Morning journal and courier., 1882-03-09

Thousand dollars year out of the fees eff the
clerk and, of course, it is not done. Several
times bills have been prepared for introduc-
ton in Congress on the subject, but somehow
nothing was heard of them afterward. Those
who proposed them were convinced that it
was not the custom and they let the matter
drop. The Supreme Court has always held
that every bill relating to the court must
first be sent to them for inspection, and
strange as it may appear they have always
carried their point in this respect.
4 woMAN's PERSEVERANCE,
When Belva Lockwood, the female lawyer,
applied for admission to practice before the
court, the justices were shocked and the
clerk Mortified. The court considered the
application and after holding it under advise
ment for a month or SO gravely declared
against her, on the ground that it was against
the custom, if not the law. Belya In. reply
said it was against the custom once to ride in
a railroad car, or to light up house with
gas, but those customs we're not In keeping
with the progress of the times. The reply
was that there was no help for her. Belvs,
being practical. slipped over to the Senate,
drew bill giving women the right to prac-
tice law, provided they were competent and
had it introduced. She had similar bill in
troduced in the House, which body passed it.
The Senate in turn passed It, and 10 the
custom was thing of the past. A law took
its place and she or any other woman is now
perfectly free to get big fee for appearing
and arguing case before the Supreme Court,
provided she is fortunate enough to get en-
ployed.
STRANGE CUSTOM.
1t is against the custom, and no one is al
lowed to do it under penalty of being put
out of the court room, for anyone, neEspa-
per reporter or lawyer even, to write word
in the court room or take note of any point
in a decision or remark of any of the judges.
This appears strange and yet it is fact, and
there are hundreds of newspaper correspond
ents who know it, from being prevented.
The custom is to go to the clerk and wait g
week or SO for him to make such extracts of
an opinion as ere wanted and to pay him his
fees. The only way to get over this is to
keep the points in your head and write them
out after coming out of the court room,
which has to be done on what is called deci-
sion day.
THE OPINIONS
of the Supreme Court are much too long
They go into q history of every case, and
often person has to read half hour or so
before the point in the decision is recorded.
But all this plays into the hands of the clerk
He gets wealthy in consequence Of it. I'm
agine the readers of a paper in these days of
telegraph having to wait three or four weeks
for a decision. The judges are too slow.
ln6y uO1 lnlSuC 20 Dc SLOW, DOE Iuey are
without knowing it. 1t is seldom that de-
cision can be had in less than a month after
a case has been argued In similar courts In
England decision Is given in five minutes
after case is argued This is as it should
be- The judges in holding OF their decisions
without knowing it are enriching number
of resident attorneys at the expense of a
number of other attorneys, who do not hap
pen to reside here, for knowing the delay,
the expense of waiting, ETC., NONRESIDENT
lawyers frequently are required to secure the
assistance of assistant attorneys to argue and
look after their cases.
BODY SERVANTS
One of the customs is that each Justice has
body servant. The justices get money for
their own body servants, but the custom Is
otherwise and the body servants are paid
81, 200 per annum by the government. Some
of the justices want to select their own body
servant, but they are not allowed to do it by
the other body servants, for the custom Is
that the newly appointed justice retains the
body servant of his predecessor. The body
servant has not been known to allow justice
to violate this custom.
Mr.. Justice Woods who wss appointed by
Garfield, in speaking to some gentlemen of
this custom said "My body servant is the
most annoying thing that have yet expert
enced. The fellow is the first man I see in
the morning and the last 1 see at night. He
forced his way into my room at the Elliott
House, ordered me to go down to breakfast
and then asked me what would have for
breakfast, taking my order to the cooks him
self. could not get rid of him N any way
He haunted me all the time. / tried to find
places to send him to get rid of him, bat he
was back as quick as lightning. That fellow
will be the death of me. I have this salts
faction, however the other justices are tor
tured in the same way"
When Mr.. Justice Gray, of Massachusetts,,
recently went on the Supreme bench he had
an idea he would do Just as he pleased. but
after trial he finally had to yield, and is
now as completely in the power of his body
servant as any of the others. He not only
was not allowed TO select man for himself,
but was forced to accept the services of 6
fellow he does not like.
They are death on cston1, they live on Gus
tom, and no one of the body servants does
a thing different from what he did years and
years ago. As rule the body servants are
past middle age. The fathers and grand
fathers of some of them served in the sans
capacity, for they never let a new man into
the ring.
OFFICIAL CALLS
On New Years day the Chief Justice and
the Associate Justices make an official call on
the President. Now no one would suppose
it would be terrible crime for the carriage
House in advance of the Chief Justice, pro-
vided the occupants were presented to the
President in order, the Chief Justice first
and the Associate Justices according to their
lengths of service afterwards; but il Is q
crime, because it is against the custom, New
Year days are generally very cold and it is
the custom of the body servants to have the
carriages containing the Supreme Court meet
on Fifteenth street, above the treasury and
there be formed IN proper order BY the body
servants who, to keep the judges from get
ting mixed or out of order, always ride with
the driver. 1t happened on last New Years
that the carriage of Mr.. Justice Harlan ar:
rived on Fifteenth street first. He and the
ladies with him bad to wait there for over
half am hour In the cold, while the other car
risges arrived. Finally Judge Harlan could
not stand it any longer and he meekly in
quired of the body servant If it would do
any harm to drive to the White House, where
he could get In a warm room and there await
the arrival of the other Justices. The body
servant said it was the custom to wait on the
street, and when they all arrived to drive to
the White House in order. Ordinarily
said Judge Harlan. 81 will do things accord
ing to custom; but if, by endesvoring to fol-
low a custom, am liable to freeze to death,
VIII, as matter of self existence, violate
the rule. 1 am sure win be pardoned BY
my associates. Won't you please let me
drive over to the White House ?'' This ap-
peal was a strong one. The body servant
thought it over for Q moment and then, ar
irving at the conclusion that the lives of one
gentleman and two ladies were nothing as
compared to keeping up time honored Gus
toms, he declined, and when the others had
arrived and were arranged in order the pro-
cession moved to the White House
A gamin's idea of Wide: f'who's this
ere Oscar Wilde rs said street arab to his
mate. "Oh, he's only a tall Mick that's put
in here to show people how mean man
looks with his little brothers pants on