The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1890-11-26

Mr.. Editor:-Many thanks for your bold.
wise and timely article in the VERMONT
WArCHMAN of November -, giving unan-
swerable reasons for reducing the number
and salaries of our present supreme court
Judges. You have shown concusively how
some members of the bench NAV consider
themselves overworked because of the large
private interests they are managing. That
they are entirely mistaken in thinking the
court business so oppressive is also proved
by the record of their work contained in the
successive volumes Of the Vermont reports
since 1870, the wear of the courts enlarge
ment to seven Judges. The anonut of their
work, as thus indicated, i'll compares with
that performed by five Judges during the
nine years prior to December, 1916, when a
sixth Judge was added. being upon an av-
erage thirteen cases less a year than were
reported from 1889 to 1917 inclusive. 1--WE
begin with the report published in 1889 as
before that the Judges, since 1925 had re-
ported the cases themselves0 Then was
the golden age of the Vermont judiciary,
the court comprising Charles X. Williams
Stephen Royce, Samuel S. Phelps, Jacob
Collamer and Isaac f. Redfeld, each name
ilustrious in the annals of our iurispru-
dence. Then, too, was the perod Of impOr-
tant litigation-the settlement of land titles
highway damage cases, questions arising
under the pauper laws, railroad lawsuits
and great chancery causes. Nor was there
as now. any chattel mortgage or insolvency
law TO prevent or discourage litigation. No
stenouraphic repOrter either at ten dollars
per day-week DAYS and SUNDAYS in
cluded-relieved the Judges of their ardu-
ous labor of taking full and accurate min
utes of testimony during long sessions of
county conrt. Yet for all this labor. far
greater than that performed bv our present
court. those great men received but 81 .Oj0
each "A year-not one-third the present sal
ary-till 1910 when their nav was increased
TO &. 375.
Since 1870. when our court was enlarged
To seven iudpes. litigation has gradually de-
creased and for several apparent reasons
First came the manic of 1879: and the hard
times ensuing. Then in 1876 was enacted
the state insolvency law whose operation not
only dissolved attachments INT DISCOURAGED
MAKING any. In 1878 was enacted the chat.
rel mortgaGe law also the referee law ms 4,
substitute for iurv trials and "a iinnortant
as any so far a. the ronrt's work was af
fected the law ALLOWING the anpoiutment of
sneciai masters to trv and determine ali is
sues nf fact in ohanc4rv causes the oonrt
merely issninG its decree ON the facts Tins
fnund and renorted I'm 1850 came the re-
neal nj The highway DAMAGE law nv tho
JuJevine rim 0f that session and in 1896
was euacted the Poland manner law da.
stroving M once our whole system nf nan
ner inTisnruLence Every one of tbesa
enaciments has diminished the worl, of the
bench either Inv decreasing LITIGATION or
nroviding other tribunals for trving nues-
lions of fart
Tho successive voIumes of Veruont re-
norts since 1870 for twentv wars 6fteen
wears. ten wears or five wears last mast. show
fewer cases decided than i'm corresnonding
periods during more than dftv wears. and
the last renort the sixtv.irst contains but