Evening star., 1928-06-17

convincinsly, and. above all else, Q love
of justice and the courage TO hold To
his conscientious convictions, no matter
what the temptation may be TO depart
from the path of principle.
When all lawyers reach this standard
we shall have better and surer admins
tration Of justice. Meanwhile. although
there Is general dissatisfaction with the
law. lawyers and courts, there Is also
widespread disagreement both as TO the
cause and cure OF present defects.
The cause. for instance, Is variously
ascribed to:
The lawyers-the judges--the juries--
the -prohibition--the World
War--woman suffrage-the corpora
Observation-Disclosures I. W. W.-The
Republican party - the Democratic
party.
The cures suggested are about as nu-
merous as the causes assigned for crime
OF justice. We hear advocated, for in
stance, as cure-alls for defective law
administration:
Adjustment OF turies
Adjustment Of appeals
Limitation Of newspaper reports oil
crimes and trials.
Limitation OF the power of judges.
Increase OF the power Of judges.
Longer prison sentences.
Shorter prison sentences and more
paroles.
Capital punishment
Adjustment of capital punishment
because 1t "brutalizes the people"
There are certain other possible
causes and cures quite as worthy Of con,
sideration, IL not more So One OF then
is based directly on the principle sug.
gested by Josh Billings: Human natul
Is the same in some folks as It's ir
others, 'cept little more 80" In othel
words, lawyers who have living II
make are only human.
Cause Crowded Courts.
II there are too many lawyers, ant
particularly LAWYERS who must substitute
deceit and craft and cunning for wha
they lack in legal knowledge, the court!
will continue to be congested with suit.
that should never have been brought
with pleas that lack reason and justice
and with appeals that are based only
on pretext and bare technicalities No
all members of an overcrowded profes.
sion can forever refuse the demands oi
clients who insist on winning. no mat.
ter what methods may be necessary.
So, while human nature" is what Il
Is. the combination Of lack Of profes.
siof1al skill and lack of clients will pro.
duce lawyers who hinder rather thar
aid the administration of justice. 1t Il
certain, therefore, that poor prepara.
ton OF too many lawyers for the prac'
tice Of their profession is an impor.
tant factor in producing maladministra.
tion Of justice.
The ease with which admittance mal
be gained to the ranks Of the legal pro.
fession In many States is a constant
practice Of the law only the opportunity
to make money quickly, In every Law
schools class will be found young mer
whose freely admitted ambition Is to be-
come criminal lawyers" or corpora
ton lawyers" simply because Of the pub.
licity, or the widely heralded large fee,
to be obtained from master criminals OF
large and supposedly soulless corpora
tions. Such young men have no con-
ception at all of the law as an instru.
ment of service to their fellow men ir
the protection Of human rights and ir
the laying Of solid legal foundations fol
the upbuilding Of legitimate business
enterprises.
Legal Problems Complex.
The continued development of oul
civilization has created vastly more
numerous and more complex legal prob.
lens than existed even a generation
ago. Unless and until there Is i'm
proyement In legal education, the court!
probably will continue to be over.
burdened with cases that are eithel
entirely without merit or that nigh
have been avoided by sound legal ad
vice In the first place.
We have laws today on every con
ceivable subject, including many tha
we're undreamed Of in the days o
Blackstone. such as Interstate Com
merce, aviation. radio transmission ant
railroad. bus and automobile operation
The general laws of the United States
that is. Of the Federal government
with its supposedly severely restricted
powers, Ill a volume OF 2,l25 pages
require $500 pages Of small type fol
their statement A single STANDARD
work of legal reference. not yet near.
ly complete, consists Of 43 volumes. con
tanning $4,000 pages OF comment OF
the law and citations OF some of th'
cases regarded as precedents.
Under such circumstances. the Tleet
OF the public is for better lawyers. 81
that the work Of the courts may b
lessened In volume and increased II
effectiveness
In recognition OF that need. th'
American Bar Association has sought II
recent years to bring about chang
In the rules for admission TO the bal
In the several States that will raist
the standard OF education and htnes!
Of lawyers.
The trade unions promulgate rule.
governing the time apprentices are re-
Quired to serve before they can be.
come journeymen IN their respective
trades. Three years Of apprenticeship
are required for bricklayers. cement
finishers, elevator constructors. giaziers
fathers. painters and tile layers. -Four
years Of apprenticeship are required for
architectural iron workers. asbesto:
workers. electric workers, plasterers
sheet metal workers and stone cutters
Five years Of apprenticeship are re-
quired for plumbers and steam fitters.
submit that the training Of a law
yer. who Is to participate in the ad-
ministration Of justice and who has to
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