The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-08-27
IS HA q K :"
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Dislnterested Legal Lights and
the Westfleld Sufferers.
"Heavy Damages" To Be Recovered
from the Ferry Company.
An Untiring Nurse as Roper In"
for Law Firm.
How Misery and Intirmity is
Humbugged.
A SHOCKING STORY.

IN the city OF New York there are upwards Of
eignt thousand men who follow, at o more or less
respectful distance. the profession OF the law
livelihood. In other countries, such as France and
England, the legal profession is looked up to- not
only by the lay community but by the members Of
all the other learned professions, as requiring
and peculiarly adapted for the display OF the highest
possible degree of learning, culture knowledge OF
tne world and or human nature deep thought and
study and general ability. In England and in
France the highest prizes In the field of statesman
ship have a rule, always been carried by law
yers; and SO FAR above divinity and physc has the
law been regarded In public estimation that many
o parent OF moderate means, who might
have made his sou clergyman or q
ply stefan without leaning very heavily his
purse, has been known exhaust his resources and
reduce himself TO the very verge OF ruin In a too
often unsuccessful endeavor to make his boy o
counsellor. In this country, too the most coveted
positions in the arena OF puolic lie have been and
still are IN the majority o: cases. filled by members
OF the legal profession; but the time has long
gone by when the law was regarded by the general
pubic as
THE MOST DESIRABLE OF ALL THE PROFESSIONS.
The reason OF this is very plain. Every calling or
avocation Is respectable and desirable only IN
proportion 10 Its comparative excusiveness-that
is 10 the difficulty, time, labor expense and Unborn
alent involved In the pursuit. and acquisition of it,
long course OF hard study. involving considerable
expense, liberal general education and
air share OF natural ability, all neces-
sary heretofore TO the completion of climb
OF the law" But how has it been of late years
There is scarcely one intelligent reader who
does not know ignorant and stupid fool with
his name over the door OF a lawyers ONCE,
whose whole qualifications for his successfu admis
non to the bar have been acquired by three weeks'
readlng OF Blackstone, as many years. drinking Of
oad whiskey and little ''in1uence with the judge"
diploma OF this kind is so easily obtainable that
hundreds of jocOse youths of various occupations,
who never dreamed OF entering upon the practice
OF law, have had themselves admitted to the bar
'for the fun OF the thing" These, however, are
sne most harmless class OF our legal luminarles.
Another source OF supply for the law Offices is the
unhealthy and alarming dislike entertained by
AMERICAN TRADEsMEN AND MECHANICS
towards bringing up their children to the trade by
which they themselves have been enabled to pass
through life on an independent competence. We
are undoubtedly becoming wofuny snoobish in
fnis country already, and nobody is so badly
bitten with this snobblsnness as
the average mechanic. He Is ashamed
OF being "only worklngman.n He Is dazzled by
the shiny coat which the brieness barrister and
the poorly paid clerk have to pinch from their
that his boy instead Of being "a poor drudge,u as
he calls ii, must be qaalaed for gentleman SO
the foolish man wastes his surplus earnings on
young hopeful who Is put through a cursory course
OF study" is called to the bar and in due time
nnds himself
FULLFLEDeED COUNSELLOR,
attorney and barristeraJ-law, with nothing to eat
and nothing 10 do.
1t has been already stated that there are now over
5000 practising lawyers In this metropos-that Is
out of every hundred OF population one man is
q law yer. Leaving out the women and children
this gives Us one lawyer to every twenty
grown men; so that, admitting that every man |
In New YORK goes TO law with another man at
least once year, each lawyer can only nave
twenty cases per annum, at an average to live
upon. Now, lnasmuch as some OF our eminent
1t is plaln thar many of the lesser lights of the
bar are left without any case at ALL stun, they must
live somehow, and The question how so many
asked than answered. The following lacts may
help 10 throw some light on the paths OF those VINO
wlsn 10 pursue mat interesting inquiry 70 Its very
bitter end:-
The unsavory history, haunts and practices Of
that nondescript animal and social pest the
.'Tombs Shystcr,n are well known TO every reader
OF the HERALD. The public are also not wholly una
CLASS OF DIsREPUTABLE RAscALs
who prowl along the docks In search OF sailors with
grievances, and who persuade "poor, mercantile
Jack' into empowering them to institute suits in his
behalf against the owners anu masters of vessels on
compromise Jacks case for some sum OF which the
plaintiff never sees a cent though he has already
.come down, TO his phlanthroplc counsel with re-
tainer equal to the whole amount OF the wages he
has just received There innumerable other ways
by which needy and constituencies lawyers manage
TO 'nlake out the cause,p one OF which the remain
der OF this article VIII help 10 illustrate.
The HERALD has already informed the public, In
GLIDING the surviving victims OF the Westdeld boiler
explosion that the latter anu tie friends OF The VIC
tins who were killed can make the ferry company
pay handsomely of course still Inadequate
-
that fatal disaster. The very thought Of this, OF
MANY A LEGAL PALM ITCHING
most hopefully, and for several days almost every
lawyer in the city watched anxiously each OPEN
ing Of his office door, expecting the entrance OF
o scalded client or two. Respectable lawyers, at
least coutepted themselves with watching their
once DOORS but there were LAWYERS OF another and
q very different class, who scorned 10 adopt that
decent ana dignIhed but too tardy course. NO
sooner had tue 1rightiul news OF the catastrophe
spread through the Mortified city that memorable
Sunday afternoon than certain vultures OF the.aw
wheted their beaks and prepared 10 make a descent
on the victims. They smelled their natural prey In
the steam that went nip from the bodies OF the
scalded wretches, and, with cruelty equaled only
by that or the wild beasts that tear the esh from
the bones OF the dying n fresh battlefield these
legal brutes rushed ravenously to seize all that was
lett by The more merciiul steam OF the tortured
sufferers. These
DIsREPUrABLB MEMBERS op THE BAR
which tney disgrace have ever since haunted the
hospitals and the homes OF The stricken ones,
watching for an opportunity when the latter would
be physically strong enough TO sign away their
claims 10 legal damages from tie ferry company
Dut too weak in mind 10 know what they were
doing. IL was bold INSCRIPTIONS, savage, and at
The same time very cunning game. whose success
lay entirely In the secrecy with which 1t was played.
That secrecy they thought they mad secured but as
the reader sees, they have failed delightfully."-, for
HERALD reporter has followed their every foostep
from the beginning up TO the present, and means
10 track them 10 the end. until they give up the
shameful pursuit Oh which they nave started.
Having completed full list OF the unfortuates
who were pestered by the application OF lawyers
drumming up trade the reporter awaited
TIE RlPESING OF EVENTS
until yesterday. when he called at Bellevue
Hospital. Meeting Warden Brennan in the hallway
that ana5.e gentleman and honest man was IN
formed by the reporter VI his "lay,n and asked to
assist
SNOW, Nj. Brennan asked the reporter, shave
you heard anything about lot Of legal sharks tor
mening your patients rom the Westneid disaster
into placing tneif suits for damages IN the hands OF
tue sharks Aforesaid aud signing papers 10 that
efleCtfn
''les, did, answered Mr.. Brennan, 'bus don't
think u Will amount 10 much now at least have
PIT a stop 10 II so Iar as this Institution Is con-
cerned At all events, whether Il Is stopped not,
those fellows ought 10 be roasted IL the newspapers
The scCundrels VINO would try TO deiraud OF make