subdividing these republics from the great national one down through all its subordinations until it ends in the administration of every man's farm by himself; by placing under every one what his own eye may superintend, that all will be done for the best. What has destroyed liberty and the rights of man in every government which has ever existed under the sun? The generalizing and concentrating all cares and powers into one body, no matter whether of the autocrats of Russia, or France, or of the aristocrats of a Venetian Senate."

I do not say that we shall abandon our scheme of government, or commit ourselves to the hazards of a National Democracy. I have too much confidence in the ultimate judgment and practical common sense of my countrymen to believe it possible. But change is a natural law of human progress, and the struggle for power is ceaseless. Once it is finally decreed that the integrity of the States may be assailed, even under the prescribed forms of Constitutional amendment, the contest between Nationalist and Constitutionalist is begun; and only the virtue, the wisdom and the experience of the people will safeguard the edifice our fathers reared to preserve their own and the liberties of posterity.

In this critical period of our history, the country has need for all our patience, all our strength, and all our powers of resistance. The tides of excitement are rising ever higher, men's emotions are dethroning their powers of reason, all forms of government are denounced, classes challenge the social and political organizations of the time. Anarchy brandishes the torch and the dagger in the streets of our great cities. Crimes are committed in the name of Democracy, and the world's centre of gravity oscillates upon an unstable equilibrium. He is heard who shouts the loudest, and he is heeded who knows and cares the least. Rights are proclaimed and responsibilities repudiated. Human sympathy and the philosophy of the golden rule have no place in the ethics of

modern conduct. The nation is again confronted with "a time that tries men's souls."

We are self governing because we are a people of self imposed limitations. We have preserved our rights and liberties because we have recognized and vindicated the corresponding rights of our fellow men. We have maintained our civilization and the institutions of our government, because we have been guided by the light of long and severe experience. But too long and uninterrupted enjoyment of them has tended to make us slothful. We are prone to become unmindful of our civic obligations; indifferent to the value of our heritage. Partisanship often reaching extremes has divided our ranks and diluted the virile strength of our Americanism. Even now we are more concerned with the approaching Presidential election than with the solution of those formidable problems of economic and governmental concern which the war has placed upon our shoulders, and which involve the welfare of ourselves, of posterity and of the world. We must transmit this great Republic with its dual system to our children, as our fathers after an anguish of blood and tears transmitted it to us. We may be Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Socialists, true to party conviction, burning with party zeal, committed to the need for party supremacy. But party must not blind nor divide us. First and last we are, we must be Americans, citizens of a common country, bearers of a common responsibility, co-workers toward a common destiny. · The peril tests our common strength, we must meet it together. Let us strive without ceasing to preserve our Nation, our States, our Communities, each in their proper sphere, all as the chartered covenants of prosperity, of justice, and of ordered liberty. Our duty is plain, our task severe, our formula simple.

We may not hope to set aside the 18th Amendment, but we should make it the high water mark of the tide of modern

nationalism. We can revive the convictions and repeat the warnings of those who founded the Government and guided it through the perilous years of its early career. We can resist with all our energies the modern iconoclasm which would cast aside the carefully moulded and co-ordinated structure of representative government; undermine the constituent commonwealths of the Republic and discard the vital principle of local self government. We can impress upon State authorities the vital need for the assertion and exercise of all their constitutional prerogatives, and upon the people the equally vital need of retiring all who neglect this overpowering duty. We can require the Federal authorities to observe and obey the limitations of the Constitution. We can forecast the consequences that must ensue once the barriers reared against the transient outbursts of passion or of emotion, or the ill considered desire for immediate change in Governmental structure shall have been overthrown. We can revive in American hearts and homes that reverence for our institutions, that love of justice and that appreciation of liberty regulated by law, which are the bases of the prosperity of communities, the happiness of peoples, and the greatness of nations. Now, as never before in our country's history, should we recall the solemn warning and heed the sagacious counsel of the Hebrew prophet:

Keep in the old paths; walk in the ancient ways; observe them well, and be ye not given unto change."

William D. Guthrie, of New York:

Mr. President, I move that the thanks of the Association be extended to Senator Thomas for his exceptionally instructive, inspiring and patriotic address; and that we honor ourselves with his permission- by electing him an Honorary Member of this Association.

The motion was duly seconded.

The President:

Members of the Association, you have heard the motion of Mr. Guthrie. All those in favor will signify by saying aye. It is unanimously carried, Senator Thomas.

Senator Thomas:

Gentlemen, I must say this is a wholly unexpected but highly appreciated honor.

The meeting will please come to order.

The special order for this morning is a general discussion of the subject of the administration of the law in respect of the poor, which has been brought forward prominently by the report of the Carnegie Institution for Teaching.

We have the privilege of having a number of gentlemen here who can give us much enlightenment upon this subject, and particularly since they have dealt with it concretely and directly.

The first speaker will be Judge McAdoo, who has for many years been the Chief City Magistrate, and I have the pleasure of introducing him to the meeting.

ADDRESS BY HONORABLE WILLIAM MCADOO, CHIEF CITY MAGISTRATE OF NEW YORK

Mr. President and Gentlemen:

Does the poor man and woman get equal justice in the Magistrates' Courts of New York with those who are rich and influential?

Is poverty a handicap to those who come for justice to these courts?

Is there any partiality in favor of the powerful and the influential against the poor, obscure and ignorant?

If these questions are to be answered in the affirmative it is a most serious condition of affairs. When the community loses confidence in the impartial administration of justice in the courts, when the public mind entertains the idea that a poor man has not the same chance of obtaining his rights as a rich man, the whole social and political fabric is endangered. When this opinion is not based on fact, but on rumor and suspicion, it is the duty of those concerned to have the truth known. A poor man or woman entertaining this suspicion is very apt to reach unjust conclusions in their own cases when their side of the case does not prevail in court, and so the evil spreads from one to the other until finally it permeates a considerable portion of the population. I consider it, therefore, rather fortunate that the question is brought to the fore and that an aroused public opinion wants the facts, to which it is entitled.

A court needs the public confidence as much as a bank. Imagine anyone depositing money in an institution where there is a prevalent suspicion that the funds are being stolen or maladministered. Imagine the convicted defendant and the losing party to a suit satisfied with the administration of the law when they doubt the integrity and moral solvency of the

court.

Prior to 1910 the Magistrates' Courts, through causes which need not be stated, did not have the degree of public confidence which is necessary to respect for the law and its officers. Then, as you know, the Legislature appointed a Commission. known as the Page Commission, Mr. Justice Page, then Senator, being at its head, and, among other members, Governor Smith. This Commission took a great deal of evidence with