Wichita eagle., 1889-01-18
A SECOND COURT.

| court docket is crowded beyond prece-
dent and to a hopeless degree needs
scarcely to be stated, About 1000 cases
stand there to be in some way settled.
| If they could be disposed of at th6rate
| five per day it would take considerably
over a year to clear the docket if no new
suits should be beought in that time,
supposing the court worked 800 days
out of the year-such an estimate is
plainly too strong-at three cases per
day it would take over eighteen months
TO clear the docket of just what cases are
there now. But in that time it is prob
able great number of other suits would
be Instituted. AT an average OF one
case per day it would take over five
years to clear the docket of the cases
now upon it, and at that time the court
would confront the accumulated litiga
ton of five years, which, if we may
judge the future by the past, would be
sufficient to employ him the remainder
of his life, even though by reanson of his
strength his days might exceed three
score and ten.
Two arguments, and only two, have
been advanced against the establishment
OF q second tribunal for the transaction
of this business.
The first is the expense.
The second is the fear Of an avalanche
of foreclosures.
There positively nothing in the Eek
pense argument as will be seen when we
approach it close enough to become
acquainted with the facts. Suppose a
thousand cases are to be tried by juries,
does it add any cost to have five hun
dred of them tried before Judge Brown
and five hundred before Judge Smith!
The clerks fees are paid by the Htigants,
having been taxed in part of the costs.
The salary of the judge is paid by the
state and it could not be felt by any in
crease of taxation. So far, therefore, as
the expenses of a second court go Sedg-
wick county and Wichita need never be-
come alarmed.
Now as to the avalanche" I do not
think with the opponents or the court
that such a result would follow. If the
court began its session tomorrow and
there was hope of foreclosure being
had in few months. there might be
many suits instituted that are not now
thought of. 1t is not possible that a
court could not be created and put
in working order within from six
to nine months of the present time, cases
then instituted would scarcely be reach
ed within the next four or five months
and as a continuance is generally pro-
durable for one term at least no impor-
tant case would likely come to ,judg-
ment if delay was desirable within from
six to nine months after the first sitting
of such court. With six months given
to redeem the property before sale very
little real estate could be sold under
foreclosure within the next eighteen
months and with little fnissing ON the
part of the owner even larger period
could be obtained. If such laws de-
lays" as these would not satisfy men
generally they must be Unsuitable If
there is any very valuable property
sought to be sold under foreclosure in
our court at present | am not aware of
it, On the other hand nearly all of the
foreclosures are of land purchased by
spectators during the boom, who have
who have left the county and possibly
the state: or who, more likely, never were
citizens, who can only be reached by a
publication notice and who have aban-
unless the energy and push of our bona
fde citizens send development thunder
ing down each street and avenue. en-
HANGING values and carrying wealth to
those Adventures, and most likely vi
tuperatcrs of Wichita. Then possibly
they will skulk back and claim with
bravado the property on
which they now refuse to pay anything,
IL, To ha1i
court would slough off this class of liti-
would ever come to sale. In it's pres
ent condition much of our property is
valueless. The mortgage or pretended !
owner is not to be found. The mort
gagee would again become the owner if |
he could, but he cannot, SO that the |
property is virtually off the market and |
cannot be bought, sold or improved. A |
change in this state of affairs would be I
very healthy.
If you will indulge me further / would /
like to show what is the the condition of |
meritorious suits. The court takes up
civil cases in their order after disposing |
of the criminal docket (which unfortu- /
nately occupies nearly its entire atten |
tionl If suit is brought against rail- |
road company for killing woman's
husband, for killing the cattle or horses
Of a farmer, for burning his houses or |
barns it must take its turn and probably |
wait four or five years for trial. If a |
new trial is obtained 1t is possible that |
the widow or the farmer as well as the |
witnesses will be all dead before called |
for a second hearing.
When mechanics contract to build |
houses they cannot compel the owners to
pay any money until sixty days after |
the completion of the building; that is,
they cannot compel them by any legal
steps, because the statute forbids suit
prior to that time. If, thereupon, the
owner fails or refuses to pay, the me
chanic's only remedy is through the /
court. II the contractor tiles his lien,
which he usually does, he must enforce
it within twelve months after the COM
pletion of the building, by suit III the
District court. What boon indeed is
the court TO the poor artisan whose all IS
tied up in building which the owner is
enjoying under his very nose. leaving
the builder TO starve whilst ciogged
court YEARLY grinds out justice at the
expiration CT five years. What
would be the public out
cry if the Zimmerly block
should pitch forward across Douglas
avenue and one man only was put to
work to clear out the debris? Then on
other streets leading in the same direc-
ton and the one man would probably
clear the way at less cost than thous-
and put on at one time, but such econ
omy if adopted would be laughed to
scorn. But our court is IN a worse con-
dltlon, for whilst the one workman Is