St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1913-01-01
LAWYERS BANQUET
G. w Hill Entertained Members Of
the Bar and Laymen at the St.
JOhnsbury House.

A very happy suggestion came to
the mind of ofAttorneyG. w. Hill when
he decided to celebrate the 18th year
of his mem bership in the bar of st.
Johnsbury by giving a banquet to
his brother attorneys and laymen.
There were II lawyers invited and
an equal number of laymen. Nearly
all were present at seven O'Clock
when the party was ushered into
the dining room. The menu was an
original idea and we are able to
give it in full. 1t Watch
Your Plate" and on the plate was
placed one of the fine dinners Land
lord and Mrs. Moore are noted for
serving.
Ex-Lieut. Gov. L. P. Slack acted
as toastmaster and grace was said
by the Rev. Peter Black. When the
plates were removed Toastmaster
Slack called on Elisha May, who had
been connected with the bar for
more years than any other living
member. Mr.. May spoke on THE
Situation of The Currency" and said
that the American system of cur
rency did not compare favoraDly
with that Of other countries. There
is not so large a sum held for the
redemption of bills as in other coun-
tries and the currency lacks eias-
ticity. The trouble with the cur
rency is it is based upon the issue
of government bonds and we should
have an asset currency so the vol
ume OF money could be more easily
increased to meet unusual demands
for it,
Judge w. P. Smith was the next
speaker who said he became
member of the bar in 1869 and he
thought the young lawyer of today
stood a much better chance of sue
cess than in former times when
there was no spirit of fellowship
among the members of the bar. He
then spoke in a reminiscent way Of
the members of the bar who had
passed away and the changes in the
members of the bench. He was
pleased at this exhibition of good
fellowship and hoped !. that better
things were coming to their organ
iZation.
R. w. Simonds spoke OF 'Finan
ces as Applied to the Members of
The Bar" and told of the many fl
nancial ventures of the members
of the local bar and how in nearly
ONOAJ ScOS 6OAAO R1AteA~SAA RASA- AAN'
been given them which had enabled
them to get on their feet again. He
did not think lawyers were very
good financiers but he welcomed
the spirit of helpfulness for the
younger members of the bar that
was shown by those who had won
their spurs in the profession.
Harland B. Howe was presented
as a lawyer, inventor, farmer and
politician and he replied that they
were all profitable and beneficial
because they taught the lawyer to
be practical. The lawyers as rule
are not practical but the host of the
evening had hit upon a practical
plan in inviting his fellowmen in
to eat with him and he enjoyed the
good fellowship of the evening so
much that he wanted to invite them
to be his guests at a similar meet
ing on the evening of Feb. 19.
James B. Campbell was asked tc
tell how he earned his first fee af-
ter his admission to the bar and in
pleasant way told of a practical
experience he had recently in the
belfry of the court house. W
The speaking was closed by G..
w. Hill, the host of the evening,
who said he had been a member o.
the bar for IL years and took this
way to bring the members of the
bar into a closer and more pleasant
relationship. He believed the best
stock in trade for any lawyer was
the good will of his brother law
yers. The members of the profes-
sion must cooperate if they are to
realize the best the profession has
for them. He spoke of the forma-
ton of the Caledonia County Bar
Association but it has never been
uesd to bring the members togeth
er in good fellowship and he hoped
that this meeting was the begin
ming of a better understanding and
closer friendship among the men,
bers of the bar.
A rising vote of thanks was ex-
tended to the host for the splendid
entertainment he had given and the
meeting brought to a close.