The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1890-03-05
!Continued.1
A CHARACTERISTIC JOB.
How the Natio-ni Government Is Made
to Reward Petifoggers.

How the Natio-ni Governmeat ls Made
to Reward PetifogEers.
On Friday last the Unitsd States
Seuatespassed without discussion a bill
ordering the payment of $4,000 to the
firm of Porter, Harrison and Fishback
for legal services. The alleged servi-
ces consisted ''in defending ex-oficers
and ex-soldiers for acts done by them in
obedience to the orders of a superior
officer of the United States Army in ID-
diana during the late wat"
The Harrison in this firm of claimants
is the Hon. .Benjamin Harrison, Presi-
dent of the Unitcd States.
This same claim has appeared in PIE
previous Congresses, generally, if not al
ways under the title OF "a bill for the re-
lief of Sewall Cou!son and others"- the
"othersn being Porter, Harrison and
Fishback The character and extent of
the services rendered by the Presidents
law firm were once very clearly explain
ed to the Forty-ninth Congress by Mr..
BSnum of Indiana.
The Claim originated during the days
Of the war. a man named Andrew
Humphreys was arrested on a charge of
conspiracy, and indicted and tried, and
for time confined to the limits of two
townships in the county in which he
lived. After the war he brought suit
for damages in the County Court against
the officers vino had ar. ested him. A
motion was made to transfer the case to
the Federal Court, under the statute
covering such cases. The county Judge
overruled this motion, and jury brought
in verdict of damages for Humphreys.
The case was then carried to the Supreme
Court upon the ground afforded BY the
error of the County Court in refusing to
transfer Humphreys suit to the Federsl
Court, where II belonged.
At this stage of affairs, Porter, Harri-
son and Fishback appeared for the first
time as counsel for the defendants.
They filed single brief, presenting tho
obvious and unanswerable proposition
that the motion to transfer the cause to
the Federal Court ought to have been
granted. The error was as plain as a
pikestaf The Supreme Court re7ersed
the judgment, the case went back to the
County Court, whence it was immediate
ly transferred to the Federal Court, and
there dismissed.
All that the Presidents law firm ever
did in connection with the case was to
file that one brief. The State of Indiana
paid them $3.50 for that service, probs-
bly, very much more than the service was
worth. But for years, in Congress, they
have been pressing their claim for 81, 500
more, to come out of the Federal Treas
ury.
The temperance of this sleazy old
claim at time when one Of the claimants
is president of the United States is
nothing less than scandalous.
Gen. Harrison may think that he is
fairly entitled 10 the 81, 500 be demands
from the Federal Government, in addi-
tion to the $500 already received from
the Governor cf Iediana, for fling that
wonderful! brief. He has : right to hi.
opinion He has perfect right to urge
now as at any time the claim which has
been rejected and pigeonholed in the
Forty seventh, Forty-eighth, Forty-niutt
and Fiftieth Congresses. That is G
question of ethics and of taste.
But it strikes US that the Republican
party could afford to pay him ten times
the sum he demands, rather than have
this notorious Porter, Harrison, an6
Fishback claim pushed through while
the middle partner happens to occupy
the White House New York SUE.