The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-03-02
HINCKS IN.
 SERIOUS VEIN
 IS INTERESTING

IS INTERESTING MT. William T. Iincks, who five
 years ago retired from the active
 practice of law to become a banker,
 was very warmly received
 He said: "I am a thorough believer
 in the high character and good citi-
 zenship of the men at our bar. l
 believe it is bar of good average
 ability, comparing favorably with thc
 bars of other cities. It is borne in
 upon me as I grow older, however.
 that there are a feW-very few
 superlative gcniuses in any walk of
 life, and in this matter our bar is no
 exception. It is better for the com
 munity, and for the bar itself, to have
 it composed of a large number of
 men of excellent character and rea-
 sonable abilities. I would rather our
 bar would be knoVh for the sterling
 integrity of it's members than by their
 brilliancy. l feel it more and more
 as I get further away in point of
 time from my old associations. By
 should rest on his good character
 and expect that to carry him through.
 That is impossible, for character without industry is like faith without
 works. What l want to emphasize
 now is the fact that character is the
 jewel in the head; the foundation
 stone on which success is reared. It
 takes character and lots of it to con-
 duct law practice. How difficult it
 is to give an opipion one way when
 you know your c1inent wants it an
 other way. Is it easy for corporaz ton counsel to tell the party leaders who brought about his appointment,
 that party policy they are bent on carrying out is illegal? Is it easy to say to Scoundrelly witness who is determined on lying for your side. You rascally liar, get out of here?'' especially if you have no actual prsof, but only a clear suspicion, of his mendacity? Instances may easily be multiplied, but it is not necessary The point is, the temptation is there.
 but must be resisted and overcome. Another Hard Case.
 Then too, a hard case is presented where clients having gone as far as they can in questionable transactions, come to their lawyers to get help in,
 furtherance of their schemes, or at
 least to find a way out of the dif1-
 culties they have gotten into. What shall the upright lawyer do them? question of ethics is presented, and the lawyer must decide on are easily bowled over or subverted when one must make a decision
 which is fraught with much of per- sonal advantage or disadvantage to him. Yet we must hew close to the line, and decide rightly according to highest ethical standards. Such de- cisions will make for character, and in the long run it will pay to have character and be known to possess it. Few Specialists.
 Another thought. All the lawyers
 in the country towns,-and by coun- try towns I mean cities of this sise and larger-outside the great centers of population are, in the nature of things, required to be general prac- titioners. The number of good.
 thoroughly equipped general practi- | tioners must of necessity be very few. same time thoroughly versed in the intricacies of the bankruptcy law, criminal procedure, negligence cases, wills and the rules of evidence,- not to mention a dozen other sub- jects of general practice? An acute | intellect backed by a rententive mem | ory and analytical mind and habit may give the unusual man a good
 grasp of the many branches of geE. eral practice, but how about the av- of contradiction, that it is for. ths 1 few and not for the many to become and be general practitioners of ex- cellent quality and attainment, and l by reason of large and growing bar | being engaged in general practice, there may be some question whether the public is getting that thoroughly capable and satisfactory service it is entitled to receive.
 But you say, there is not. except
 in the great cities, any field for spe- cialists; outside of certain title
 searching business, no one can spe- l cialize and make living. ! grant
 you this is so, but I venture the sug- gestion, nevertheless, that every law
 yer in this city ought to cultivate cialty, and aim to know a great deal about that subject and to be 1 thoroughly good upon it. Probably | he could confine himself to that
 branch of practice alone, nor could
 he make his living from it. but he could develop that specially in con- ! nection with his other practice ani 1 thus make some unusually good fees i from time to time, and what is mora l important render good service to ths community.
 Let me illustrate from my owA field of finance. Who at this bar knows much about the general sub- 1 ject of taxation, and more partlc-
 ularly the taxation of securities? Tn these days when the government IS ject of taxation of securities is most important. What makes certain bond taxable, and what constitutes another bond non-taxable?"
 MT. Hincks continued in this strain and spoke of what character or stock was taxable; the knowledge of issuance of corporate securities, and he went into details of the intricacies of the proper issuance of corporate stocks, bonds, etc., and suggested that the proper knowledge in those matters would be valuable asset to
 any lawyer in his general practice. Wants Higher Standard.
 Mr. Hincks made another sugges-
 ton, which was that the bar associa- tion broaden it's field of activities by taking an active part in the gen.
 eral welfare, by taking a position i'll
 favor Of good legislation and against iIl-considered and dangerous legisla-
 ton. No body of citizens is so wis
 equipped to point out the dangers iE
 advance An association like this, he
 said, would exert great influence in
 the matter of the appointment of
 judges, state attorneys, bankruptcy
 referees, etc. In closing MT. Hincks
 made a pointed plea for a higher
 standard at the bar, and also limi-
 tation of entrance.