself in conscience
bound to be contentious, to manou-
vre for every advantage, to contribute
to his clients benefit his skill in a
difficult and hazardous game. He
seldom thinks of himself as the ad-
vocate of society. His very profess
sional loyalty begets in him the feel
ing that he Is the advocate now of
this, now of that, and again of
another special individual interest.
He moves in the atmosphere of pri-
vate rather than public service.
There are two present and immed-
late tests of the se~rviceability of the
1zxo ~,0Fa~-fAn 10 tho Notion ufhiPh
l think will at once be recognized
as tests which it is fair to apply. In
the first place, there is the critical
matter of the reform of legal pro-
cedure-the almost inYariablet
theme, II l am not mistaken, of all
speakers upon this question from the
President of the United States down.
The actual miscarriages of justice,
because of nothing more than a mere
slip in a phrase or q mere error in
an immaterial form, are nothing less
than shocking. Their number is in
calculable, but much more incalcul-
able than their number is the dam
age they do to the reputation OF the
profession and to the majesty and
integrity of the law. ANY one bar
association which would show the
way TO radical reform in these mat
tiers would insure a universal recon
sideration of the matter from one
end of the country to the other and
would by that means redeem the
reputation of a great profession and
set American society forward a whole
generation in its struggle for an
equitable adjustment Of Its difficult
ties.
The second and more fundamental
immediate test of the profession is
its attitude toward the regulation OF
modern business, particularly OF the
powers and action of modern cor
po~rations. II is absolutely neces-
sary that society should command
its instruments and not be DONNA
ted by them. The lawyer, not the
layman, has the best access TO the
means by which the reforms OF our
economic life can be best and most
fairly accomplished. Never before in
our history did those who guide at
fairs more seriously heed the as
sistance of those who can really
claimsan expert familiarity with the
legal processes by which reforms may
be effeetually accomplished. 1t is in
this matter more than in any other
that our profession may now be said
to be on trial. 1t will gain or lose
the confidence OF the country as II
proves equal to the test or unequa