Opinions upon the Corpus juris Project culties in the way of its accomplishment are colossal. I quite agree with the views ex pressed by some of the eminent gentlemen, whose letters you send me, that a prime consideration to the attainment of this pur pose is to dismiss all idea of commercial success from the outset. If the work is done, and done well, it undoubtedly will bring com
mercial success; but it should not be under taken with any idea of commercial success, but with a distinct and entire disregard of any such consideration. Thus undertaken and carried out in the way prescribed in the Memorandum submitted, the work cannot
fail to be of great value to the profession‘
Eon. Lloyd W. Bowers, Solicitor- General of the United States: The proposed American Corpus juris at once enlists my support, as it must that of any lawyer who has at heart the deepest interests of the law and his profession. To my mind, the great and increasing divergence of the law in the forty-six states, whose legislatures and courts independently establish their juris prudence, is a very great misfortune; and that misfortune of course afl'ects the public at large much more than it does the lawyers. Anything which will help towards greater uniformity of law throughout the United States deserves the highest commendation and encouragement. I can see no great influence for more uniformity of legislation or of decision except through the “potency of the better reason"; and the great work which you and your associates have in mind would help all who have to do with law toward the best ideals. I sincerely wish you all success.
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there must come relief. We cannot continue at this rate. Neither courts nor lawyers can stand the strain. . . . The curse of this country, state and federal, is over-legislation, most of it slipshod, and nearly all of it unneces sary. I am not optimistic about this pro posed work; but I am satisfied that, while it will probably not realize the highest anticipa tions, it will certainly mitigate the evil.
A great work could be used as the founda tion source of law, a source which legislators and courts would respect. But it would have to be one of the world’s monuments, broad, strong, lofty. How such a monument can be erected is the question? If an Ameri can Mtecenas should appear, well and good,‘ but his appearance is doubtful.
Hon. Simeon E. Baldwin, Chief justice of the
Supreme
Court
of
Connecticut,
retired,
former President American Bar Association and
of
the
International
Law Association,
Professor of Constitutional Law at Yale, and author of “The International Congresses and. Conferences of the Last Century as Forces Working Toward the Solidarity of the World," etc:
I am in entire sympathy with those who believe that a full and well-arranged state ment of the rules of common law and equity,
as they are or should be generally recognized in the United States, can be prepared by com petenl men and put in the compass of a few volumes. It would be a matter for serious examination whether these should be as numerous as constant reference to judicial authority and to standard text-books would require.
Hon. John Sharp Williams,
United States
Senator-elect from Mississippi and for many years leader of the Democratic Party in the National House of Representatives: Your scheme is gigantic in its scope; but even if incompletely consummated will result in immeasurable benefit. General P. W. Meldrim of Savannah, State Commissioner of Georgia on Uniform State Laws and former President of the Georgia State Bar Association : I am somewhat astonished by the immen sity of your project, and yet, I am attracted by it. . . . We have reached a condition from which
In deciding that or any other question incident to the proper execution of the work, commercial considerations should have no weight. It would, however, be impossible to exclude these unless the work were financed by those who would find their compensation in the satisfaction of having done good service to the country in helping to set its judicial institutions in order on a firm and common basis. It seems to me not impossible that aid of that sort could be obtained from some of those who, under the inspiration of the movements of our time towards social betterment, are seeking to perform the trust which great wealth imposes on its possessors,—to devote a part of it to the public good.
