EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT member of the Association. We believe that this is the first occasion upon which an honorary member has been elected. The officers for the ensuing year were then elected, the important change being the election of a new president, Hon. Jacob M. Dickinson of Chicago. Several special committees then briefly reported, including the committee on the proposed copyright bill, which recom mended the continuance of the committee to aid in the passage of the new copyright law, which in slightly different forms is now pending in both the national senate and the national house. Another important resolu tion was that adopting the recommendation of the committee on comparative law for the establishment of a section on comparative law, similar to those now devoted to legal education and patent and copyright law, for the purpose of preparing the best in European law for the use of the American Bar and affording a proper education in the law. In the afternoon this section was organized by the election of Judge Simeon E. Baldwin of Connecticut as chairman, William W. Smithers of Philadelphia as secretary, and Eugene E. Massey of Richmond, as treasurer. At the close of the morning session resolu tions of appreciation of the generous hospi tality of Portland and the Cumberland Bar were enthusiastically adopted. The arrange ments for such a convention devolve exhaust ing duties upon the lawyers of the city which entertains, and in recent years precedents have been established that will be hard to equal, but it was the unanimous verdict of those present that Portland had surpassed them all, in spite of the difficulties of social intercourse due to the scattering of members through many hotels at considerable dis tance from headquarters. Through the good offices of the Cumberland Club the Portland Bar dispensed a most generous hospitality, in full conformity with the laws of Maine, and here, as well as upon the trip on Thursday afternoon, by steamboat among the islands of Casco Bay, ending with a New England clam bake, the serious part of the program was forgotten. A loving cup is to be presented to the Cumberland Club by some who enjoyed its privileges. Wednesday evening the annual banquet
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was held at the headquarters at the Hotel Falmouth and was the largest ever given by the Association, far exceeding the expecta tions of the officers of the Association and causing consternation to the hotel manage ment. After an inevitable delay, however, accomodations for all were provided, the members from Maine being requested to wait until all visitors had been seated. The speakers of the evening were Ambassador Bryce, Lord Justice Kennedy, Sir Kenelm Digby of London, Dr. Louis J. Lorenger of Montreal, Mr. Justice Moody, Colonel Meldrim of Georgia, Colonel Baker of Maine and the incoming president, Judge Dickinson. We have already referred to the most important part of Judge Moody's first public utterance since his appointment to the bench, which aroused keen interest from its suggestion of his attitude toward constitutional interpre tation. One practical suggestion should not be forgotten. He recommends oral argu ment in cases before the Supreme Court because the increasing volume of printed records and briefs has made it physically impossible for all of the court to carefully read each one. The standard of the speak ing was high. Colonel Meldrim's address was a gem of brief eloquence, and Colonel Baker's reminiscences of the glories of the Bar of Maine were more interesting than is usual in such addresses. Very late in the evening there was a call for Mr. Robert C. Smith of Montreal who delighted the associ ation two years ago at Xarragansett Pier, but he felt obliged to make his remarks very brief. The reflection always impressed upon one who has attended these meetings is the difficulty of accomplishing valuable results by discussions participated in by such large numbers and amid so many temptations to indulge in recreation. The most serious obstacle, however, is the insistence of incom petent and ill-informed speakers on occupying the time of the Association for their own gratification. A certain amount of this is doubtless inevitable, though it is unfortunate that the Association was forced to listen to such insanity as was submitted by .one gentle man from Boston. On the whole the Asso ciation and its presiding officers showed
