The people's voice., 1941-08-20
AITkEN takes ISSUE With MAuRY
ON INTEGRATI0N OF BAR ASSN.
Continued from Page one)

Townley who, like Jack Cade and his
malodorous associates, QI Henry "
Act w Scene IIJ would have furth
cred his reforms" by first killing
all the lawyers, having found such a
mass killing of the lawyers of North
Dakota a bit impracticable, deter
mined to have his legislature do the
next best thing. The scheme he
evolved was to compel all the North
Dakota lawyers to come into one CO.
hesive and all-inclusive organization
where he could keep them under his
eve and thumb, make rules for their
government and control and provide
by law for the disbarment of the dis
obedient The lawyers of course
were furious = almost as furious as
Lowndes Maury has been about it in
Montana. But the lawyers of North
Dakota could see further than Brother
Maury Having cooled off a bit they
began to study the Townley plan for
their enslavement to his will First
of all they found it had stimulated
interest among the lawyers of the
state so much that at the next annual
meeting of North Dakota Bar Asso-
citation the attendance was practically
one hundred percent. That, of course,
was a good thing-a very good thing.
When they thought about it clamly
they concluded that Townley had
done for them what they had not been
able to do for themselves in forty
years of effort Like Montana Bar
Association at that time their own
association had been a listless and
lifeless thing, of little or no use to
the lawyers, the courts or the public,
without influence in public or legis-
lative afafirs and of low standing in
public estimation. Here was their
golden opportunity to amount to
something. So they bided their time.
Townley and his Nonpartisan League
wore themselves out in couple of
years and the way to freedom for
the lawyers was wide open. But did
they make break for it? Not much!
They liked their bonds of compulsory
all-inclusiveness and have kept them
ever since. They thank the memory
of Townley for what he quite unin-
tentionally did for them. If anyone
doubts it let him write to any reputa-
BILE attorney in North Dakota and |
ask him about it. Or write to the
supreme court of North Dakota. Or
write to the supreme courts of any |
of the following named states, all of
which, following the example of North |
Dakota, have had bar incorporation
or integration for from one to II |
years:
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Cali
Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ne
braska, Nevada, New Mexico, North
Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South
Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wash
ington and Wyoming.
Is it possible that in all of these
states the predatory corporations are
in control and bend the lawyers to
their will, as Mr.. Maury says is the
case in Montana? Is it possible that
what has proved good for our imme-
diately neighboring states of Idaho,
Utah and North Dakota will be bad
for Montana? In Wyoming they i,
achieved bar integration last year and
the chief justice of the supreme court
Of that state writes that 1--WE will have
10 wait and see."
So far as referendums to the bar
If Montana have indicated the will of
Montana lawyers on the subject
there have been at least three of ]
hem, one under direction and by !
order of the supreme court-the senti- s
nent is from three to five in favor to ;
me against But lest it be assumed {