Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-03-25
"SHARK" LAWYERS.
How They Work Up Testimony in Damage
Cases and Prosecute the Suits.

How They Work Up Testimony in Damage
Cases and Prosecute the Suits.
81 don't believe the taxpayers of this
city have any idea of the number OF
schemes which are being concocted tc
bleed the city treasury" said City
Attorney Washburne to reporter. ''Ir
the matter of personal---very. cases
alone we have to defend suits involving
claims for damages of such magnitude
that were half of the contestants success.
full the treasury would be bankrupted.
Last year we defended forty-one
personal---very. cases. The total dam
to 1912, 800. That majority of these
cases were unjustly brought IN the hope
that sympathetic juries would give dis
honest judgments against the city is
evidenced by the fact that but $3.50
i out of the 1912, 500 claimed was paid.
''Since January 1, the beginning Of
| the present year, we have defended ten
| of these cases, where total of S105, ZOO
recovered was 5000. The limited sue
cess attending the efforts of the prose-
cutors of these cases is discouraging the
I w Hull lIClCto1oIC
INDUCED in to so great an extent, and
am glad to say that there are very few
new suits being filed against the city at
the present time.
"What do / mean by speculation2 I
mean that nearly all of these cases are
brought ostensibly by the injured par
certain percentage of the judgments
| oh foin CONTROL nf tho QI1ifc
pay the costs, and undertake to furnish
their own time in conducting them free
| of charge in case nothing is recOv-
cred Many of these attorneys are
reputable men in their profession, who
honestly believe damages should and
can be recovered by law. Others are
miserable shysters, who will resort to
any measure to win case. They will
manufacture witnesses, manufacture
testimony for them to introduce. fix
| jures and resort to any other criminal
practices they can possibly employ with
out apprehension.
| cit is this class of men am after,
and one of these days am going to get
enough evidence against some one of
them to send him down to Joliet and
make an example of him. I recently
| caused warrant to be issued against
witness in one of these cases, against
whom had all the evidence necessary to
convict him of perjury. He slipped
through the officers fingers and
absconded. Had l secured him I am
confident he would have 'squealed on
the real perpetrators of the Job, and l
would have had a full-fiedged attorney
| behind the bars in company with his
perjured assistant.
eff you want to know how many OF
our lesser legal lights gain livelihood
go to the county coroner Office regular
| " every day and watch the clerks of law
| firms as they carefully sean the daily
record of casualties and copy the testi-
mony of inquests. Often the relatives
of deceased people never think of insti-
tuting damage proceedings until these
sharks send their representatives around
and maze propositions to conduct the
| cases at their own expense,
sharing the results equally after the
costs. The first thing an attor-
new does is to work up all the damaging
evidence, real or manufactured, posi-
| BILE, and then, presenting the case in an
exaggerated light before the plaintiff,
endeavor to bulldoze him into settle
ment. Too often they succeed where
the plaintiff is private individual, but
as rule corporations will come to no
settlement without an examination of
the case before magistrate. In all
claims against the city, if they are pre-
sented in due form, the council refers
them to the law department, and if,
after a careful examination, we find the
claim just one, we recommend its set
| Element to the finance committee. A
great many cases are amicably settled
] i'm this manner ''-Chica1O NelDS.