Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-05-12

John s. Wise, of Virginia, whose life's
ambition was to be Governor of the Old
| Dominion, as his father had been before
him, served one term in Congress and then,
being beaten for Chief Executive of Vir-
| ginia by Fitzhugh Lee, soon tired of his
old home and reached the metropolis as the
attorney of big corporation at large
salary.
| WRITING A JUDGES OPINIONS.
General Roger A. Pryor, also of Virginia,
downs of political life. A General in the
Confederate army, brilliant member Of
Congress before the war, he found after the
which first brought him into prominence.
He drifted into New York in search Of
power and money. His early experiences
were not pleasant He came here at the
time when the Tweed ring had its iron hand
on every feature Of life. 1t owned the
Courts, the Legislature and every other de-
partment of government. The Judges were
corrupt and oftentimes ignorant. General
Pryor was poor, and necessity often compels
men to work in fields they would otherwise
shun. He was obliged to take references or
almost any small commission from the
Courts.
Judge McCunn was then on the bench. A
rough and ignorant man, unlettered in the
law and in almost everything else. He en-
listed this talented Virginian's favor in
writing his decisions, and it came out in
later local proceedings that General Pryor
wrote nearly, if not quite every important
decision that this Judge made. They were
so universally sound in law. as we'll as per-
feet in diction, that McCunn was regarded
as one of the strongest Judges on the bench
When the expose came he died of broken
heart, and although General Pryor's asso-
Citations with him and the courts had been
entirely honorable, he was not benefited
during the storm Of indignation which fol-
lowed the death of the Tweed Ring.
COUNSEL FOR TILroN.
His first appearance in great case was as
one of the counsel of Theodore Tilton in the
Beechsr trial.. His work there attracted
public attention and from that day he has
been very successful man at the law and
in every other phase Of life that he has
chosen to cultivate. .tf9E
Dan Dougherty, Of Philadelphia, the sill
ver-tongued orator Of Democratic nominat-
ing conventions, finding no chance for polit-
ical advancement in the Quaker City and
very little for big legal business, is now q
familiar figure among the legal lights Of this
great financial mart.
John r. Dos Passos, of Philadelphia, is
another example of the tendency of attorneys
to practice law where money is easily made.
So also is Charles W. Brooke, of the Qua
ker City, who, havingrun fer Congress and
District Attorney on the Democratic ticket
and been beaten, came home to make gold
at the bar.
General Butler, of Massachusetts,, is, I
believe, the only big legal light from New
England who has prominent Office In this
city. He has an ordinary lawyer here in
his absence, but he keeps an eye to the big
cases in which there is money, and can be
brought here at any time if the fee is large
enough.
CLEVELAND AS A LAWYER.
Study the latest and most significant ad-
dition to the bar of New York. The man
| who little more than two months ago was
| the Chief Executive Of the nation has hung
out his shingle and is now one Of the big
| lawyers of this city. After the glamour Of
| public life in Washington had ended the
| humble city of Buffalo, on the lake, where
| his whole career both as lawyer and poll
| tician was made, had no charms for the ex-
President when his season Of power and
| glory had ended.
The same is true of the great Conkling,
who settled here to find in the hazards and
exactions Of lawyers life sterling relief
from the regrets of q public career which
should have entitled him to the respect and
admiration of the nation.
Other characters of lesser note from dis
tant States have also drifted hither. But
| in looking over the list was struck with
| the number Of men prominent in public
life who seemed to have found a residence
here as soon as they could no longer bask
in the
SUNSHINE OF POLITICAL FAVOR.
One of them said to me that the reason
men of superior legal attainments came to
New York was because work here was COM
| paratively easy. Most Of it was done in the
office, while large fees were many times as
easily earned as in any other place in the
United States.
Another one explained that man was
untitled to live in the humble surroundings
| of a country home or an inland city after he
had once gone out and tasted the exhilara-
tion Of power and of communion with people
from all parts of the country. This take
| it to be true. and therefore as you look along
the great thoroughfares of New York or
glance into the law Offices you will find men
seeking relief from political disappoint-
ments in the business OF great corporations
| for big fees.
After all, life is curious study here, and
| you get new phase of it at every turn of
the haphazard existence that is found in
every line of human endeavor.
FRANK A. BURR.
155S-Telephone-155S
Is that Dickson, the tailor, of IS Fifth