Do You Use Text-Books Encyclopedias or Annotated or Selected Cases HEN briefing a point how do you get WHEN at the cases decided since the "notes in your set were published? " Many of these "notes" are now one, three, five---even ten years old. WE CAN bring these old books down to about it. date and keep them there. Ask us West Publishing Co. New York St. Paul Chicago The Bar DECEMBER, 1911 VOL. XVIII No. 12 AN OPEN FORUM This journal is intended to furnish an open forum to every lawyer for the discussion of any policy or proposition of interest to the Profession. It invites a free Interchange of views upon all Buch topics whether they agree with the views of THE BAR or not. THE BAR goes to every court house in the state, and is read by probably, three-fourths of the lawyers of the state, and thus furnishes not only a ready medium of communication between members of the Profession, but of unification of the Profession on all matters of common concern, which is its prime mission. Every clerk of a circuit court is the authorized agent of THB BAR in his county, and has the subscription bills in his possession, and will receive and receipt for all money due on that account, or for new subscriptions, and his receipt will always be a good acquittance for money due THE BAR. THE BAR is furnished at the nominal rate of $1.00 8 year, which is less than the cost of publication, and we would like to have the name of every lawyer in the state on our subscription list. Wanted: A Man to Stand Behind the Charge. Under the statute of West Virginia authorizing the Supreme Court of Appeals to make rules and regulations for admission to practice law, the Faculty of the Law College of the State University is designated by the court as a Board of Examiners to conduct and certify the exanination of all candidates for the Bar. In reviewing the proceedings of the last meeting of the State Bar Association, we notice the statement made in the debate on the report of the Committee on Legal Education, that: "There is a widespread sentiment in this state-rightfully or wrongfully, I don't know-but it is widespread, that a person who does not attend the University does not receive a fair chance" in these examinations, The purport and effect of this statement was to create and encourage the impression and belief that the Law Faculty, acting as a board of examiners, were not impartial in their judgment and treatment of candidates who had gotten their education at the University and those who had not; and that an unjust discrimination was made against the latter and they "did not have a fair chance." This charge, if established, ought to be sufficient to depose the members of the examining commission very speedily and very unceremoniously. They are not fit for their job. While the charge or statement is specific enough for its purpose, there is nobody stands behind it-there is no personal responsibility assumed, except for it "being in the air." We have no doubt that it is "in the air;" and that if the Board of Examiners are doing their duty, and are turning down conscientiously those candidates who do not measure up to a respectable standard of qualifications, there will always be enough of candidates with a disappointment-a grudge to keep a charge like this "in the air." It would not be surprising— it is not surprising to the board-to know that the air is hot with such a charge, and that it is "widespread," in view of the number of candidates who are periodically sent out from these examinations with a grudge and a need of some explanation of their failure. If there is any other man, than the man with a grudge, keeping this insinuation in the air, let him speak, for him have we offended. The writer has the (questionable) honor, the unquestionable labor, the unenviable and unprofitable job, of being a member of this commission. There are two or three things, therefore, that he wants to say, and has a right to say in reply to these insinuations, because he gets his information, not from the air, but at first hand, and will hold himself personally responsible for its truth and accuracy. The first thing we want to say is to make a plain recital of the procedure and circumstances under which the examinations are held: At fixed periods, three times a year, from 20 to 30 or more candidates for these examinations appear at the University. They come from all parts of the state-indeed, from all parts of the United States; from other law schools, from law offices, and some have prepared by private study for the examination. They are, as a rule, strangers to the board. Very few, and generally none of them, has ever been in the University before. The first step in the procedure is for each of them to present to the President of the Board his evidence of having read law for two years. He files his vouchers to establish this requirement, and if sufficient, he pays his fee of $5.00, and is admitted to the examination. At the appointed time for the opening of the examination, the examiners find from 25 to 50, more or less, men assembled in the lecture room, not one of whom, perhaps, they have ever seen before, and they could not call any one of them by name. There are no introductions, and no preliminaries, except that the examiner passes among them and presents each one with a printed slip of questions covering the branches of law upon which they are examined-which in cludes, by the rule of the court, all the branches in the course leading to a diploma in the University. When this is done, the examiner takes his seat, everybody goes to work, not a word is spoken, the work continues silently for three successive days; at the end of the third day the candidates fold their papers, sign their names, pass them to the examiner, pass out of the room, and go to their respective homes. The examiners do not know any more about them, as a rule, when they pass out than when they came in. Next comes the examination and grading of the papers. This is a great big job, requiring the careful reading of two or three thousand pages of manuscript, and passing judgment upon it so as to determine the merit of each paper upon each particular branch of law included in the examination, The work is distributed between the individual members of the Board, and it may require several days to complete it. Each paper, upon each branch is read by the examiner and immediately marked to pass or not to pass. When he reads the paper he most often does not know or care to know who is the author. If he casually sees the signature he don't know the man who made it, and would not know him if he met him. It is not necessary to know. The thing the examiner is after is the merit of the paper, and when that is ascertained it is endorsed on the back of that paper as a finality. These papers are then assorted; the Board meets, and a record is made of the credits to which each candidate is entitled as shown by endorsements on his papers. If he has suc. cessfully passed on all the branches a certificate is sent to him upon which he can obtain license from the Supreme Court to practice law: if any of his papers are deficient, a certificate is sent him requiring him to appear at a subsequent examination and pass on the branches in which he failed. This is the whole proceeding in detail. The absurd charge that an unjust discrimination is made between students who have prepared in the University and those who have prepared elsewhere, is all poppy-cock. As a rule there are no University students in these examinations, for if they have taken their |