The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1924-04-10

Since Montana became a state, 2
070 persons have been admitted t
practice law in Montana, in additio.
to the half a thousand admitted Will
Montana was a territory, according
to records of the state supreme court
Women have always been eligible
to the bar of the state, yet fewe
than Is have awaited themselves o
the privilege, judging from thu
names inscribed on the great regis
ter. The records do not distinguish
as to sex but a p~erusal of the more
than 1900 signatures revealed only
IA which could be recognized as rep
~resenting the fairer sex.
The first name on the roll after
Montana became a state is that OF
John w. Cotter of Butte, admitted
November Is, 1889. Ella u
Knowles was the first woman attor-
ney. She was then a resident of Hell
ena, coming to that city in 1887. She
taught school for a year or two and
soon after taking the bar examina-
ton became a candidate for the of
flee of attorney general on the peo-
pies party ticket. Being defeated by
the republican candidate, she took
defeat philosophically and married
him with the result that as Mrs. II. j.
Haskell she held the position of as
sistant district attorney for a brief
time. Both Mr.. and Mrs. Haskell
died within recent years, Mr.. Haskell
as late as 1921 being a member OF
the house of the Montana assembly
from Glendive. Both before and
after her marriage Mrs. Haskell APP
peared in cases before the state SUI
preme court and was able to present
an able argument, according to an
old time jurist. She was graduated
from a seminary and normal school
in New Hampshire, from Bates col
lege, Maine, and practiced law in
New Hampshire before her advent
in Montana.
Few Disbarred
There have been remarkably few
disbarments in Montana, according to
the records of the court, "a count
showing only "a disbarred in the 35
years of statehood. Death, retire
ment, and removal from the state,
however, have reduced the number
of active attorneys to 632, the num-
Der which paid the license fee of SIS
for last year. The number remain
ing is not precise as there are a few
who neglected to pay their fees for
1928. At least one young lawyer of
the state wrote in last year that he
had not earned SIS during the year.
At the present time, it is estimated,
there is about one attorney in Mon
tana for every 760 population.
There is, at present, a charge of
$25 for taking the bar examination
which entities the applicant to a sec
ond try if he fails the first time, pro-
viding the second attempt is made
within a year. The records show
that one applicant has taken the ex-
animation eight times and failed each
time.
The record, in it's black and white
unsentimental way, seems to show
that not only have women made lit
tie Roadway in their invasion of a
profession once thought to belong eX-
clusively to the male, but also that
it is a long climb to the top of the
ladder of success in law and that the I
top is reached only after the hair has !
grayed and mature years have come.
The men of outstanding prominence
in the profession in Montana have al {
A1OoI W4IAOuL GACGpLlOA pIdCL1CGu Id /,
upward of 80 years. Three of the
five members of Montana's supreme :
court were admitted to practice in I
1892-Justice Holloway, Justice '
Stark and Justice Cooper-and the |
of them were a year behind
Chief Justice Galloway, who was adj
IN the bench is Judge Galen, who f
% hnnn nron4Sai,,r Low fFOr1uJ Oe -
ears, having been admitted in 1897. :
Early Lawyers Best 8
There were not such large classes h
Omitted in the early years of state
Lood but what they lacked in num- e
'ers apparently was more than made
p in ability. In addition to the =
our members of the supreme court
7ho were admitted in 1891 or 1892
hese two years can claim the follow
ng from among the prominent mem
lers of the profession in the Treasure
tate: Governor Joseph M. Dixon,
%; U. S. Senator T. ]. Walsh, 81;
Judge J. E. Erickson, '92; Colonel
G. Ingersoll, famous lecturer
author, was admitted "by cour-
esy" Feb. 4, 1891.
Some of the other lawyers of prom
hence in the state we're admitted
s follows: Former Senator Henry L.
Iyers, '83; Federal Judge George M.
'ourquin, "a; former Governor S..
:. Stewart, '98; G. F. Kelley, presi-
ent Anaconda Copper Mining COM
any, '98; Federal Judge Charles N.
ray, '98; ]. Bruce Kremer, demo-
ratio national committeeman, 1901;
ohm L. Slattery, U. S. district at
,rney, 1904; U. S. Senator B. K.
Wheeler, November 8, 1905; We'll
ngton D. Rankin, attorney general,
909.
There we're approximately 500 at
licensed and admitted to
ractice in the territory before Mon
ma became a state and when Mon
ma was given it's star in the flag
lose, or such as were still living
Id residents of the state, were pos