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5 J. Mo. B. 1 (1949)

handle is hein.barjournals/jrmobar0005 and id is 1 raw text is: JOURNAL O! THE MISSOURI BAR OFFICIAL ORGANIZAION OF ALL ISSOURI LAWYERS Vol. 5 January, 1949 No. 1 President's Message The Conservative Hearers Sat in Dumb Dismay and Hostile Horror * THE ABOVE TITLE is taken from John H . Wigmore's article written in 1937 about an address delivered some thirty years previously by Roscoe Pound be- Fore the American Bar at St. Paul in 1906. Wigmore was an eyewitness. His account of the reception accorded the address is well worth examination. It should be recalled that Pound was then relatively unknown outside of the State pf Nebraska. Within its confines, how- ever, he had already received recogni- tion. In his address Pound analyzed and diagnosed The Causes of Popular Dis- satisfaction with the Administration of Justice. He classified the causes under four subjects: (1) causes for dissatis- faction with any legal system, (2) causes lying in the peculiarities of our Anglo- American legal system, (3) causes lying In our America judicial organization and procedure, and (4) causes lying in the en- vironment of our judicial administra- tion. He elaborated on his diagnosis with a detailed bill of particulars. Wig- more describes the incident in this lan- guage: But when the speech came to its main thesis, a concrete bill of par- ticular defects, then the conservative bearers sat in dumb dismay and hostile horror at the deliverances of the daring inconoclast (all phrased nonetheless, in coldly calm description). 'Our system of courts is archaic.' 'Our procedure is be- hind the times.' 'Our judicial power is wasted.' 'The worst factor of procedure Is the lavish gran~ting of new trials.' 'The court's time is frittered away on mere points of legal etiquette.' 'Our legisla- tion is crude.' 'Putting courts into *20 Journal of American Judicature Society. 175 (1937) Hose Pound'. St. Paul address of t00-The Spark That Kindled The White Flam or Progress. by John H. Wismore. IPosd's addres is reprtted following Wig- mre's article as p. 178.) politics has almost destroyed the tradi- tional respect for the bench.' At the conclusion of Pound's address a motion was made that 4000 copies be printed and distributed. Leading mem- bers of the Association eloquently de- fended the existing legal system oppos- ing the motion. There ensued a series of parlimentary maneuvers culminating the next day by merely referring the ad- dress to the Committee on Judicial Ad- ministration and Remedial Procedure. (1906 American Bar Association Reports, Report pp. 55 and 395.) Wigmore reports that Pound's speech was the spark that kindled the white flame of high endeavor, now spreading through the entire legal profession and radiating the spirit of resolute progress in the administration of justice. He also stated that until that spark was struck, the profession was a complacent, self-satisfied, genial fellowship of indi- vidual lawyers-unalive to the short- comings of our justice, unthinking of the urgent demands of the impending future, unconscious of their potential oppor- tunities, unaware of their collective duty and destiny. The eleven years that have elapsed sinceiWigmore's 1937 appraisal of the effect of Pound's 1906 bombshell have served only to support his conclusions. The progress of the legal profession from 1906 to 1948 in the areas of legal educa- tion, modernization of procedure, im- provement in methods of judicial selec- tion and tenure, and the unification of the profession through integrated Bars dem- onstrates that our profession has moved slowly but steadily forward. Missouri has been one of the most progressive states in the country and a leader inithe areaslof judicial selection and tenure and the use of the rule-maling power of the Supreme Court to accom- plish professional and procedural re- forms. The task of the Missouri Bar is to continue to be idealistiely progressive, to the end that causes for popular dis- satisfaction with the administration of justice be anticipated and prevented or corrected. This may be said to be the broad objective of every committee. As committees investigate and deliberate on their respective problems at the Mid- Winter Meeting, it is wellto remember that rarely can a particular committee in a single year make a significant contribu- tion to the administration of justice. Cumulative endeavor over a period of years finally produces accomplishment of lasting value to the citizens of Missouri and to the honor of our profession. Let us strive to continue to move forward this year. All members of your Board of Governors stand ready to advise and aid the committees in their work. FORREST M. HsEUER. PRESIDENT Midyear Meeting of Ali Committees at Jefferson City on January 28 & 29. List on pages 4-6.

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