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THE REFORM OF PROCEDURE

The newspapers of the country are practically united in their hearty ap PRESIDENT TAFT has strength proval of the work of reform in state ened the cause of the reform of courts in which the American Bar Asso procedure by adding the weight of his ciation is interested. With the excep authority to that of the American Bar tion of the Sun, and the New York Association in urging that technicalities Commercial, which thinks that the court be no longer allowed to defeat justice. traditions of each state "command great The suggestion that Congress should popular respect, and legislatures are very appoint a commission to report a system conservative in the matter of making "to secure quick and cheap justice in the federal courts," one that "will offer a court changes," we have found no news model to the legislatures and courts of papers adversely criticizing this program the states," is approved by the Louis of the American Bar Association. ville Courier-Journal as a good one, in PREPARATION FOR THE BAR spite of the fact that "Congressional com missions are not notably efficient." The THE Green Bag not only agrees with St. Louis Post-Dispatch says that the Dr. Saleeby that quality, not quan judicial procedure of every state deeds tity, should govern the size of families, revision, and that a commission of this but thinks that it should likewise govern kind "would supply all the states with a preparatory studies for admission to the basis for reform legislation." bar. Referring to the recent action of That the states all have the same the American Bar Association, the Lon interests at stake, and can unite, if they don Law Journal says :— choose, in a uniform system of proce "It was no good urging that great lawyers dure, is unquestionably true, and the like Mr. Choate, formerly Ambassador to New York Sun is unquestionably wrong England, and Mr. Root, former Secretary of Foreign Affairs in Washington, fulfilled all in saying:— the requirements in two years, and that no "The demand for uniformity and sym state has as yet required more than three metry in the political institutions of the years' study. Henceforth it is to be four several states constituting a vast republic is years' work, and no qualifying by means of based on an assumed likeness in their differ correspondence schools, which teach plumb ent communities which does not always exist, ing and other useful arts, besides law, will be The American Bar Association is wasting its allowed." time and labor in attempting to devise a To make the case against a long course uniform judicial system which will be satis factory to all the states of theUnion—in of preparation even stronger, the Detroit cluding Oklahoma." Free Press points out that not one of