The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1883-01-31
Bro. Gardner on Lawyers.

There may be more truth than poetry
in the following remarks made by the
sable philosophical the Lime Kiln Club.
Zach day as look ODER my paper"
said the old man rs the lights were
turned up, II sec case of embozzle-
ment, wholesale robbery, breach Of
trust or misuse ofodder peoples money.
One day it am de cashier OF bank; dc
mex day It am city or county treas
urer; de mex it am some confdenshul
clerk or bank president, or de treasurer
OF some corporation! 1t is an era OF
stealth an embezzlin' an fraud. No
man who has money in de hands of a
friend or employe feels safe, No man
who depends upon another man knows
what a day may bring forth.
what brung bout dis state of affairsP
Who profits by itP Who aids de offend
ers TO escapeP
There was silence throughout the
hall as the President paused and looked
up and down. Samuel Shin was about
TO rise up and explain that he hadn't
made a dollar out of it yet, and didn't
expect to, when Pickles Smith hit him
with the big end of a potatoe and
Brother Gardner continued:
Il arraign de bar of de kentry an
charge de lawyers, big an little, wild
bein de direct cause of dis reign of
knavery. Three men outer five am
honest only until dere am chance to
make haul by bein' dishonest. One
man outer three will be dishonest on all
occashuns whar dar am q chance TO es-
cape consequences. II dar was no law
to punish dishonesty, we wouldn't find
one man in twenty doin' de honest
thing fur principles sake. 1t am de
fear Of consequences which keeps thous-
ands Of clerks an cashier: an treas
urers honest.
"An' what do we lawyers say TO
ebery man who's fingers itch TO make q
haul9 Dey might as well advertise at
reg lar rates dat dey will guarantee to
clear EN- Of de law fur a sartin sum.
Let me steal $4,000 in cash an nine
tenths Of the lawyers Of Detroit will be
eager to defend me--to effect CON-
promise-to hush it up-to clear me Of
punishment About de best legal tslent
in America makes a specially Of de-
fendin' criminals. ANY lawyer am
looked upon as good huff for Prose-
cutin' Attorney, while de VERY keenest
talent am reserved fur defense of
thieves, burglars and law breakers.
Time after time men have stolen or
embezzed, an de lawyers have taken q
sheer Of de plunder to clear EN-. We've
had half dozen cases right yere widin
two y'ars. an we am sartin to have mo-.
Let me steal ton Of coal, an up 90.
Let me get my claws on $4,000 an
doan' 60 up wort shucks. may be
rested an toted off to Jail, but inside Of
week de case am settled up, an
walk de streets hero. De lawyerreturn
$40, 900 of de money, pocket SO, 975, an
han me fifty as reward fur bringin'
em a fat case.
Suppose ii war known dat ebery
burglar fairly convicted would receive
twenty years in prison, wild no posi-
bility Of pardon, would we have one
burglary whar' we now have two2 Who
makes burglary PAWN purfeshunp
"If.a clerk who embezzled was sartin
TO receive five or ten var sentence,
how many cases of embezzlement would
you h ar OF in a year? An who makes
embezzlement payin' biznessp De
lawyer.
"If dat Rochester bank President am
sent to State Prison for twenty years,
what will be de effeck on odder Roches.
ter bank presidentsP But he won't be.
De lawyers have gathered to his aid an
will defeat justice.
ii am spokin what believe to be
de solemn truf, when say to you dat
law has become a farce, an lawyers de
mddle-men between robbers an de
robbed. De question am how to break
de law--not how to enforce IT, 1t am
not how to put thief into prison, but
how to keep him out 1t am not how
TO punish dishonest officials, but how TO
gently squeeze out as much as dey kin
restore, an forgive the remainder. Let
us purceed to bizness, feelin' dat what
ever crimes we commit we stan two
chances of goin' clear 10 one of punish