Evening star., 1938-06-05
Lawyers Place in
American Life
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

AAAAiSaASAo VA CdSCA yOQllS WOllCu dIw
about to spring full armed with knowl-
edge of the law from the capacious brow
OF the American law schools They will
prepare for bar examinations and, upon
passing them, be ready to solve every
problem, public or private, that the
American Nation has to offer. A great
many Of them will find themselves. at
least in their early careers, specializing
in one of the chief problems of COM
mercial civilization, that Of bill collecting.
Others will 60 in for track work, meanly
described by envious persons as ambu-
lance chasing. But each will be certain
that his is great profession for, an the
ancient maxim says, the Law is a jeal-
Gus mistress and is not pleased when her
devotees stray into other fields
The next census will show some 200 900
lawyers already practicing or qualified in
the United States. That means one man
OF law for every $50 citizens, including
physical as well as legal infants. OF
course infants may become litigants and
often do. In contested will cases they
may become excellent clients from the
pront point OF view. But, however one
looks at the matter, the new crop of
lawyers faces bitter competition.
Brushing aside the business aspect of
the matter-as the idealistic lawyer is
supposed to do-members of this profes-
sion may start out upon their careers in
the consciousness that they belong to a
group to which the Nation owes a heavy
debt. This country was founded on the
principle of government by law and not
by men, and where there is codified law
there must be lawyers to expound it and
to Judge the merits of controversies in
its light.
The fiedgling lawyer must learn from
the outset that his profession wakes and
Wanes according to public affairs. In
times of domestic tranquility and easy
operation of the law, the attorney liz
likely to be looked upon as a sort of
parasite who continually is sticking his
nose into other peoples business. There
Will be upflarings of protest against the
multiplicity Of laws and of LAWYERS.
against what Shakespeare described as
the laws delay and the insolence of
ONCE. On the criminal side the press
Will assert as Of yore, that you cannot
convict million dollars. Technicalities
OF the law and chicanery on the part of
the lawyer will be blamed for the liberty
of gangsters.
There is nothing new in all that. Dean
Jonathan Swift. who knew enough about
humanity to write "Gulliver's Travels"
and who died nearly two centuries ago.
wrote: Laws are like cobwebs which may
catch small flies, but let wasps and hor-
nets oreak through" But against that
view OF the matter one may cite the very
hot -J1. <.fA
halter draw with good opinion Of the
law" Much of the time there is con-
spiracy of adverse criticism against the
lawyer. In suppressed passage of Rob-
ert Burns Tam O. Shanter" that worthy
described horrible scene as including
lawyers tongues turned inside out"
However, in countries which set some
store by moderate tranquility and op-
portunity to be free from oppression, the
moment rights and liberties are assailed
there is general turning to the lawyers
to set matters to rights.
The story of the founding Of the Amer
lean Republic is familiar to few Amer
leans 1t is known that, during the long
Colonial period-almost half the hfespan
of our people on this continent-there
were no laws of force which were not I'M
posed from foreign sources and admin
istered by functionaries and judges who
were primarily self-serving. For a cen
tury there was scarcely lawyer in the
Colonies.
When, as the 18th century advanced
and the Revolution was nearing, legal
profession native to America had begun
to arise, it was the bane of the existence
of the Colonial administrators appointed
by the British crown. The Berkshire
ConstitutionalistS, well before the Reye-
luton, had revolted and cast forth as
demons the crown judges, declaring that
they would not take their cases before
them. They insisted upon government
by law and not by men. Not long before
the outbreak Gen. Thomas Gage wrote
to an English correspondent:
"The lawyers are the source from
whence the clamors have flowed in every
province. In this province nothing pub
lick is transacted without them and 1t is
to be wished that even the bench was
free from blame" The old records re-
veal letter after letter sent home to Eng
land blaming the lawyers for melting the
Revolution. In every Colony the lawyers.
rather than the planters or merchants,
clamored for liberty under laws.
X X
To what extent the people were turn
ing to them in the tremendous emergency
of the issue between the crown and
liberty is shown by the fact that more
than half the members of the first Con-
tinental Congress were lawyers, while in
the second Continental Congress more
than two-thirds we're of that profession
The Declaration of Independence was
largely the work of one lawyer, so far as
the wording was concerned, but it would
have been of no avail had it not been
stoutly signed. Of the 56 ,signers, 25
were lawyers. Then came the task of
drawing a Constitution. That was the
joint work of many men representing
many shades of opinion, but If one ex-
anime into the identity of the trainers
it is found that of the SIS who partici-
pated, 80 were lawyers. Of that docu-
ment, William E. Gladstone, the great
commoner, Prime Minister of Great
Britain, declared "the American Consti-
tuition is the most wonderful work ever
struck off at given time by the brain
and purpose of man."
Lawyers have played leading part in
the development Of the Nation Two
thirds of the American Presidents have
been lawyers. The Nation has fought
five important wars since its inception.
During those crises there were 70 cabinet
members. Five-seventh of them were
lawyers. Five-sevenths of the members
of hoth hoIIseS of Coy,craec uore ,..-.-