The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-12-03
County Bar Hold
Banquet and Meeting
( Continued from Page y

Taking as his subject "The Amen
tiles of the Law" Judge Fish said il
, the opening that all agreed with The
President in at least one thing; "that
is easier to make war than to make
peace" He said that following If
the wake of the war there had never
been so many questions from law.
.yer's standpoint for consideration
and determination. These included
the League of Nations, the question
OF capital and labor, the recent
events in Mexico, the 18th amend
ment to the constitution, the ques-
ton before the Supreme cout as
to whether wartime prohibition is
still in force, the spread of propa-
ganda intended for the overthrow Of
the established order.
Judge Fish in speaking next CT the
advantages of organizations of
lawyers, spoke more at length of the
influence of the American Bar asso-
citation, giving personal impressions
of the meetings he had attended.
These included the address of Lord
Chief Justice Russell of England at
the Saratoga gathering in 1896, the
meeting at Montreal just before the
war when Lord Haldane, the Chan
cellor of Great Britain was the
guest, and the last meeting in Bos-
| ton when Great Britain was repre-
sented by Viscount Farley and Can
ada by Chief Justice Riddell of On
tario. Judge Fish brought to the
listeners many strong thoughts Of
these great magistrates, saying of
the Boston meeting:
at seems to me as | look back
ION the meeting that the cardinal
point was that men always live with
in the law, and that 40 lawvers
should always and everywhere be the
advance agents to teach this doc
trine among men, But you will re-
member how hard on the heels OF
the lnwywers meeting came the po-
licemen's strike, which showed gross
misconception of public duty, if not
utter disregard of law. For a time
the good people of Boston were in
clined to laugh at the fine lessons
and high principles which the law
yers discussed but the laugh wa
short-lived and it ended when the
Vermont boy, transplanted to Massa-
chusetts, who had defied the striking
policemen as governor of the Old
Bay state was reelected by ma
jority of $4,000 The heart of the
state was found to be on the sid,
of the law and order, as it is sur,
to be when the people take the time
to stop and think"
The speaker then gave some good
advice to the lawyers, urging
thoughtfulness of Others and fol
lowing this with some very apt il
Illustrations of "reminiscences of Judge
Rowell, Judge Barrett, E. J. Phelps
and others. He said he wondered
why the law was not as alluring
formerly, and answering the criti-
cism that court procedure was slow
in Vermont, said at is doubtful i.
there ever was a time when the
work of the courts in Vermont was
better caught up than at the pres
ent time. The cases are advanced
more speedily for trial in the county
courts, are argued earlier in the
Supreme court, and decisions are
announced sooner than have been
at any time, at least in recert
years" ..
Touching upon proposed amend
ments to the constitution Judge Fish
said that if the side judges were to
be retained provision ought to be
made that they need not sit in jury
tHials. He thought it would also be
in the interests of economy to
change the constitution so that NOR,
cases could be tried by the Court as
matter of right FINALLY, in this
connection, would it be too much to
ask to have the constitution amend
ed by changing the county courts to
superior courts? In such an. event
the superior judges would hold the
superior courts, and they would be
the judges of the superior courts
and not superior judges who held
the county courts. There would be
the chief judge Of the superior court
and the assistant judges of tic SUI
perior court. THIS would leni some
thing to the side, of dignity, and
good deal to the side of harmony in
nomenclature. With such change
VIC should be saved the anomaly of
having superior judges without a
superior court, and the error that
is made almost daily of calling us
the judges of the superior court"
Judge Fish closed an address. fill
ed with Strong thoughts with tri-
butte to the noble profession to which
his hearers belonged.
| eve approach the law from differ
i ent angles, but we are bound by
the same> high oath and the same
lofty standards. Your duty is to your
circuit and in your advocacy of his
! cause Vour SvmnathieS. and not in.