The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1888-07-20
EDITOR OF THE TELEGRAPH.

Ill TeCeLC eUlLOFlal you look OcCa-
sion to assign as a reason for the. dimin.
ished amount of litigation in. Keno sha
county the fact that mon and women
were better disposed than formerly, both
in respect to social order and morals.
This optimistic view of the case would
be very pleasant to believe, if it were
true.
Deserted Court Houses, slim Court
calendars and tenantless jails, on the
face Of things, certainly give color to the
idea that this is the case.
But unfortunately these instrumen-
talities for the maintaining of the peace,
security and good order Of the commu-
nifty are not now made use of, because
it is expensive to use the machinery,
and the results Of such use, when i'm
peratively demanded, are so disappoint-
ing and unsatisfactory.
Men do not employ lawyers nova.
days because they have little confidence
in them; and when lawyers have no
business there is none for the courts.
The ability of the average lawyer of to-
day is fully equal to that of the lawyer
of forty years ago, and his tools (books)
far better. He should, therefore, do as
good or better work, and inspire as much
confidence as formerly; but that true
sense of professional honor and single
hearted devotion to his client, when re-
tanned, is not so evident in these degen-
crate days when lawyers can appear at
the same time on both or all sides of a
case unchallenged by the court, and it
is understood that the client that is worth
serving is he who has the most money.
So long as the uncertainty of justice
being administered by the courts is uni.
versally believed in, owing to their neg
lect to reprove or hold in check the
demoralizing practices pursued by large
numbers of the profession, just so long
will court calendars be easily compiled
and the cases soon disposed Of; because
there are two motives operating to make
them so-one, the disposition to con-
done crime or suffer the loss of their
debts, rather than incur the expense of
administering punishment, or take the
risk of collecting their debts where so
large percentage of the claim must be
conceded or submitted to as the cost;
the other, because salaries are paid and
received, whether there is any business
or not; the work is much easier.
Offences against life or property, or
against chastity and decency, if now
punished at all. are regulated at the
tribunal of Judge Lynch; and where
one debt is collected that would not
otherwise be paid, at least ten go uncol-
lected.
An association Of retail merchants has
been formed to try and protect its men,
bers from the losses occasioned by the
" dead BEATS" which the credit. system
breeds as naturally as the carcass. does
the maggot. If there was any consider
able virtue in the collection laws as at
present administered, these dishonest
debtors would not need the ban of an
organized association to prevent them
from living off the honest debt-paying
customer, for the merchant must charge
the paying customer enough to make
good the deficit in profit arising by the
failure to collect from them. 800.
Forty years ago the failure to- collect
debts by legal coercion was so manifest
that our lyceums seriously discussed the
expediency of abolishing all laws for
their collection, and the inquiry is a
natural one: Ii, by the very failure Of
the machinery of collection, the aboli-
ton is not being practically brought
about TO the destruction of that branch
OF business Of the legal profession
Some people say society would be
better off if there were no lawyers. If
we could live without bread we might
dispense with the services of the baker |!
SO long as society is governed BY rules,
Evolutionary or made, couched in Ian
guage that may be uncertain, of doubt
full meaning, or susceptible of various
meanings, class of men trained and
capable OF interpreting these rules by
the light Of uniform decision and con-
tinued experience will exist-be neces-
sary.