Addresses Delivered in the Page LectureSeries, 1914, before the Senior Class of theSheffield Scientific School, Yale University
NEW HAVEN: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON: HUMPHREY MILFORD
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
MDCCCCXV
Copyright, 1915
By Yale University Press
First printed October, 1915, 1000 copies
The legal profession discharges a most importantfunction in a civilized community, and itseems to me that a discussion of the ethics andideals of that profession would come within thepurpose of the Page foundation, which isdescribed by the donor as intended to promote"the ethical side of business life, including themorals and ethics of public service." I shall firstask your attention to the history of the profession,which shows that a paid advocacy is the onlypractical system, and to the rules of conduct towhich lawyers must be held in order that sucha system shall promote justice. I cannot claimto have any peculiar knowledge upon this subjectother than that derived from a somewhat briefpractice of five years at the Bar, from an experienceof eleven years on the Bench of trial andappellate courts, from a somewhat varied experiencein the responsibility of government, notonly in this country, but in those far-distant islesof the Pacific in which the United States has beengrafting the principles of free government upona civilization inherited from Spain.
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It is not too much to say that the professionof the law is more or less on trial. It is certainthat there is a crisis in the life of our courts, andthat a great political issue is being forced uponthe people, for they must decide whether thecourts are to continue to exercise the power theynow have, and what character of service theyshall be required to render. Judges are lawyers.They ought to be trained practitioners andlearned in the profession of the law before theyascend the Bench, and generally they are. Therefore,our courts, as they are now conducted, andour profession, which is the handmaid of justice,are necessarily so bound together in our judicialsystem that an attack upon the courts is an attackupon our profession, and an attack upon ourprofession is equally an attack upon the courts.
We have all noted on the stage and in the currentliterature the flippant and sarcastic referencesto the failures of the administration ofjustice, and we are familiar with the sometimesinsidious and too often open impeachments of the[Pg 2]courts, which appear i