The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1877-02-08
Editors Meeting.

IN the community. There Is an opportunity
Tor them to act as we'll as 10 resoise There
are at least tso bill. in some stage OF pro-
gress in the legislature, not only reducing
printers lees fer legal work one-hslf, but
one OF them actually proposes 10 allow them
10 charge for only one-hslf or tso-thirds OF
the matter they are required to publish.
Those editors who have any influence with
members OF the legislature, had better look
to this matter-1ioy Ciiet.
While at Topeka we heard something of
these bills. Oae was introduced by law
yer from FL. Scott, and the other by a
banker from Ottawa.
II Mr.. Gilmore, OF the Ffedonia Caizen,
should Introduce bli in the house, OF
which he is a member, regulating the fees
of attorneys, and cutting them down about
twc-'hirds, Judge Day, OF II. Scott, would
pronounce il an outrageous and unwarrant-
able interference with the private basiness
Of citizens
II Senator Murdock, OF the Walnut Val
ley Times, should introduce a bill in the
Senate cutting down the legal rates of in
terest one-hslf, Mr.. Elder, Of franklin
county, would probably regard it as an out
rage.
Yet the principle, in all these cases is
the same. Judge Day has no more business
to attempt 10 cut down the fees of publishers
by legislative enactment than Mr.. Gilmore
has 10 attempt to regulate lawyers fees by
law.
Every Journal in the United States has
right 10 regulate It's Own prices for adver-
Using, just every lawyer has right to
make his own charges for legal services.
The man who attempts to draw distinc-
ton between the two cases, and to say that
the fees OF printers ought to be regulated
by law, while lawyers are permitted to
charge what they please, does not know
what he is talking about.
1t is very singular thing that at every
session of the legislature come lawyer or
banker proposes to go into the business of
regui ating printers fees, and invariably
concludes to reduce them to about one
third or one-half the advertised, established
prices all over the country. From Maine
TO California the fee. for inserting legal
Advertisements are very nearly uniform,
and are oftener lzss than the established
AEu VI newspapers
| they are 10 excess of such advertised prices.
Many OF the prominent journals of the
| country never insert legal advertisements
because the prices fixed by law are lees than
the rates they have fixed for their adver-
Using space. The larger the circulation OF
a newspaper the more valuable is advertis-
| ing In its columns.
Great lawyer, like William N. Eyarts
and Judge Black, are paid enormous fees.
often amounting to thousands of dollars
for single case. Great newspapers, like
the New York Tribune, or its name.ake in
Chicago, charge from a dollar to five dol
lars line for advertisements. The scale
of advertising all over the country ranges
from a dollar square mime lines of nom
pareil) to the prices charged by the grea.
dailies mentioned above. IRE Champion
charges, and has right to charge, more
for its advertising space than does the Nor
ton County Bee. But all journals, in this
State and elsewhere, have an undoubted
right TO fix their own rates OF advertising,
Just az much as lawyers have right to fix
their own charges Tor legal services.
No mstter what fee lawyer charges, he
can collect it. Ii client regards the
charge as extortionate, and refuses to pay.
the lawyer can collect in full ii he takes
the case to court For the only witnesses
whose evidence will be admitted as compe-
tent Is the evidence of other lawyers, and
there IS community OF Interest in the pro-
fession that will induce every che of them
TO sustain the charges OF their brother law
yer as just and proper. II a lawyer does an
hours work be may charge and collect .
hundred dollars or more for it. The theory
is that his services are not to be measured
by the time he was actually employed on
the case that it required years of study
and experience, and the expenditure OF
much money, to fit him fer his profession
that this study, experience and expenditure
are equivalent to the investment OF capital
and ne has, therefore, right to demand
compensation based on his learning and
skill, and not on the hours be actually de-
votes to the case. There is justice in this
We enter no complaint against the charges
Of the lawyers. We coEcede that they have
the right to make their charges upon this
theory. But We protest That publishers
have the same right, and when lawyer at
tempts to regulate their fees, he is guilty of
an outra geous and unwarrantabe interior
ence with business that il quite as honor
able. Just independent, and in every re-
spect entitled TO just as much immunity
from arbitrary interference a. his own pro-
fession.
We may put the case in a stronger con-
trast AMI ask, who have done most for the
state, the lawyers or the publishers? Who
are entitled TO the most generous treatment
from the people Of the state, the lawyers or
the publishers? Who have contributed
most to build up the interests Of Kansas, to
hasten the growth OF the state, and to pro-
mole the prosperity OF its people, the law
yers or the publishers? Judge Foster,
Judge Horton, Judge Otis, Messrs. Guthrie,
Everest, Wsggener, Mills, Griffin, Tomlin-
son, Wells, johnson, Cochran, Hudson,
Martin, Pierce and other members of the
Atchison bar are excellent men in their
profession, but have all OF them combined
done as much to build up this city and
state as the Champion? Ii We had occa-
sion to employ any one of them, we should
not deny his right to fix his own fee for the
services he rendered. And what right
would they have TO attempt to fix our
charges Tor advertising or other work?
We look upon this attempt to regulate
and TO cut them down 10 almost nothing, as
al vi iiShto VI thS
publishers of this State, just as the lawyers
would regard an aitemp. to cut down their
fees as an outrage. Publishers have a
right to charge Just what they please for
advertising They do not charge excessive
rates. The prices in Kansas are Just about
the same as are charged BY journals in
every State OF the Union.
The newspapers Of Kansas rarely receive
f,ir Thav thoO,sol roo lar
~ to blame to this. Cut-throat COMPETE
ton, resulting in prices that will not sus
tain any paper, is maintained at fault A
publisher establishes a Newspaper, builds it
up by years Of hard work and devoted At
tentiop to business. Just about the time he
gets it on a paying basis, some other
person comes along and starts another, or
some political aspirant-, offended because
they cannot control the one paper, start
another. Then begins ruinous, cut-throat
competition between the two. The business
that was barely sufficient to sustain one pa
per in healthy condition, and with fair
prices, is divided between two or three, at
ruirously low prices. Instead of one or
two good, enterprising. independent and
healthy newspapers, a community has two
or three weak, sickly, dependent sheets, the
prop!letofs Oh WHICH cannon say tnat tnetr
souls are their own. None of them do any
good to the community; and in the end
their publishers are all ruined This is the
almost inevitable effect of the competition
that's SO often witnessed among newspapers
ia this State.
The publishes of the State could, by mu-
tual combinations for the protection Of their
own interests, and By resolving not to en-
gage in cut throat competition, establish |
and maintain fair pv;cea ;r.t "a l.-va-.