The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1882-04-08
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT.
A Pen-and-Ink Photograph OF the Judges
and Their Wonderful Clerk.

Prom the Hartford Times.
Il 10 not true, the attaches Of the court say, that
any Of the Justices have had gowns made In Paris
BY Worth. They are oil home made, and have
been made BY one family Of people for nearly
forty years. The gowns are put on the Justices
In what 10 called the robe room, adjoining the
court, at I've minutes to !? o'clock, for the Judges
never 60 upon the bench until high noon. Then,
after the Marshal's deputy sings his song about
"God bless the United States and the Justices Of
this court" words to that effect, the arrival Of
the Justices having been previously announced,
they take their seats and are ready for business.
The eierkship Of the court IL worth more than
the salary Of four Of the Justices as il Il said TO
frequently pay over $4,000 per year. The
charges are simply terrible. I, costs about dol
lar for the clerk to lock ut you, and another dol.
lar to get out Of his sight They have little talk
then Of keeping the decisions back as long as pos.
sible, often q couple Of months. and in the mean
time II any one wants a copy Of the decision il
costs 80 for each page Of one hundred words.
There Is no good reason why the decisions should
not be put in type the day they delivered. and
furnished the debates OF Congress are furnished
the day following but this was not the practice
sixty years ago, and they never do any thing
about the court except in the time honored but
excessively slow way. This. all agree. would be
q great convenience. but IL would take $4,000 a
year out Of the fees Of the clerk and of course il
Is not done.
When Belva Lockwood, the female lawyer. an.
piled for admission TO practice before the court
the Justices were shocked and the clerk Mortified.
The Court considered the application. and. after
holding IL under adyisement for a month or 80.
gravely declared against her. on the ground tina,
IL was against the custom. IL not the law. Belya
In reply said il was against the custom once 10
ride In railroad car. or 20 light up house with
gas, but those customs were not in keeping with
the progress Of the times. The reply was that
there was NO help for her. Belva. being prae,i.
cal, slipped over TO the Senate. drew bill giving
women the right TO practice law. provided they
were competent. and had Il introduced. She had
n similar bill introduced In the House, which
body passed IL. The Senate In turn passed IL,
and 10 the custom was a thing Of the past. A
Law took its place, and she or any other woman IL
now perfectly free TO get big fee for appearing
and arguing ease before the Supreme Court,
provided she IL fortunate enough 10 get employed.
It's against the custom. and no one IL allowed
TO do IL under penalty Of being put out Of the
court room. for any one, Newspaper reporter or
lawyer even, 10 write word in the court room,
or take note " any point In decision or remark
Of any Of the Judges. This appears strange. and
yet Il l. fact, and there are hundreds Of news
paper correspondents who know IL from being
prevented. The custom Is TO 20 20 the clerk, and
wait o week or 80 for him 20 make such extracts
Of an opinion a. are wanted and TO pay him hi.
fees.
The opinions Of the Supreme Court are much
too long. They 90 into . history Of every case
and often person has TO read half hour or so
before the point in the deeision 10 reached. But
all this plays into the hands Of the clerk. lie
gets wealthy in consequence Of IL. Imagine the
readers Of paper In these days Of telegraph
having 90 wait three or four weeks for decision {,
One Of these customs Is that each Justice has a
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
20 select their own body servant, but they are not
allowed % do IL BY the other body servants, for
the custom is that the newly appointed Justice re-
tain the body servant ofhis predecessor. The body
servants have never been known 20 allow a jus.
tice 10 violate this custom.
When Mr.. Justice Gray Of Massachusetts re-
Gently vent on the Supreme bench, he had m idea
he would do just rs he pleased; bat after trial
he finally had 10 yield, and is now NJ completely
in the power Of his body servant as any Of the
others. He not only was not allowed 90 select a
man for himself but was forced 20 sceept the SER
vices Of . fellow he does not like.
They are death on custom they live on Gus
tom, and not one Of the body servants does a
thing different from wha, he did years ago. A.
q rule. the body servants are past middle age.
The fathers and grandfathers Of some Of them
served In the same capacity, for they never let 4
new man into the ring.