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SECOND DAY.

Tuesday, September 27, 1904, 10 A. M.

The President called the meeting to order.
New members were then elected.

(See List of New Members.)

Hamilton McWhorter, of Georgia :

To-morrow, Wednesday, has been set apart as Georgia Day at the Exposition. To-morrow evening a reception will be given to Georgia's Governor. In behalf of the Commissioners from Georgia, I am requested to invite the members of the American Bar Association and ladies to attend the reception in the Georgia State Building.

The President:

The invitation will be referred to the Executive Committee. In this connection I wish to state that I am in possession of an invitation from the owners of the steamboat Corwin H. Spencer tendering the Association an excursion on the Mississippi River. Also, among other invitations received is one from the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association to visit their establishment.

I desire further to make the announcement that at 9 o'clock to-morrow morning there will be an organ recital in this hall which will give way promptly for our meeting at 10 o'clock, and all the members of the Association are cordially invited to be present.

Gentlemen of the Association, it is a privilege of which I am extremely proud to introduce to you at this time Honorable Amos M. Thayer, United States Circuit Judge of the Eighth Circuit, who will read a paper on "The Louisiana Purchase, Its Influence and Development under American Rule," it being the annual address for this year.

Amos M. Thayer, of Missouri:

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the American Bar Association I very much regret that owing to the condition of my eyesight and also the condition of my vocal organs I shall not

be able to read the paper which I had intended to read on this occasion. I therefore request your permission to allow the paper to be read by my friend, Judge Ferris, who has kindly consented to read it for me.

Franklin Ferris, of Missouri:

I cannot forbear expressing my regret that this paper is not to be read by its author. It is hardly necessary for me to say that my regret is not diminished for your sake and for his by the fact that the honor of reading the paper has been assigned to me. I do appreciate, however, the privilege of rendering even a slight and imperfect service to one whom we all love and honor.

The annual address was then delivered.

(See the Appendix.)

Fabius H. Busbee, of North Carolina:

I ask unanimous consent to introduce a resolution upon which I shall not ask action at present, but it will take such course hereafter as the Association may determine.

The President:

If there is no objection, the gentleman from North Carolina may offer his resolution.

Fabius H. Busbee :

The resolution that I desire to offer is this:

Resolved, That the Committee on Judicial Administration and Remedial Procedure shall be instructed to take into consideration the expediency of taking some action upon or giving forth some expression of its views upon the part of the American Bar Association to induce its members, and American lawyers generally, to exert their influence in their respective homes to suppress the evils of mob violence and that this committee be requested to report by resolution, memorial or otherwise, at the present session if practicable.

The President:

The gentleman from North Carolina having asked unanimous consent for the introduction of this resolution, and unanimous consent being granted, if there is no objection the

resolution will go to the Committee on Judicial Administration and Remedial Procedure for report at this session.

Next in order are reports of standing committees, and the first of these is the Committee on Jurisprudence and Law Reform, of which Mr. Meldrim, of Georgia, is Chairman.

Robert D. Benedict, of New York:

The Chairman of our committee does not appear to be in the hall at the moment, and I am second on the committee. I would state that the committee has prepared a report, and I presume it has been distributed. Unless it is desired, I do not propose to take the time to read it, but would simply move the adoption of the recommendations of the committee.

Charles H. Bane, of California:

I second the motion.

Charles F. Manderson, of Nebraska :

It might be well to know what recommendations the committee makes.

The President:

Mr. Benedict, you may state briefly the recommendations made in the report of your committee.

Robert D. Benedict:

There were two matters referred to the committee: One being under the resolution of Judge Baldwin at the last meeting as to the sale of honorary degrees in law. The only person the committee found who sought to make sale of such degrees was a man then living in Tennessee, but who was compelled to leave that state and went to the District of Columbia, and the last heard of him was that he was under arrest there. I have noticed in the public press since that time that an order has been issued refusing him the further use of the United States mails. We do not consider that any further action in that matter is called for.

The subject of combinations or trusts, under the resolution introduced by Mr. McCrary, was considered by us and we concluded as follows: First, that under the clause of the

Constitution to regulate commerce Congress has no power to create corporations except those which have for their object the carrying on of exclusively interstate business. Second, that no such power as is contemplated by the resolution should be delegated by the states to Congress. Third, that we cannot recommend "that state taxation should be upon property actually within the state only." The property to which reference is made in the resolution must be personal, for realty is necessarily taxed under the laws of the state where located. Fourth, that we cannot recommend "that labor organizations should be relegated to national control under national incorporation.'

The committee begs leave also to report in favor of the passage by Congress of an act entitled "An act to authorize the maintenance of actions for negligence causing death in maritime cases." This subject was before the American Bar Association in 1900. A bill had then been introduced in Congress by Mr. Boutell on that subject, and the recommendation of the committee in favor of that bill was adopted by the American Bar Association; but Congress took no action upon the bill. Thereafter the Maritime Law Association of the United States in New York took up the matter, and after much consideration by committees finally, in November, 1903, approved the bill. I may say that I know of my own knowledge that the bill has been very carefully considered by the Maritime Law Association, and our committee has reported in favor of a recommendation to Congress that the bill shall pass. Charles W. Bates, of Missouri :

I do not understand subdivision two of the second subject relating to trusts. Under subdivision two I find the following words: "That no such power as is contemplated by the resolution should be delegated by the states to Congress." I do not know what the resolution is and therefore I rise for information.

Robert D. Benedict:

I have not with me the proceedings of the last meeting, but the Secretary can probably inform the gentleman what the resolution was.

William A. Ketcham, of Indiana :

The propo

I think I can answer the gentleman's question. The sition was that the Constitution of the United States ought to be so amended as to confer upon Congress the power to regulate and control purely state institutions, and the committee was of the opinion that no such power ought to be exercised.

The President:

The report will be received if there is no objection, and the affirmative action will be upon the recommendations made by the committee.

William A. Ketcham :

I move the adoption of the report.

Frank Harvey Field, of New York:

There is a provision in this bill in section 1 limiting the amount of recovery in case of death by accident to $5000. That limitation formerly prevailed in the State of New York by a provision of the state constitution, but at the time of the adoption of the new constitution in 1894 that provision was repealed, and since then recoveries have been had in some cases as high as $100,000, and these recoveries have been sustained on appeal. It frequently happens that a man is killed who has a yearly income so large that $5000 would be little compensation to his next of kin for his death, and it seems to me that it would be a foolish thing to put a provision of that kind in a national law affecting all maritime cases. I, therefore, move that the words "not exceeding in all the sum of $5000" be eliminated from the recommendation.

William W. Dodge, of the District of Columbia:
I support that motion.

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