Los Angeles herald., 1891-04-04
COURT REPORTERS.
A CORRESPONDENT RELATES HIS
RECENT EXPERIENCES.
He Figures That a Reporter Can Make
Over One Hundred Dollars Day-Some
Pertinent Questions.

The following communication is anent
matter about which many complaints
have been made, but which seems still
to be as great an imposition as ever:
EDITORS HERALD: l suppose that if
everyone would quietly submit to out
rageous impositions, there would never
be any reforms, and our systems, both
public and private, would continue to
advance from bad to worse. Upon the
principle that most ii not all evil meas
ures are the result directly or other
wise) of individual greed, it is hoping
without reason to expect any measure of
relief to originate within the bounds OF
the evil.
I am not constitutional fault-fnder,
but know when / am imposed upon;
and the knowledge that 1 have been
does not make me feel any better, when
1 knowlalso that II could not help N.Y.
self at the time, and could not do 80 a
second time, under similar, circum-
stances.
was unfortunate enough, recently, to
have little case in one Of the superior
courts; before commencing proceedings,
each party to the suit had to put up
five dollars, for the reporter. There was
only one witness and the taking of his
testimony consumed less than twenty
minutes. That was all the time put in
by the reporter for our (now his) ten
dollars. Upon going to him for tran
script of his notes, we find that he esti-
mates the number of words, calculates
so many words to the folio, then. says
that he will write it out for us for six
teen dollars more.
know that, ordinarily, fair, average
man can write on machine about one
third less than he can take down in
short hand. On this basis, the notes
taken, IN the case referred to, could be
written out in an hour and half. Thus,
all the time consumed would be two
hours-making his pay twenty-six dol
lars for two hours work. In looking at
the proceedings in the same department
of the court, for the same day, find
that there were three other cases dis
posed OF. Assuming that they were all
as short as the one in which 1 was inter-
ested, the reporters fees for tax.
ing the notes alone was forty
dollars, and if he transcribed his
notes, his fees would be one hundred
and four dollars. Working constantly
for ten hours would easily do all the
work. believe that any special labor
and special fitness for such labor should
receive special compensation. But take
that reporter away from the special
position he fills, and I'll warrant that
he would be glad to get fifteen dollars
per day for his time and services and
think he was well paid too.
don't know whether reporters retain
all of these fees or not. Like positions
generally command premium, and the
occupant required to divide with some
one. 1t matters not how this may be
and it does not alter the fact, so far as
the poor litigant is concerned, he knows
that it is gone from him forever, and
feels that he has not had value received
for it.
court reporter ten dollars per day, but
one has case in court, he must occupy
the whole day with it, and that if he
does not do so, it is his own fault.
Again: if the reporter is allowed ten
dollars per day and both he and the
Judge understand this, is it anything
more than fair that the reporter be sat
isfed with the ten dollars? or if he is
not, does it not {or would it not) become
| the Judge to see that he charges and re-
ceives no more than ten dollars? Or
again: if the reporter is to receive ten
dollars per day, and does receive it from
me, hasn't he sold his time for that day
to me and hasn't the court sanctioned
that sale? Ii so, can't require that he
give me his services for that day? and
has he any moral or legal right to take
the time have already paid him for
Cat price fixed by law and sell it over
again? and if he does 80, does not the
compensation he receives for it belong
to me and not to him? am aware that
this may appear to be drawing the mat
ter little ''fine," but 1 do it to show
the injustice, on one hand, and what is
evidently just and right on the other.
SUBSCRIBER