Omaha daily bee., 1890-05-31
FAULT OF THE FEE SYSTEM.
The scandalous Practices Of United States
Marshals, District Attorneys, Etc.
SCHEMES FOR FILLING POCKETS.
The Science of Making Business Re-
duced to an Attraction on
the Tariff Bill Will Not
he Delayed.
WAsurNaToN BUREAU THE OMAHA BEE, }
hl2 L'nItnrE VIII SrRERT
WAsHrYGroS, d. c., May 30. J


WAsHGNGToN. ID. c., May 30.
The subcommittee Of the house committee
on judiciary, consisting of Mr.. Thompson Of
Ohio Mr. Mccormick of Pennsylvania and
Mr. Oates Of Alabama, which was appointed
some weeks ago to investigate the alleged r-
regularties in the practices Of United States
marshals, district attorneys and other officers
Of the department Of justice, has completed
It's inquiries in Alabama and will now take
up the western district of Michigan, the
northern district of Indiana, the eastern
district Of Wisconsin, the northern and south
ern districts Of Iowa and several other dis
tricts where it is claimed that excessive
fees have been charged. This matter has
been repeatedly brought to the attention of
congress by the officers of the department Of
Justice and the treasury and it is not so much
an attack upon the men as an attack upon
the system which permits them to make ex-
cessive charges. AS one of the clerks in the
treasury expressed it, "Thcse officers do
things that they have a right to do, but the
law ought not to give them that right. The
law is loose and obsolete and while 1t applied
very well to the conditions that existed fifty
years ago when it was passed. it does not fit
tins age OF steam and elcctricity.n new
fee system is demanded and both the
officers of the department of justice and the
accounting officers of the treasury have
recommended for years the enactment Of a
law by congress fixing the fees that can be
charged for certain services by officers of the
government who do not draw regular salaries.
Under the lawas at present district attorneys
are permitted TO make business for the sake
of the fees it brings them and the marshals,
and in some cases these fees amount to thou
sands of dollars annually. 1t is to the in
tcrest OF the official to make a good
living out of his Office, and whether he
be republican or democrat he may be
expected to charge everything that the law
will allow, for example: In the eastern dis
trict of Wisconsin the fees for the United
States commissioner for the year 1889 were
only S14.3O This represents perhaps ten
cases, whereas the fees of the United States
marshal were S6,067 The witness fees were
q, 800 and the attorney fees $500, the total
being S23,6l7. In the district there is very
little business except cases of selling liquor
to the Indians, and the charge is that a grave
abuse has existed in the practice of trans
porting defendants and witnesses long dis
tanccs from their homes when the preliminary
hearing could have been had before some
commissioner near the place ofarrcst. In other
words, when Il man has been charged with
selling liquor to Indians a United States mar
shal arrests him, takes him to Milwaukee, in
yites several of his friends to accompany him
in the capacity of guard and SubpnnaS another
party to go as witnesses, all of whom have
per diem allowance and their travelling
penses paid.
In the western district of Michigan the dis
SJllCI attorney Is uCCuScu Oh naRlllB excessive
mileage charges and of travelling from place
to place by the longest possible routes. For
example: When he makes q trip from
Grand Rapids to Grand Haven he goes by
way of Chicago and doubles the distance. He
is also charged with making business for the
sake of fees for himself and for the marshals
throughout that part of the state In other
districts it is said that the most fragrant
abuse of the fee system is the institution of
frivolous cases by professional informers and
witnesses merely for the sake of the fees.
This occurs everywhere.
The district attorney for the southern dis
trict of Iowa is accused of charging excessive
fees, for example: He lives at Des Mones
He has an assistant at KcolSuk but notwith-
standing this fact he charges the government
with the expense of about thirty-tive trips to
Keokuk to attend petty cases before the
United States commissioners that should have
been looked after by his deputy, and at the
same time his deputy charges for many trps
TO Des Moines to look after cases there which
the district attorney should have attended to,
and it is probable that both Of them travelled
upon pass.
SENATE BUSINESS.
Very few bills will be acted upon by the
senate at this session after the tariff bill comes
from the committee on finance, especially if,
us expected, the Mckinley bill in an amended
form should appear instead of anew measure
The Mckinley bill would go to a conference
committee after being passed by the senate
and would be finally adopted by the
house, permitting of an adjournment very
soon hereafter and giving no time for the
senate to consider other measures. An
y entirely new bill would go to the house COM
mittee on ways and means from the senate and
would not reach conference under probably
two or three weeks, even longer, and the
senate would have some time for miscellaneous
legislation At best the appropriation, the
silver, tariff and statehood bills will consume
nearly all of the time from the present till the
end of the session.
ONLY A RUMoR.
A report was circulated today that there
was talk of a recess of congress from about
July until October l. to give the senate com
mittee time to formulate Il tariff bill but this
is not Mt all probable. There is a demand
here, as well as in every part of the country
for the very early adoption of a tariff bill
the quieting of the agitation as well as new
law-and to make studied and premcditated
delay of that kind would be incXcusable
COMING TO OMAHA.
Captain James Cayrcs, ordnance depart
ment, has been relieved from duty at the
proving grounds, Sandy Hook N j., and is
assigned to the command of the Omaha ord
nance department
MISCELLANEOUS
This was n holiday in Washington and
there was n complete suspension of business
in all branches of the government and private
life. Secretaries Blaine and Noble We're the
only members of the cabinet in the city to re-
view the Decoration day parade. Congress
was not i'll session and will not meet till
Monday. Perry S. HEATH
The only railroad train out OF Omaha