Kansas City daily journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1892-1897, 1895-09-06

/ had held that check must be presented
| within a reasonable time IT was more
| than a year after that check was sent
| to him before he presented it for pay
ment, and he only did so at last be-
cause the executors told him that it
| was impossible to square their accounts
until the check was paid.
Mr. COnklinC's great fees have been
I the subject of much interesting discus
| sion, and there is no doubt that some
| of them match the largest received by
| some Of the ablest of our lawyers. One
anocdote was told recently of the man
| ner In which Mr.. Conklng gained some
| OF his fees There had been litigation
, between two Western railways, and the
subject was put in the hands of re-
| hearings, no one of which lasted more
| than an hour or two. Mr.. Conkling
served as one of the counsel for one of
these corporations. At last there was
an agreement of settlement which COM
PEELED payment from Mr.. COnkling' s
client TO the other corporation. and an
agreement also to pay all counsel fees
and expenses.
MIR. Conkling was asked for his bill.
It was thought that he might charge as
much as $4,000. although all of the
other counsel We're satisfied with $1,000
apiece. Mr. Conkling, however. charged
$4,000, The railway corporation pro-
tested, claiming that the charge was
eXorbitant. Mr. Conkling was asked to
shave his bill, but instead of doing so
he said with characteristic emphasis,
striking his desk with his fist as he
did so, Fifty thousand dollars and not
one cent less" and he meant it, so that
the company was compelled before IT got
its discharge to pay him that large sum
This incident got noised abroad and ii
which have been disposed to place cases
in Mr.. Conkling's hands and they re-
tanned other lawyers.
one of the most remarkable fees ever
paid in this city was an indirect one
The government had entered into very
important litigation with a prominent
business house over an alleged violation
Of the revenue laws by means of which
enormous undervaluations had been
made Suits We're begun and a PROPOSE
ton was made to the collector and to
the United States district attorney, who
was then Noah Davis, for settlement
Into the case had been called as one of
the advising counsel very prominent
politician, who was also in official rela-
ttons with the government He then
held, and did for many years, very
important official post, and he had a
high reputation as a man of integrity.
Ii was the intention of the defendants
in this case to pay retainer of $4,000
but IL was suggested to them that his
relations with the government would
I+dhF II 4IIlit'DSi' ~ iloI S'lINtiS INC
gal, for him to receive any retainer or
fees.
The case was settled and the $4,000
was delivered to some one who bought
real estate with it and subsequently
turned that real estate over to this gov
ornmcnt officer That property appre-
ciated in value so that in a few years it
was appraised by the assessors as worth
100000. II has always been a question
among those who knew all these facts
and who knew the distinguished public
man whether or not he had knowledge
that he was in this way really paid for
his services In that litigation.