Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1914-10-21


It's depths" but that the best course for
a nation to pursue was the disintcrested
part. He added that the unsettled world
conditions made a good time for freeins
the law from the dry consideration OF
cold presidents and injecting into Il more
Of the viewpoint of justice for the ordl-
nary man.
Opinion f. Mistress.
The opinion OF tho world is the mis-
tress OF the world. and the processes OF
international law are the slow processes
by which opinion works Its WILL" said
President Wilson.
What lmpresses mo Is the constant
thought that that Is tho tribunal at the
bar OF which we all sit / would call your
attention, incidentally, TO the cirourn-
stance that Il does not observe the ordi-
nary rules of evidence, which has some
times suggested to mo that the ordinary
rules OF evidence had shown some signs
Of growing antique.
Everything. rimor included. is heard
In this court, and the standard of judy
ment Is not with regard to the character
Of the testimony but the character OF
the witness, The motives are disclosed.
the purposes are conJectured and that
opinion Is finally accepted which seems
to be, not the best founded in law, per-
haps, but the best founded I'm integrity
of character and morals. That Is the
process which Is slowly working its will
on the world and what we should be
wstchful OF is not so much Jealous in
terests as sound principles OF action. The
disinterested course is always the big
gest course to pursue. and 1t is in
the long run tho most profitable course
TO pursue. II you can establish your char
acter, you can establish your credit.
what IL Needed.
what wanted TO suggest to this as
sociation in bidding them very hearty
welcome to the city. Is whether we suffl-
GENTLY apply those same ideas to tho body
OF municipal law which we seek to ad-
minister Citations seem to play so much
larger a role now than principle. There
was a time when the thoughtful eye OF
the Judge rested on the changes Of social
circumstances and almost palpably saw
the law arise out Of human life. Have we
got to time when the only way to
change law Is by statute?
1.-THE changing OF lay by statute seems
to me like mending a garment with
patch; whereas law should grow by the
life that is in II, not by the life that is
outside Of IT, 1 should hate to think
that the law did not derive its impulse
from looking forward rather than from
looking backward, or rather that It did
not derive It's instruction from looking
about and seeing what the circumstances
of men actually are and what the inn
~ aarflV
Time 10 FIND out.
Understand me, gentlemen. I am not
venturing in this presence 20 lmpesch
the law. For the present. by the force
OF circumstances, 1 am in part the emf
bodimenti Of the law. and IL would be
very awkward to dlsavow myself. But
do wish to make this intimation, that
in this time of world change, in this
time when we are going to find out just
how, in what particulars aad to what
extent the real facts of human life and
the real moral judgments Of mankind
prevail, It is worth while looking inside
our municipal law and seeing whether
the moral judgments OF mankind are
made square with every one OF the judg-
ments of the law itself. For 1 believe
lndl VIC pCIONO VIC 1AO booNCAA1AAoB hoN
of commands, but of a spirit. We are
custodians OF the spirit of righteousness.
OF the spirit OF equal handed Justice, OF
the spirit of hope. which believes in the
perfectibility Of the law, with the per-
fectibility OF human life itself
How Fast to Go.
Public life, like private life, would be
a very dull and dry matter II It were not
for this belief In the essential beauty OF
the human spirit ana the belief that the
human spirit could be translated into
action and into ordinance. Not entire.
You cannot go any faster than you can
advance the average moral Judgment OF
the mass, but you can so at least as fast
as that. and you can see to II that you
do not lag behind the average moral
judgments OF the mass. l have in my life
dealt with all sorts and conditions of
men, and have found that the flame of
moral Judgment burned just as bright In
the man OF humble life and limited ex-
perience as in the scholar and the man
Of affairs. And I would like his voice
always to be heard. not as a witness, not
as speaking in his own case. but as II
he were the voice of men in general in
our courts OF justice. as we'll as the