Omaha daily bee., 1916-09-03

promising iIc not Deen cut SNORT Dy
accident three years ago,
One need only run over the pro-
grams of the annual meetings of the
American Bar association to find how
prominently Nebraska lawyers have
figured in its proceedings A session
of the association would indeed be a
dull place if it did not include one of
the masterful orations of Henry d.
I>Estabrook, or a scholarly address
from Roscoe Pound, now professor
at the Harvard Law school. The an.
nual dinners of the association have
had on the toast cards William F,
! Gurley Of course, from Omaha, and
that wit, the Mark Twain OF Nebras-
ka, who never fails to set the table in
a roar, John F. Dryden of KearneN
| In the more technical work of the
association, which has for its objec:
the advancement of the science of
jurisprudence, the promotion of the
administration Of justice and the Sc
curing OF uniformity of legislation
throughout the United States, appear
many Nebraska names. Ralph Brock
enridge for many years was chairman
OF the committee on insurance; Will
! D. McHugh and Matthew A. Hall
have served as members of the gen
eral council for Nebraska; ]. A. c.
Kennedy. John J. Sullivan, John L.
Webster, William J. Hastings, dean
| of the law school of the University
Of Nebraska; Frank Irvine, some time
commissioner Of the Nebraska SUI
preme court, later dean OF the law
school of Cornell university, and now
one of the public service commission
ers of New York; Henry H. Wilson
of Lincoln and others are serving, or
have served, the association on many
! important committees. More than
100 members of the Nebraska bar,
representing at least 10 per cent OF
the lawyers of the state, are enrolled
! in its membership.
In its nearly forty years Of exist
ence the association has corrected
many abuses. To begin with it has
been instrumental in raising the stan
dard of legal education and the re-
quirements for admission to the prac-
tice, thereby insuring to the public
men trained in their profession with
the same care and fidelity as the ply
stefan of the first rank The associa-
ton has adopted a code of ethics of
purgirfg the profession OF unworthy
members. 1t has recommended stan
dards of conduct for judges to win the
respect of the people in the integrity,
impartiality and ability of the judi
ciary. In and out Of season the asso-
citation has labored to simplify the
! administration of law in courts and to
speed UP its procedure, advocated by
such authority as ex-President Taft
and Elihu Root. Who could expect
less when such men as Woodrow Will
son and Charles E. Hughes are en-
rolled as members? One Of its most
beneficial efforts has been directed to
secure uniform state laws in such Vi
tai matters as marriage and divorce,
workmen's compensation laws, bills
and notes, sales, land registration
acts, warehouse receipts and such
other laws of our forty-eight separate
states which affect interstate interests
or the rights and remedies of citi-
gems in their family and property re-
lations. To correct such mockery
on Justice as marriage after di-
vorce is valid in Nevada, but invalid
in New York, with all the attending
legal confusion which may arise from
the legitimacy OF children, the right
OF heirship, the devolution of proper
ty in such a case, falls within the
province of the American Bar asso-
citation.
To entertain the American Bar as
ISOLATION in annual convention, rep
resenting membership Of 10000,
would do honor to any city. With
all the prestige of Nebraska lawyers
it has not yet been the good fortune
of Omaha to be placed on the list. 1t
is not improbable, however, that
Omaha will be selected its conven-
ton city in 1918, for the policy of the
association is to alternate its sessions
annually between the east and west.
The association goes east again in
1917.
Your visiting lawyer is a man Of
discretion and good taste; he requires
the best there is for both his physi-
cal and intellectual well-bcing. And
when he attends the annual sessions
of his national society he seeks both
recreation and pleasure, for all work
and no golf makes him indeed dull
fellow. With good grace the Amer
lean Bar association may be invited
to meet in Omaha in 1913.