The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1889-06-13
BILL Arp.
Arp Writes of the Ways of tho World.
Atlanta Co,lsti!ution.

Atlanta Constitution.
Sam Jones was talking to some Of our
lawyers and said, "you fellows make q
great mistake. You have got wrong
idea of what your profession requires you
to do. The yeriest scoundrel, thief, rob.
ber, murderer, or william in the land can
hire you tc defend him, and for money
you will clear him if you can and then
strut around upon your reputation as 8
criminal lawyer" Well, of course the
lawyers defend themselves, and they and
Sam had it hot and heavy for awhile, and
finally Sam quoted scripture and said.
"Woe unto you lawyers-ye will not en-
ter in yourselves and those who would
enter in ye hinder" Then they quoted
scripture back at him and told about
Zenas the lawyer, who was such friend
to Paul. They maintained that it is
their duty to take any case, and to do the
best they can for their clients, whether he
is guilty or innocent, and they submitted
it to me as o reformed lawyer whether
they were right or not.
This opens up field Of thought and
discussion wide enough for the Georgia
Bar Association and these questions
ought to be discussed and settled. There
is entirely too much looseness about pro.
fessional duty and conduct. If the law
yers' duties we're we'll defined and they
were made to conform To them, Judge
Lynch would hold no more mob courts.
The people would be content to wait
with confidence upon the majesty of the
law, but now they wait upon the tricks Of
the trade with apprehension. Hawes
won't hang, nor Voolfolk and Echols,
and Eddleman escaped, they say. Posi-.
bly, they may not be guilty-who knows.
But lawyers duty is to ace his client a
fair trial, aud that does not mean dozen
exceptions to the bill of indictment and
dozen more to the jury and two dozen
to the questions asked the witnesses and
as many more to the testimony and big
lot to the charge of the court, and all
sorts of devilment mixed in promiscuous
just to befuddle jury. It does not mean
stocking jury like gambler stocks a
deck of cards. It does not mean bribiDg
witness nor consenting that it may be
done by somebody else. The defendant
can have fair trial without resortiag to
any such fearful practices, many Of which
are an insult to the ability and the integ.
rity of the judge. No great lawyer re.
sorts to such methods-Daniel Webster
did not, nor Writ, nor O'Connor, Tom
Cobb nor Dougherty, nor any ofthe grand
old stock of the Georgia bar. They were
above it. They defended their clients on
broad general principles, and fought
fair fight. The contests Of lawyers before
the courts used to be big battles with big
guns, but now they are skirmisbes and
surprises and bush whacking strategy,
and they have spies and scouts and some.
times traitors in the camps. "Beat him
to the tank" is the watchword. A man
told me the other day that some of the
lawyers over in his State ran down their
cases just like buzzard scents down a
dead horse. a feller hears of a wreck on
the railroad and be will take the frs
train or fast horse and start in the night
to get there in time for business. Some
wag drew q picture of train that had
jumped the track, and the fireman was
killed, and his wife had just arrived.
And while she was bending over the man.
gled body the lawyer was whispering in
her ear:
81 have como, dear madam your grief to smother,
I will take your case for half recover"
They call these fellows the COW coroDers
over there.
But there is one good thing about the
legal profession. The judges are all re-
formed lawyers. When lawyer rises to
the bench he suddenly changes his nature
and has an adherence of the tricks of the
trade. I have known an unscrupulous,
artful practitioner to make most excel.
lent judge. He knows the tricks, and
hedges against them. and gives the
tricksters no encouragement. He really
wants justice administered. How sud-
denly he rises in the estimation of the
people, when he is> transferred from the
bar to the bench. Not because he is a
judge, but because they see how he leans
to the Eight side of the case, for il is a fact
that most every case has right taide that
even the common people can see without
spectacles. a sense of the justice of q
cause is instructive in the human breast.
Not long ago there was great case being
tried in a noighboring county and after
several days of hard fighting the jury
found verdict and it met with such uni.
versal Endorsement that the community
rejoiced as much as the parties who
gained it. They had already tried the
case outside of the court and hsd found 8
verdict that the jury confirmed. 1t is 8
great thing to be great lawyer, but a
contemplate thing to be little tricky,
malicious, INSCRIPTIONS pettifogger-a
sort of fee dog who runs around with his
tail curved over his back and makes other
dogs fight. Some lawyers think it per-
fectly legitimate to encourage litigation.
They rejoice when partners fall out and
go to law and have receiver appointed.
They harvest splendidly when a bank
breaks or an insurance company has
assets to distribute. It is hard matter
for lawyer to be Christian. he lives
by the strife of others, and he can't help
feeling good when strife comes and be is