St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-07-06
John ID. To,cnaena.

cause, for the time being. He is even more
remarkable an illustration of success growing
out OF this peculiar nature than Mr.. Beach
was; for Townsend has won success in fight
ing not only the opposing counsel but the
judges also. 1t does not always follow that
to be favorite with the judges is to secure
the greatest number of clients. In this city
of probably the worst judiciary in the coun
try, the reputation of not being afraid of the
judges is of very great value to some lawyers;
this reputation Townsend enjoys quite uni
versally, and it brings him many good clients
and also retainers as counsel for other law
yers who, finding their cases are to be tried
before judges in whom they have no conf
dence, engage Townsend for his characters
tic fearlessness in arguing with them and ex-
cepting to their rulings. Most lawyers are
content to note exceptions to wrong ruling
with view to appealing; l have several
times known judges to weaken under the
arguments of Townsend and reverse them
selves rather than run the risk of having him
go to higher court to secure the reversal
there of their rulings.
Townsend's prominence in this particular
was brought about by one of his first cases
away back in 1862 He saw in morning
paper a letter purporting to be from two
women in the Toombs who claimed that they
had been incarcerated there, with the infant
girl of one of them, for eleven days, without
examination or any knowledge Of the charges
against them. Townsend went to the prison
and demanded to see the women. They told
remarkable story. The elder was the pro-
prietress of public house and the other, her
sister, a young widow who had been driven
of the den. A prominent Police Justice
named Joseph Bowling had visited the
house and made approaches to the widow,
and on her refusal to accept his advances,
he had had the house raided by the
police and the women thrown into the
Toombs, in which prison Dowling's Court
was located. Satisfying himself that this
story was true, Townsend sued out a writ of
habeas corpus, brought the women before
Supreme Court Judge Albert Cardozo, and
was about to state their case when Cardozo,
who was boon companion of Bowling,
called him to the bench and told him ''not to
defend those women if he expected any
favors from him. Townsend replied that
he asked no favors from him and was about
to explain the application he made in behalf
of the women, when Cardozo, to avoid pub
licity, discharged the women without hear
ing. But Townsend stated the case in the
papers and for few days they were filed
with the sensation; then they dropped the
matter. But Townsend never did drop it,
and finally brought charges against Bowling
and Cardozo Others followed with charges
against Barnard and McCunn, two other
corrupt judges; and after three years of hard
and constant fighting, Barnard, MeCunn
and Cardozo were impeached; the first two
were convicted; Cardozo escaped the same
fate by resigning, while Bowling and seven
other police justices were removed from Of
fee. With them persisted the ''Tweed
Ring" 1t was great judicial and political
reform which had its small beginnings in the
case of the two unfortunate women in the
Tombs who found friend in this young
lawyer. Townsend has never wanted for
clients since, and in many of the legislative
Investigations of official corruption here he
has been employed by the committees as their
legal adviser because of his known antagon-
ism to official wrongdoing. He has been
engaged in many of the most prominent
civil and criminal trials of the last fifteen
years, andwon increased reputation in each
His income from his profession, to which he
devotes himself exclusively, is from $40, 900
to 200 year.
WILLIAM F. G. SHANKs.