[Speech of George M. Palmer at the annual banquet of the New York
State Bar Association, given in Albany, January 18, 1899. President
Walter S. Logan introduced Mr. Palmer in the following words: "The
next speaker is the Hon. George M. Palmer, minority leader of the
Assembly. [Applause.] He is going to speak on 'The Lawyer in
Politics,' and I am very glad to assure you that his politics are
of the right kind."]
MR. PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE BAR ASSOCIATION OF THE STATE OF NEW
YORK:--Through the generous impulse of your committee I enjoy the
privilege of responding to this toast. I was informed some four weeks
ago I would be called upon, the committee thinking I would require that
time in preparation, and I have devoted the entire time since in
preparing the address for this occasion. "The Lawyer in Politics." The
first inquiry of the lawyer and politician is, "What is there in it?"
[Laughter.] I mean by that, the lawyer says in a dignified way, "What
principle is involved, and how can I best serve my client, always
forgetting myself?" The politician, and not the statesman, says, "What
is in it?" Not for himself, oh, never. Not the lawyer in politics; but
"What is there in it for the people I represent? How can I best serve
them?"
You may inquire what is there in this toast for you. Not very much. You
remember the distinguished jurist who once sat down to a course dinner
similar to this. He had been waited on by one servant during two
courses. He had had the soup. Another servant came to him and said,
"Sir, shall I take your order? Will you have some of the chicken soup?"
"No, sir; I have been served with chicken soup, but the chicken proved
an alibi." [Laughter.] A distinguished judge in this presence said he
was much indebted to the Bar. I am very glad to say that the lawyer in
politics formed a resolution on the first day of last January to square
himself with the Bar, and he now stands without any debt. [Laughter.] I
remember a reference made by the distinguished gentleman to a case that
was tried by a young, struggling attorney. I also remember a young judge
who appeared in one of the rural counties, who sat and heard a case very
similar to the one to which reference was made, and I remember the fight
of the giants before him. Points were raised of momentous importance.
They were to affect the policy of the State. One lawyer insisted upon
the correctness of an objection and succeeded. He felt so elated over
that success he in a short time objected again, and the judge ruled
against him, but in his ardor he argued with the court. "Why, I can't
conceive why you make this ruling." "Why," the judge says, "I have just
ruled with you once, I must rule with the other fellow this time."
[Laughter.]
[Illustration: REPRODUCTIONS OF MURAL DECORATIONS FROM THE LIBRARY OF
CONGRESS, WASHINGTON
_"LAW"_
_Photo-engraving in colors after the original mosaic panel by Frederick
Dielman_
The mosaics by Mr. Dielman are remarkable for their wealth of color and
detail--properties so elusive as to defy the reproducer's art. But the
picture here given preserves the fundamental idea of the artist. "Law"
is typified by the central figure of a woman seated on a marble throne
and holding in one hand the sword of punishment, and in the other the
palm branch of reward. She wears on her breast the Ægis of Minerva. On
the steps of the throne are the scales of Justice, the book of Law and
the white doves of Mercy. On her right are the emblematic figures of
Truth, Peace, and Industry, on her left are Fraud, Discord, and
Violence. "Law" is a companion piece to "History."]
"The Lawyer in Politics." It is sometimes a question which way the
lawyer will start when he enters politics. I remember reading once of a
distinguished lawyer who had a witness upon the stand. He was
endeavoring to locate the surroundings of a building in which an
accident occurred, and he had put a female witness on the stand. "Now
the location of the door: please give it," and she gave it in a timid
way. "Will you now kindly give the location of the hall in which the
accident occurred?" She gave it. "Now," he says, "we have arrived at the
stairs; will you kindly tell me which way the stairs run?" She became a
little nervous and she says, "I will tell you the best I can; if you are
at the foot of the stairs they run up, and if you are to the top of the
stairs they run down." [Laughter.] So sometimes it is pretty important
to find out which way the lawyer is going when he enters in politics. He
should be tried and tested before being permitted to enter politics, in
my judgment, and while the State is taking upon itself the paternal
control of all our professions and business industries, it seems to me
they should have a civil service examination for the lawyer before he
enters the realm of politics.
A lawyer that I heard of, coming from a county down the river--a county
that has produced distinguished judges who have occupied positions on
the Court of Appeals and in the Supreme Court of the State--said of a
lawyer there who had been in politics, that he had started with bright
prospects, but had become indebted to the Bar during his period in
politics. He had gone back and had taken up the small cases, and yet in
his sober moments it was said the sparks of genius still exhibited
themselves at times. He was called upon to defend a poor woman at one
time who was arrested by a heartless corporation for stealing a lot of
their coal. He sobered up and squared himself before the jury, conducted
the examination of the case and the trial of it, and in a magnificent
burst of eloquence the case went to the jury. And after the jury
retired, he sat, while they deliberated, by his client. And finally the
jury came in. The foreman rose and said that "The jury find the
defendant not guilty." The distinguished lawyer, in the presence of the
crowd and jury, and justice of the peace, straightened back in his
chair. "My dear Miss Smith, you are again a free woman. No longer the
imputation of this heinous crime rests upon you. You may go from this
court-room as free as the bird that pinions its wings and flies toward
the heavens, to kiss the first ray of the morning sunshine. You may go
as free as that bird, but before you go pay me that $3.00 you owe me on
account." [Laughter.] What I mean to enforce by this is that the lawyer
who is in politics solely for the $3.00 is not a safe man to intrust
with political power.
Judge Baldwin, of Indiana, it is said, in giving his advice to lawyers
upon one occasion, told them that the course to be pursued by a lawyer
was first to get on, second to get honor, and third to get honest.
[Laughter.] A man who follows that policy in my judgment is not such a
lawyer as should be let loose in politics. Rather, it seems to me, that
the advice to give to lawyers, and the principle to follow is, first to
be honest, second to get on, and third, upon this broad basis, get honor
if you can. [Applause.] It is unnecessary for me at this time to refer
to the distinguished men who have entered politics from the profession
of the law. I could point to those who have occupied the highest
positions in the gift of the people, who have been the chief executives
of this great Nation, and who have stood in the halls of Congress, and
in the legislative halls of our various States, and in these important
positions have helped formulate the fundamental principles which to-day
govern us as a free people, and upon which the ark of our freedom rests.
I believe that while in the past opportunities have presented themselves
for lawyers in politics, yet no time was ever more favorable than now,
when it seems to me that the service of the Bar is required in helping
shape the policies and destinies of our country. We are confronted with
new conditions, with new propositions, and it seems to me that the man
who is learned in the law, who, as was once said of the great Peel, that
his entire course in life, in and out of the profession, was guided by
the desire to do right and justice, should aid in our adjustment to
these new conditions.
Professional men who are superior to the fascination of power, or the
charms of wealth, men who do not employ their power solely for
self-aggrandizement, but devote their energies in favor of the public
weal, are men who should be found in the councils of the State. Ours is
the country and this the occasion when patriotism and legal learning are
at a premium.
In the settling of the policy of the United States with reference to
territory recently acquired, lawyers are destined to play a leading
part. They are very well fitted to appreciate the fundamental principles
of a free government and of human liberty. It seems the patriotic duty
of the lawyer to give the country the benefit of his study and
experience, not as a mere politician, but as a high-minded and learned
statesman and citizen of our common country.
This is the time when high-minded, learned, and professional men should
assist to plant and protect the flower of our American policy under our
new conditions so that the fruitage of our system may be naturalized in
new fields as a correct policy.
Duty, therefore, seems to call the lawyer to the councils of State. Our
Country is his client, her perpetuity will be his retainer, fee, and
compensation. [Applause.]