Evening journal., 1897-12-16
TT IS A BuLLY BUSINESS,

place to put a small boy. At that time
/ refrained from expressing an opinion
for the best Of reasons. in my short as
sociation with members of the legal
fraternity l notice that lawyers re-
quire two things before rendering an
opinion. They are, plenty of time and
plenty of money. You have given me the
former, but not the latter. Enclosed |
you will please find a bill for $50 for /
professional services in preparing this |
opinion, which, while not elaborate, is |
based upon observation and mature re-
flecton.
Yes, law office is a good place for
small boy. 1t beats school all to pieces, |
especially if he never liked school, !
While the influences surrounding him |
are not of the best, still, if he is made
of the right sort of stuff, he will
come out all right, in most cases q
full-1edged lawyer. If he does not be-
come full-fedged lawyer the office
experience may ruin him, for observa-
tion teaches me that the smartest men
in New Castle county are those who
have studied law and never been ad-
mitted to practice. AS a general thing,
they know more than the Oldest prac-
titioner.
Nearly all lawyers are fathers, or
want to be. There are some exeep-
tions, but that is not their fault. Hence
a lawyer almost invariably takes
fatherly interest in his office boy. lie
gives him 60 much a week-and not a
cent more. He brings him nice books to
read, such as Green's History Of the
English People in four or five volumes
and Gibbons Rome in an Ox-cart.
When the boy wearies of the solids of
Green and Gibbon he can go to the Re
vised Code and Constitutional Convex
tiOn debates for light reading, with an
occasional fly at those exciting little
Oxford novelettes in Blackstone's Com
mentaries. If the boss goes away for
day he can sneak out "Rattlesnake
Bob, the Terror of the Gulch,' and
take cheap trip through the wild and
boundless West for a few hours.
Very few lawyers swear unless cir
cumstances force them to it. When
that time comes it is the duty of the Of
flee boy to open the windows, to afford
the smoke an opportunity to escape.
and to stand outside and prevent the
fire department from flooding the Of
fee. AS the lawyers are gentlemen and
do not swear, the office boys soon be-
come exceedingly circumspect in the
use of forcible language, for you know
that precept exercises a potent force
in the moulding of youthful character
Some office boys are not as particular
as they should be. For instance, ]
heard Mr.. Davis office boy say that
he'd be mandamussed if he proposed to
take any more foolishness off Of Mr.
Reynolds office boy. William Michael
Byrne's office boy recently declared
that he did not care an ad quod dam
mum for all the other office boys in
town, and he's a candidate for a case
stated at any time. But these are ex.
ceptions.
"A good many Office boys nowaday.
are girls. You have doubtless noticed
this. They are cutting wages and driv
ing us fellows out of the business, ant
it is strange that the susceptibilities o
lawyers blind them to the danger thu
genuine Office boy is running. But tn
future of these office boys who ar,
girls is limited. They can run errand
and work the typewriter until they be
come so old, and then they have to ge
married or go to the Home for Age,
Women. But the office boy, who is
boy and not a girl, has future befor
him, if he hasn't any back of him. II
has an easy time, and life would ID
much more bearable if his boss woul
not take such an unusual and unWar
ranted interest in his education. One
every two or three weeks he sweeps tn
office floor and dusts the desks an
chairs. But these office boys who ar
girls are always pottering aroun
trying to raise a dust an
make lawyers office loo
like a truly clean and respectabl
place. She's injuring the business. Th
Office boy who is boy sits around an
looks pleasant after his work is don,
but these office boys who are girls can
look pleasant. Every time a gOod-lool
ing man comes in the Office she wOI
ders whether he's come to see the bOs
or whether he is a prince in disguis
who wants to marry her. This uncel
tainty keeps her all stirred up. l kno
of an instance in which one Of these O
flee boys who are girls was writing O
a will which had been dictated to he
and when the poor man died and Il
will was read it was found that, in
fit of love-lorn abstraction, she ha
rung in chapter and a-half of Lad
Audley's Secret" on the old man an
had forgotten all about what he wan
ed done with his property. Mr.. Gro
san refused to admit the will to pr
bate and declared that between this Q
flee boy who is a girl, and Miss Bra
don, who wrote the book, the old m;
had died intestate. This shows what
bad thing it is for a lawyer to have
office boy who is a girl.
But with an office boy who is a b,
1t is different. He notices the bo
getting uneasy, but says nOthin
Now one of these office boys who a
girls would go up and say: Are v,
sick, dear?" But the genuine Off
boy doesn't say a word. He knows &
boss is thinking. Then the boss say
I'm going to the Court House
make a search. If anyone comes, ju
say I'll be back in ten minutes"
Some lawyers use cards on the do
to do their lying for them, but by t
time a boy has been in a law office
few days he doesn't mind lying a lit
if the boss is right thirsty.
If man comes in and say
where's the boss?" it's an office DO.
duty to say: "He's in the Judges Darl