Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1927-10-07

at is as much the duty of the press
as IL Is of the bar to assist In the
honest, speedy and efficient, adminis-'
tration of justice. and the bar has not
a fraction of the power of the press
to do it," said Walter Aitken. OF Boze-
man, president OF Montana Bar asso-
citation, b the annua meeting or Mon
tana Stat. Press association In Great
Falls recently. +.
Mr.. Aiken is q former secretary or
Montana State Press association, having
held that office from 1898 to 1905. when
he resigned to take up the practice OF
law. He wa a newspaper owner, editor
and reporter in Montana for II years
before he became a lawyer. He estao-
Iished the first newspaper at Saltwater.
which is now Columbus, the county seat
of Saltwater county, and later n at
Big Timber. He started the Kalispell
Bee and ran It for two years. Afterwards
he was editor Of the Post, and also OF
che Enterprise at Livingston, holding
the latter position when he was admitted
to the bar in 1905. He was elected presf-
dent of Montana Bar association this
year.
Court and News
The subject of MIR. Athens address
was 'The Court and the News
For 10 years l observed court pro-
ceedings from the news reporters table"
said Mr.. Aitken. land for the past 20
wears / have observed such proceedings
from the counsel table, In that period
I have been employed occasionally by
large daily newspapers as lawyersreporter'
with the idea hat I could see news
values and at the same time present the
technical features OF the trial so that
the everyday newspaper reader could
not only understand them but find them
interesting as we'll as accurate"
1.-THE editors and publishers" said Mr..
Aiken. have no formal oath registered
and recorded, as have legislators - gus-
eminent executives, all judicial Officers,
and all attorneys at law, to support. pro-
tect and defend the constitution, n to
discharge the duties of their respective
offices with fidelity. Nevertheless, they
unquestionably have such a moral and
patriotic duty resting upon them. II,
then. the press is in fact, II, not consti-
%tutionaily, a recognized and. powerful
factor ia government, what general atti-
tude does it take toward the other de-
partments of the government, especially
the judicial department?
as 1t the duty of the press to assist
In the speedy, efficient and honest adj
ministrafion Of justice; or is the press to
see in the courts and their activities mere
sources Of news to be used with regard
only to the financial profit to be gained
ny 0A14l LOU ~ WYNN tFBfESA 'h~A bAhe
duty of the press is much the same as
the duty of the lawyer.
Hold Public 900 First ?
IF the press s~ubordinates financial
gain to the public good, it is in. the
same class with the lawyer who, ciings
to the ancient and honorable traditions
Of profession. is devoted first to the
maintenance Of justice pure and upsul-
lied, and who realizes 1T cannot be so
maintained unless theA conduct and mo-
tives of the members of the profession
are such as TO merit the approval Of all
Just men"
Mr.. Aiken went on to say that the
popular notion that lawyers make the
laws is a mistake. He stated that 1t is
rare, If ever, that lawyers are In anna,
jority in any lawmaking body. or any
thing near it. There were 1853 members
of the last Montana legislature and not
more than 80 were lawyers.
Besides. he said, "if there are 300
lawyers outside of the legislature who
want q law passed for Improvement IN
the administration of justice, and two
lawyers in the legislature who oppose 1t,
the lay members of the legislature will
listen to the two inside before they will
listen to the 800 outside. and defeat the
law. The legislature makes. the rules
for the conduct of its own business, but
it will not let judges OF the lawyers make
the rules for the conduct Of court busi-
ness. A
''These rules are as much laws as q
law against murder, and the judges and
lawyers are sworn to uphold all Of them
1t is in the application Of such rules that
the 'technicalities' come, about which
there is SO much complaint. In England
and Canada the judges and lawyers make
the rules Of procedure with the result
that there is very little complaint about