Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-12-14
1ancasrcr f,.teiI:genrer.
TUESDAY EVENING, DEC. IA. 1880.
The Way 1t Is Done.


The incident narrated elsewhere, Of a
constable undertaking to swell II miles
actually travelled into So miles legal
mileage, admirably illustrates the pre-
vailing practice of extOrtiOn among our
public officials. Had the officer of the
law been less grasping in his attempt to
rob unfortunate litigants and increased
his fees four or five hundred per cent.
above their legal amount, his demands
might have been satisfied without chal-
lenge but when he made the excess
some two thousand per cent of his rights
it was little too stiff to be paid without
remonstrance, ending in examination
and ali abatement Of the unlawful! de-
mand.
The example, however, will prove USE
full to all classes of the public in exhibit
ing to them the process by which fees
are illegally increased, and the danger
of being robbed to which every citizen is
subjected who. by accident or by his own
will. is placed in the position of liti-
CANT. AS we have frequently demon
strated. this system Of multiplying indict-
ments and increasing fees WAS reduced
to science i'm J. W. Johnson S term us
district attorney. and since that time
district attorneys. aldermen. conStables
and clerks seem to have been banded to-
getller to promote their interests by per
fecting it, The imposition begins when
the committing magistrate encourages or
allows separate indictments to he made
against the different parties t" sin
gle Offense. These form the fOun-
dation for manifold writS. Suhp,rnaS
commitments. mileayeS, indictments and
office costs. When one complaint and
one indictment would answer every pur-
pose. three. five. seven rr Il dozen are
drawn and the costs increased three. five
seven or twelve-fulu to the cost of the
county. prosecutor OF defendant and the
great scandal -! our local admniStra-
tion of justice. In the case cited. by Il
perfectly natural process and one that
We doubt not IS familiar to constableS.
ldNlul hstN !!i'l ac''t "'iHN.
fold. This is one nf the cnmmonest
devices. The law crntemp:ateS that the
service OF suhpnnas shall be paid fol
miles actually travelled. and YET officers
think nothing OF serving a subpoena AT
the same time "l the same witnesses IL
each of half dozen cases and de-
irving SiX-fold mileage. In the cast
in point the constable actually had
charrd TO- .;:'i mi',s t.G'til'1 to s",Irn1
himself. \ nan must be badly lost indeed
when he has 70 travel that far to find
himself. In another case brought to ou
notice. eleven complaints arose out OF
single fight. There were eleven hearing:
all at the same time and eleven sub
prnas were ISSUED for each of sixtcel
witnesses, making one hundred and sew
enty-siN services had they l,een in the
country there would have been that man.
sets of miieage-for eleven witnesse
summoned ~ ;iie same place at the same
time.
THIS. are sample l;'tS. The pcOpl
cannot Stand it any longer. Lawyer
cannot afford to b. liberal witt. the pull
lie officers at s:lcli expense to their client
and such discredit 10 the practice o
their profession. 1t has come to an eS
tremity OF eNtortion when 30 bill o
ccsts ought to be paid without a hill O
items and rigid examination Of ever
item. Meantime the court could d
much if it would, and more than il does
for only one indictment where on
would suffice under the law.