The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-01-03
THE SUPREME COURT.
The Business Steadily Increasing and There
Is No Prospect of Prompt Relief.
Snerfal In hA In Is Journal

The Business Steadily Increasing and There
IsNo Prospect of Prompt Relief.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 2.-Business before
the Supreme Court of the United States is
getting alarmingly behindhand. Every
term-and there are two annually-hun-
dreds more cases are docketed than are dis
posed OF, and it now takes over three years,
in the ordinary course of business, to reach
a case on the calendar. Unless some remedy
is found by Congress it will be next to an
impossibility to reach case at all in a
year or two without it's advancement OF
special preferment. To-day Clerk Bell,
while at work in his Office talked to the
Journal correspondent about the condition
of the Supreme Court calendar and the RENE
dies proposed by Congress and the justices
and the bar associations for relief.
1T seems almost beyond hope,v said he,
ito expect relief while there is the least
trouble about getting party measure
through Congress, Tor although there is no
p0ntlcs IN judicial questions the
House and Senate invariably di-
vide upon propositions to enlarge the
bench, or to clear up the calendar by any
means whatever. The justices are not in
terfering in any way about the matter. but
are working as best they can to do the bust
ness accommodating. There are now on the
docket 1853 cases. The court has reached
fifty-odd since the beginning of this term,
and 1T may reach 800 altogether before it
adjourns, in May"
How rapidly are cases accommodating on
the docketw was asked.
Eat the close of the October term. 1856.
two years ago, there We're on the docket 900
cases, 400 being dOcketed during the term
There were 45l eases disposed of during the
term. y year later there were dOcketed
during the term 4S2 cases, and 414 were dis
posed of; but the total undisposed of at the
end OF the term aggregated 1,0l3."
How many cases are disposed of, on the
average, at each term, by advancement.
settlement, dismissal, etcP"
Probably $50. The average above that
number placed on the docket may be 200
each year. The eases called on the Goth of
December last were docketed on the nth
of October, 1SS5-mOre than three years
ago."
What remedy is proposed by the justices
or Congress-
''The bill introduced by Senator David
Davis shortly after he left the bench for
the Senate. The Davis bill is the best that
has been proposed, ii seems; at least. it is
the. only proposition that has ever been
seriously considered by Congress, and in
once, and would have passed the House had
that body been Republican. Now that
both houses and the President are to be of
the same political faith. something may be
1Vhc. lhc JAWS Dill. as originally intro
duced, proposes eighteen additional circuit
judges, and TO raise the minimum limit of
money involved 10 $4,000. An
other proposition has been made,
but mas never been seriously
considered. in the form of patent Court of
Appeals. That would relieve the Supreme
Court OF the patent cases. and therefore
much of its time-consuming work. George
Iicknor Curtis first suggested this, and it
Is good idea. The Chicago Bar Associa-
ton proposes a Supreme Court composed of
twenty-one justices. But the Davis bin. il
is believed around here, meets with most
favor,
Inquiry among the other officials Of the
court ELECTS the same general information.
The suggestions of Clerk Bell and the in
formation he gives are Endorsed and con-
frmed by others in best position to pass