Daily Kennebec journal., 1917-02-15

would keen coming year after year
and they would have to turn them
down. If we had this requirement tney
would know just what would be eA-
pected of them and would prepare
themselves. Now the profession or law
! lust as much as the profession OF meu-
icine, is in these days raising i'S
standard. This is not stringent re
ouirement. The American Bar Asso-
citation, that great national orgahiza-
ton which the senator from PenoDscot
Senator Gillin, referred TO the otner
day as an organization WORKING LOT
uniformity of laws, had as part OF us
program this subject under lnVestisa-
ton. 1t appointed a special committee
which gave a number OF years OF STUDY
! to this question, and that committee
reported in Chicago last summer, rec
ommending giving standard rules lol
admission to the bar; and TINS was one
! of their recommendations, that a man
should have some preliminary educa-
! ton. They go further than this act
provides for. But it would seem at the
present time that it would be adVlS-
! able in the State of Maine that man
should have a High school education
or it's equivalent Since then, TINS
is a reasonable requirement, and since
! it does not bar any ambitious or indus
trious boy who wants to be lawyer
every man should be allowed to enter
/ the ranks and win his laurels on his
capacity, and | believe that under this
act he Wuld have no difficulty in do
+ ing so. 1t is simply in the interests OF
the boy himself that he should be
( r,ranarnd in the interest of
the profession, and I believe in the
interest of the public, because the pub
lie should have an efficient admins
tratiOn of the law. All our costly ma
chinery of the courts is provided not
for the lawyers but for the admins
tration of the law. You would not
/ think of putting on public ship an
( admiral who had not had previous
training. You would not think Of put
ting a man in command of a company
who had not qualified. y fellow today
has to take examinations on the mat
ters having to do with his calling
You would not think of putting an
engineer to constructing public works
unless he had been qualified Now in
the same way it seems to me that we
should not embark men in the legal
career unless they have had some pre-
liminary training. And as | think
that this is entirely reasonable, will
bar no one from the chance to win
fame and enter the profession, I there
fore feel obliged to vote against this
report. Thanking you for your atten-
ton.
THE PRESIDENTS: What motion
does the gentleman wish to make?
/ Mr.. HOLT: would move, Mr.. Presi-
dent that the bill be substituted for
the report.
THE PRESIDENTS: The Senator
from Cumberland, Senator Holt. moves
to substitute the bill for the report
+ Mr.. DAVIES of Cumberland: Mr.
President. will the chair be kind
enough to Let me examine the bill The
bill is not printed. | believe. (The
Senator examined the bill)
The bill laid before the Senate comes
to it under the unanimous report of
the members of the judiciary commit
tee that it ought not to pass. This is
no hasty or snap judgment. The bill
was considered in executive session
at least twice according to my recol-
lection, and l don't know but three
times, and each time there was a fun,
careful discussion of the merits of the
bill, and the report was unanimous
that it should not pass. The bill aims
to create certain standard of eff
cheney and knowledge in the students
who Apply for admission to the bar
other than knowledge of the law
The present law is that any student
who deVotes three consecutive years
of uninterrupted study to a knowledge
of the law. either in a law office or in a
law school, shall be considered quali-
fled for what? Qualified to take the
examination, Mr.. President, for ad-
mission to the bar, Does anybody
know of any one who has suffered
through this law? Is there any reason
that has been put forth by Senator
Holt why the law should he changed? :?
| assume that there should be after
every proposed act an interrogation
mark. Is this legislation necessary? !?
And the committee thought that this
legislation was not necessary The day
of the poor boy has not Yet struck. |
believe that the profession of the law
is a great profession where every man
finds his level. and he Will find it
through the public, and he will find it
quickly. The public has a certain
wedding out process in the matter of
lawyers that is infallible and has
proved itself so in the State of Maine.
That great Interpreter of the consti-
tuition, who gave it its fleXibiity and
its power. John Marshall, whose name
is inscribed first among constitutional
lawyers could not have passed this
examination when admitted to the bar.
Strange as it may seem to you, at the
time Lincoln, who, as the distinguished
Senator has mentioned, was admitted
/ to the bar, he had read nothing ac-
! cording to his biographer his son, Hon
Robert T. Lincoln. of Chicago except
Blackstone's Commentaries, a work on
evidence. a work on real property, the
Bible and Shakespeare. William Nc
/ Kinley, who sent our ships over the
A seven seas as great white winged mes
4 sengers of peace into every port in the
civilized world, could not have passed
4 that examination when admitted 20 the
/ bar. Grover Cleveland, that rugged
Democrat who shook defiance at the
! king on whose empire the sun never
sets. could not have passed that ex-