The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-11-24
Sharks.

The following caustic sketch, in an
English magazine, describes a class of
men that unfortunately are not con-
fined to that country:
"The shark has liking for the le-
gal profession. Very energetic is he
i'm heaping the cost Of what client
innocently imRgines will be the most
inexpensive of suits. Very kind is he
money. Very crusty, very ferocious, is
he when the supply of that useful
commodity is exhausted. He has
small qualms ofconscicnce then about
going over to the other side; that is
smart stroke of business, of which he
feels very proud indeed. It is really
instructive to watch how the legal
shark heaps up the expenses. 1t is
positively celebrating to see the skill
full manner in which he keeps people
dOd9ing about after him. The num-
ber of points which he requires time
to consider is astOnishingly great; so
great, indeed, that he might reasona-
! bly, be suspected of not knowing his
business. The gTOundles5ness of his
suspicion, however, is at once evident
when it is remembered that every
| knotty point which necessitates an
additional consultation is, at least,
Granddaughter pence in his pocket.
| Many legal sharks keep one particular
clerk, whose duty it is, when his mas
ter is in conference with q client, to
place himself where he can hear what
! is going on, and then write down on
| paper portions of what he heard. This
| is to guard against the contingency of
| the client successfully disputing the
amount Of the bill sent in to him.
] f,p,H 10 a laoroY oh arky 81 lot
/ ter writing, and what costly things his
| letters are. What an adept, also, is he
| in getting adjourned time after time
how carefully he will work to bring
! this end about, and how he is, acct
| dentally, of course, assisted by circum-
! stances. How that important witness
will keep out of the way Just when
he Is wanted, and the sharks learned
friend raise legal. point, neeessitating
an adjournment, to which the shark
feels compelled to bow.
at is very pleasant to see two
sharks playing into each others hands.
When the shark for the prosecution is
ready to go on, the shark for the de-
Tense is not, and Cice versa. Clients
often wonder how it is that justice is
administered so tardily, but it rarely
strikes them what is the real
cause. 1t is, Of course, a matter of
the most supreme Indifference to the
shark whether his client wins or loses,
so long as he pays the shark bis costs.
"The law faVOrs these sharks. 1t is
Illegal to make an agreement with
a lawyer; he must be left to charge
just what he thinks proper for conduct
ing the case. You can never get a
statement sfrom a shark while your
memory Is fresh; you receive the bill
I ufny7 hQxyn f0Fgrnffnr1 tho f0FrAiun
of the case. You remember nothing
about those interviews and letters,
and the mysterious etcetera. You
recall all the times you have seen him
in fact, and yet fail to make your
number of meetings tally with his
But you can not dispute him there is
the evidence of his clerk! He will
not wait long for his money after he
favOrs you with his bill-especially if
you are hard up. He will, on small
provOcatiOn, set all the engines of the
law in motion against you. He will
seize your effects even the bed upon
which you lie, and turn you penniIess
into the street. He would also seize
your person if he thought you had
friends who would deem it worth ran
sOming.
=" We would have it understood that
we have been speaking of legal sharks,
| and not lawyers.
"TheB there is the money lending
shark. He is very willing to lend
money to silly people who have good
| friends or the handling Of other peO-
pies cash. It is remarkable that
! those who place themselves in his
clutches often do some thing desperate
! sooner or later; some times they forge
= signature or help themselves out Of
a cash box which is not theirs some
times they bOlt-in rare instances out
of the world, more frequently to
! the Continent of America. The
| law favOTs the usurious shark. 1t Is
not an indictable offence to charge a
usuriOus rate Of interest.
'There Is the commercial shark;
he is fond Of startling limited liability
companies which he knows cannot be
successfully carried through. He
makes money thereby, and it matters
| not to him from whom the money
is wrung. And so we might go on
enumerating tn e various types of
| sharks, but we refrain.
ait is perhaps the nature of some
men to be voraciOus, and, probably, we
shall always have certain number Of
| sharks lmOving about among us. We
will not advise people to avoid them,
for we imagine they will do so as
much as they possibly can,
without receiving counsel from any
body. 1t is just q question, however,
whether some thing more than this is
now done should not be done to pro-
tect the inOfTensive and defenseless.
We think go. It would, at any rate,
he worth while to make the attack
Liberal ReUietO.