Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1888-01-07
LINcOLN'S TENDER CONSCIENCE.
A Branch OF Legal Practice Which He
Never Tried to Learn-An Incident.

A Branch OF Legal Practice which He
Never Tried to Learn-An Incident.
Although Mr.. Lincoln was my senior
by eighteen years, in one important par
tlcular, | certainly was, in a marvellous
degree, his acknowledged superior. One
OF the first things 4 learned, after getting
fairly under way as a lawyer, was to
charge well for legal services-a branch
of the practice that Mr.. Lincoln never
could learn. In fact, the lawyers of the
circuit often complained that his fees
were not at all commensurate with the
service rendered. He at length left that
branch of the business wholly to me; AND
tc my tender mercy clients were turned
over TO be slaughtered according to my
popular and more advanced ideas of the
dignity OF our profession. This soon led
to serious and shocking embarrassment.
Early in u practice a gentleman
named Scott placed in my hands q case OF
some Importance. He had a demented
sister who possessed property to the
amount Of $4,000, mostly in cash. A
co~nservator, rs he was called, had been
appointed To take charge of the estate,
and we were employed to resist a motion
TO remove the conservator. A designing
adventurer had become acquainted with
the girl, knowing that she had money,
and sought TO marry her-hcnce the mo-
ton. Scott, the brother and CONSERVATION.
before we entered upon the case, insisted
that | should fix the amount of the fee. I
told him that it would be $3.50, adding,
however, that he had better wait; it might
not give us much trouble, and in that
event a lesser amOun would do. He
agreed at once TO pay $3.50, as he expected
n hard npnfacf n,-or fEo ypnfin,, Tl,a ,oua
was tried inside of twenty minutes. Our
success was complete. Scott was satisfied,
and cheerfnlly paid over lhe money inside
the bar, Mr.. Lincoln looking on. Scott
then went out and Mr.. Lincoln asked:
"What did you charge hat man,' l told
him $3.50.
Said he: "Lamon, that Is all wrong.
The service was not worth that sum;
give him back at least half Of it,"
protested that the fee was fixed in adj
vance; that Scott was perfectly satisfied,
and had SO expressed himself.
That may be" retorted Lincoln, with
a look OF distress and of undisguised dis
pleasure; but ! am not satisfied. This
is positively wrong. Go, call him back
and return half the money at least, or |
Will not receive one cent Of it for my
share"
did 60, and Scott was astonished when
| handed back half the fee. This CONVEX
sation had attracted the attention OF the
lawyers II the court. Judge David
Davis, then on our circuit bench, called
Mr.. Lincoln TO him. The judge never
could whisper, but in this instance he
probably did his best. At all events, in
attempting to whisper to Mr.. Lincoln he
trumpeted his rebuke in about these
worus, and in raspiug tones that could be
heard all over the court room: "Lincoln,
| have been watching you and Lanon.
You are impoverishing this bar by your
picayune charges Of fees, and the lawyers
have reason To complain Of you. You are
now limos as poor as Lazarus, and il
you don't make people pay you more for
your services you will die as poor as Jobs
turkeyu'
Judge o. l.. Davis, the leading lawyer
in that part of the state, promptly ap-
plauded this malediction from the bench,
but Mr.. Lincoln was immovable. 'That
money" said he, ''comes out of the pocket
OF a poor demented girl, and l would
rather starve than to swindle her in this
That evening the lawyers got together
and tried Mr.. Lincoln before a moot tri-
bunal called '"The Ogmathorial Court"
He was found guilty and fined for his
awful crime against the pockets Of his
brethren of the bar. The fine he paid with
great good humor, and then he kept the
crowd Of lawyers in uproarious laughter
until after midnight. He persisted in his
revolt, however, declaring that with his
consent his firm should never during its
life, or after its dissolution, deserve the
reputation enjoyed by those shining lights
of the profession, "Catchem and Cl.eatein."
Ward Lannon's Letter.