not wish to avail themselves of rooms practically as far from the court room as their own homes is no reason for supposing that if the court room is brought near their working offices they will not avail themselves of the accommodation. I yield to no one in my admiration for the Supreme Court and in my deference to its proper authority, but it does seem to me that it is not the comfort of the court alone that is concerned in the provision for the court house where justice shall be administered. If the rooms are becoming inadequate and crowded, the mere convenience of having two branches of the government together ought not to prevail over a greater convenience which will follow if you have the court in a building by itself. I would not insist upon having a court room as large as the Tabernacle here, because that is not the way the Supreme Court maintains its dignity, but there are a great many persons whose convenience ought to be consulted in this matter. If the Supreme Court is going to discharge the function that it ought to, because it ought to be lodged with power to secure the despatch of all federal business, I think the judges ought to have offices where they may have executive assistants who can help along in the despatch of that business. I only ask that the committee should consider that view of the matter and shall not foreclose the commission from taking that view. The President: The question before the Association is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from New York, to refer the resolution to the Executive Committee. Frederick E. Wadhams: It seems that even the members of the Senate and of the House disagree on many things. I am going to read a letter from Senator Root on this subject. The President: Have you any objection to the reference of the resolution to the Executive Committee? Frederick E. Wadhams: No, sir. It may be referred to the Executive Committee after I have read this letter, dated August 3, 1915, from Senator Root, Mr. Wadhams then read the following letter addressed to him. from Elihu Root, of New York: August 3, 1915. Frederick E. Wadhams, Esq., 37 Tweddle Bldg., Albany, N. Y. Dear Mr. Wadhams: I have your letter of July 26th enclosing a draft of a resolution to be proposed to the American Bar Association. I hope some such resolution will be adopted. There has been a good deal of talk in Congress for many years about a new building in Washington for the judicial branch of the government. I have always felt, however, that it would be a great pity to have the Supreme Court move out of the Capitol to a new building and give up the present court room, which perfectly answers the purpose and which has such a wealth of associations worth preserving. It would be a sad thing to have the chamber, in which Webster, Clay, Calhoun, and Benton were accustomed to speak and in which the great debate of Hayne and Webster was heard, cut up into committee rooms and to have the court, whose duty it is to maintain the structure which those men were building, banished to some new and expensive place. What the court really needs is not another court room, but better accommodations for study and consultation. I had hoped that the desire to give these better accommodations to the court would become effective through some alterations of the capitol building, which are very much needed from an architectural point of view. The architects say that the dome of the capitol is too near the eastern wall of the central building and that that wall ought to be pushed out some little distance to the east. I think that ought to be done and in doing it adequate consultation and study rooms for the Supreme Court ought to be provided for. There is a standing commission established by law for the purpose of executing necessary changes in the capitol building and Carrere and Hastings, the architects who built the Senate and House office buildings, have made several studies for the change in the capitol which I have mentioned. I happen to be a member of the commission, which, however, has never been called upon to meet since I was appointed. With kind regards, I am, Faithfully yours, ELIHU ROOT. Frederick E. Wadhams: I am perfectly willing that the committee shall not be limited, but that it shall have full power and discretion as suggested by Mr. Taft. The President: The question is on the adoption of the resolution to refer the resolution to the Executive Committee with power to act. All in favor of that will say aye; all opposed, no. The ayes have it, and the resolution is referred to the Executive Committee. The Secretary: I am requested to announce that visiting ladies will be tendered a complimentary dinner on the roof garden of the Hotel Utah at 7 o'clock tonight. Ladies are requested to be promptly at the roof garden by 6.45 P. M. The President: The Committee on Nominations. George T. Page, of Illinois: On behalf of the General Council I report the nomination of officers of the Association for the ensuing year, as follows: For President: Elihu Root, of New York. For Secretary: George Whitelock, of Maryland. For Treasurer: Frederick E. Wadhams, of New York. William C. Niblack, of Illinois. Selden P. Spencer, of Missouri. William P. Bynum, of North Carolina. Chapin Brown, of District of Columbia. John Lowell, of Massachusetts. The President: What is the pleasure of the Association with reference to this report of the Nominating Committee? Walter George Smith, of Pennsylvania: I move that the report be accepted, and that the gentlemen nominated for the respective offices be declared elected by the Association. Charles Thaddeus Terry, of New York: I second the motion. The motion was then unanimously adopted and the gentlemen named for the respective offices were elected officers of the Association for the ensuing year. The Secretary: I announce that the concluding session of the Section of Legal Education will be held in the Ball Room of the Newhouse Hotel, at 2.30 o'clock this afternoon. The report of the Committee on Standard Rules for Admission to the Bar will be considered. There will be a meeting of the Executive Committee at 3 o'clock this afternoon in the Presidential Suite, Hotel Utah. The Chairmen of the various committees of the Association who wish to present applications for appropriations will be given a hearing. Jacob Trieber, of Arkansas: I offer a resolution and ask that it be read by the Secretary, and referred to the Executive Committee. The President: The Secretary will read the resolution. The Secretary: “Resolved, That it is the sense of this Association that women possessing the qualifications for membership prescribed by the Constitution of the Association are eligible to membership therein." W. A. Ketcham, of Indiana : I move that the resolution be referred to the Committee on Reorganization for report at the next meeting of the Association. On vote taken the motion was carried. Hampton L. Carson, of Pennsylvania: On behalf of the Committee on Resolutions, I present for adoption the following resolution: Resolved, That the American Bar Association, on the occasion of its Thirty-eighth Annual Meeting, held at Salt Lake City, Utah, August 17, 18 and 19, 1915, having been the recipient of the warmest and most generous public and private welcome, does hereby express its most appreciative acknowledgment To the state and municipal officers for their interest and co-operation in the purposes of our visit, as expressed by the Governor, the United States Senator, and the Mayor; To the Utah State Bar Association for its cordial greeting to its fellow members of the profession; To the authorities of the Mormon Church for the use and enjoyment of its grounds and buildings, and particularly for the concert and organ recital; To the public press for the unusual intelligence, accuracy and fullness with which daily proceedings have been reported; To the citizens for their gracious and overflowing hospitality. William P. Bynum, of North Carolina: I move that the Association do now adjourn. The motion was seconded. The President: In parting with the Association as its presiding officer, may I be permitted to extend to the officers of the Association, and to its membership generally, my heartfelt and sincere thanks for the support I have received. Wishing for my successor all the success which must come to him and to the Association, and expressing the hope that when you go to your several homes you will recall with pleasure this meeting at Salt Lake City, I now put the question on the motion to adjourn. All in favor of adjourning will signify it by saying aye "; all opposed, "no." The ayes have it and I declare the Thirty-eighth Annual Meeting of the Association adjourned. Adjourned sine die. |