The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1883-07-07
THE La WIER, HIS WORK
AND HIS ~KECONPENSE.
Some Popular No'ons Which are
Popular FaIlacies.

Popular Fa!aciey.
How few there are who know
how great q factor and exponent
the lawyer is OF a country's civiliza
ton and prosperity. That his sue
cess, in the full sense Of that term,
should be an indication OF the thrift
aud prosperity of the community
in which he lives is i simple trnti,,
apparently hidden from the ordina
~ observer. The reverse Of this
passes current and is u popular be
lief. popular faiIacies" are iliosl
cal deductions ttom correct prrmis
es, or logical differences. from false
facts, and the definition holds good
in this particular instance. The
lawyers harvest is not rich in pro
portion to the mea.reness OF that
Of the other classes. His wealth,
when the fruit OF his business, is a
criterion of the wealth Of his fellow
citizens; his education a test as
to theirs his social standing and in
huences Il mark Of the condition Of
their society. He is a thermometer
correctly m%anitesting the warmth
or GOODNESS of the community u
rounding him to intellect, its cul
ture and influence. He is Il baron
eter to the mercantile financial at
mosphere, justly tokening its calm
ness or pcrturbabilty. Ii a com
munity he on the verge of u titan
cial panic, or if they be in one, it is
a common notion that lawyers will
be OF are prosperous. Reasoning
that because of "hard times" debt
Ors will not meet their liabilities,
consequently the lawyer is in de
mand. This deiusiOn is due to the
failure to consider u truth known
to all close observers, viz the rnle
that just debts are paid unless the
debtors have not the means. 1t is
exceptional for men to refuse to pay
their debts. Acknowledged liabil
tiles make but a small portion of
the litigation in the courts of the
country. Lawyers thrive on fees.
From where is the fee to come when
an INDECENT debtor is the defendant !!
The remuneration to the attorney
is small when the service rendered
is obtaining ajudgment on an adj
mitted claim. The acumen of the
entire profession will exhaust it
self in finding remunerative com
pensation under such circumstan
ces. Wealth generates wants. The
one is al immediate result OF the
other; the increase of the one, by
the law Of human nature, increases
the other. , Money is IL moving
thing, active and stirring. 1t de
clines to rest quiet and idle. 1t scar
ches for employment, and will by
its activity make employment in
new enterprises. The cry, some
years ago, of lack of enterprise
in New Orleans was true, but the
spirit Of energy was not wanting so
much as surplus capital. Northern
surplus capital deserves the credit,
not Northern energy, of the late
progressive undertaking. New EN-
terprises mean multiplicity Of occu
pations aud avocations, and proper
tionato increase of the legal rela
tions Of men to things and to each
other. Individual wealth breeds
artificial or "educated" wants. Va
ried and multifarious duties, con
tracts and obligations come into
being, and from the correlation OF
these and Of men to them and to
each other there descends, paren
tally as it were, questions Of law,
disputes and claims which the
courts alone can settle.
The increase of wealth increases not
only.the number of contracts, but
thessizos andInecessarily tho amount
involved in a litigation is great,
and tho lawyers fee rates accord
iugly. Another factor here il the
numerical increase in suits. This
forces the able attorney to devote
his talent to less cases. He draws
the line by increasing the amount
hA demands for COmponSation.