Morality and the Law

...But whether the acquisition of a certain amount of general education will correct certain evils in the pro- fession as a whole, as most of the advocates of the pro- posed change so confidently assert it will, is another matter altogether...

...That homely philosopher of the day, Will Rogers, in commenting on a bill before the California legisla...

...It is not to be denied that the injection of a little more morality into the concepts of some corporation lawyers might be beneficial, but meanwhile, where is the uplift of the criminal practitioner to be sought ? Not in colleges, even if enough students can be in- duced to forego the monetary rewards of civil practice and devote themselves to work in the criminal courts...

...The prizes of the profession are not to be won there, but in the civil courts and espe- cially in the realm of corporation law...

...This intimation may be an exaggeration, but there can be no question that the practice of the law is often a great strain on consciences often infirm and sometimes almost in- audible...

...Educators inform us that, at least from the numerical point of view, the development of the national mind is proceed- ing at a great pace...

...MORALITY AND THE LAW O NCE more the question of raising the standards for admission to the bar is being agitated, with much emphasis being placed on the benefits which will accrue to the standing of the profession as a whole if at least a partial course in arts at some recognized uni- versity is demanded of every candidate for the bar...

...Even religion, which seems to many materialistically minded people a "side-issue," displays a rugged vitality and missionary spirit which seem to promise magnificent things...

...The criminal knows this...

...Colleges may do much for young men, but they do not specialize, in most cases, in moral development...

...Ralph Adams Cram that "one of the most astonishing experiences in my long life is the recent ris- ing up among us of great artists ready to serve...

...That a barrister should be not only "a gentleman learned in the law," but also one with some general knowledge of other things, would appear a self-evident proposition based on self-interest, if he is to make a success in his chosen field...

...prove their appreciation of good literature...

...March 3 ~ , t927 THE COMMONWEAL 567 much money," aggressively active in the limited field of commerce, may prove a mixed blessing if it means lowered productivity to the average investor...

...Book-learning, he figures, "never did them no harm" as crim- inals any more than it influenced those eminent young students, Leopold and Loeb, to curb their criminal instincts...

...Doubtless all three last namedmeducation, art, religion--have to some extent profited by the fact that more money has been made available for their operations, and that people generally have had more time to consider them...

...This, an omi- nous fact in many respects, merits grave meditation...

...ture to regulate the conduct of members of the bar, asserts that you cannot make a lawyer honest by an act of the legislature--that the only way this can be done is to work on his conscience, but intimates that the task is a difficult one at best, because lack of con- science is what makes him a lawyer...

...Leaders of the bar who discuss the proposed regulations while they deplore the condition of criminal law practice, evidently accept this idea as a postulate...

...With such a declaration there can be no dispute...

...An indus- trial bulletin calls our attention to the "vast changes which have taken place in our standards of living...

...And we have it on the authority of Mr...

...Meanwhile, it ~s interesting to speculate upon whether financial fortune has been able to bring about the general civic advantages expected of it...

...There is another aspect of this question which in- vites speculation...

...on the contrary, he has high hope that this additional knowledge may be applied to the laws of evidence in such manner as to obtain for him speedy enlargement and freedom to plan other campaigns against society...

...A thousand inven- tions have added to our enjoyment of life...

...But opposed to all this is the very important fact that industrial acceleration is the basic rhythm of our living--an acceleration which has created a modern urban life more and more wholly de- pendent upon organization and its accessories and less and less able to stand on its own feet...

...Yet if ever there was a profession which showed that education and morals are most sep- arate and distinct, it is the profession of the law...

...Let it be granted that men of more culture and refinement might be obtained for the pro- fession if a whole or partial course in arts at a standard university or college were insisted upon as supplemen- tary or complementary to the study of the law, what guarantee is there that the moral influence resulting (if moral influence did result) would be applied to remov- ing what the Chief Justice of the United States has described as a blot on the nation--the administration of criminal law ? The college-trained lawyer seldom seeks to practise at the criminal bar...

...He is not afraid of book-learning as a moral force--some of the smart- est of his fellow-craftsmen are distinguished Latinists or men like Gerald Chapman, strangely using their leisure to extend their general knowledge or to im...

...Integ- rity and moral qualities such as the non-college trained young Springfield lawyer, Abraham Lincoln, early dis- played and throughout life developed, are not the re-sult of book-learning, but of self-discipline and ac-knowledgment of obligations to a power that is greater than self...

...Automobiles and radio have come...

...There seems to be a widely pre- valent idea that more book-learning must inevitably raise the standard of morals...

...When he seeks a "mouth- piece," he is not deterred in choosing his counsel by realization that his adviser has read many books other than those relating to the law...

...And book-learning, without moral guidance, has no more effect in the strengthening of conscience than an act of the legislature...