The record-union., 1898-06-01

profession, and receive such enormous
fees that they. very soon become
wealthy men. Fifty thousand dollars
is a very common fee for such law
yers to receive
George Harding, the famous patent
lawyer. received nearly $.0O,O0o from
the Goodyear Rubber Company for
proving their exclusive right to use
certain forms of hard rubber This
enormous sum was not paid as single
fee. for any one particular case, how
ever, but was received by the attorney
in question during a long course OF
litigation which extended over several
years.
Alexander & Green are well-knOwn
New York lawyers who have received
some very large fees In the Broadway
Street Railway case they were paid
5000, 600 for their services and they have
received similarly large fees in other
cases.
Roger A. Pryor now Judge OF the
New York Courts, and for several years
previous to his elevation to the bench
a prominent lawyer in that city, was
the recipient of some very large fees.
especially in criminal cases, of which
he had some very interesting ones. One
of the most remarkable of these was
that of James T. Holland, young man
from Texas, who shot and killed Tom
Davis, a well-known green goods
swindler, in New York. in the month OF
August 1885. Holland had received q
circular letter from Tom Davis, Offer
ing to sell him $4,000 worth of coun :
terfeit money, or green goods, for
500. Holland being a well-postcd
man who read the newspapers, fully
understood the swindler's little game.
which was to show genuine money rs
samples of his counterfeit stuff, to pack
the said genuine money in bag, get
the purchaser to pay for it, and then
substitute another bag, filled VITA
brown paper, for the one containing The
money. Holland was a bold fearless
young fellow, and he thought he saw a
chance to beat the swindler at his own
game and quit it big winner. Ac-
cordingly he left his home in Texas
with So11 in cash and letter of credit
on the Hanover Bank of New York for
$500. In that city he was met by a
man named Butler, who was a capper
and go-between for Davis. Butler
took him to West Broadway and Reade
street. UP two flights Of stairs to n door
where he knocked three times. The
door was opened from the inside. Tom
Davis was sitting at a desk with big
pile of money before him, and he asked
Holland to examine it.
1t was all in 81, s. and SO bills. Hol-
land had brought bills Of those denomi-
nations with him, and compared his
money with that of the swindler by
means of a magnifying glass furnished
by Davis AS Davis never handled any
counterfeit money at all, and as all
the money on his desk was perfectly
genuine, of course there was no differ
ence between his bills and Hollands.
There are $4,000 here on my desk, -
said Davis. Count it for yourself"
Holland did so and he and Davis tied
the money up in bundles, put il in a
bag, whose mouth they tied with a
strong cord. Now" said Davis, here
is my money: where is yours? ?"
Here" said Holland, and he pro-
duced his $500 Davis then made some
excuse for OBTAINING Holland, and for
taking the bag into a back room. but
the Texan was too sharp for him He
snatched up the bag and made a rush
for the door Davis grappled with him,
money. There are two men in the
next room and we Will kill you.
Some one in the room called out,
xiii the -"
Holland dropped the bag of money
and pushed Davis off. The swindler
made second rush for him. but quick
as flash the young Texans revolver
was out, and bullet sped from it with
ai CT orb TO SC
heart He dropped dead, and Holland
walked down to Hhe, street where he
was arrested a few minutes later
Holland was well connected, and had
some very wealthy and influential
friends. who rallied promptly to his
support. Roger A Pryor. who was con-
sidered one of the shrewdest criminal
lawyers in New York at that time was
retained as the principal counsel for
the defense.
The trial had not progressed far when
Pryor raised q very nice and wholly
new point of law. 1t was that the
State, having charged Holland with de-
liberate murder. could not now rely
on any subdivisions of the Act by which
man might be convicted of murder
without generalization. This point was
50 cHtlISiy new tUdl y uOSS V oil IoI uil
stopped the court proceedings while he
and all the lawyers present went to
consulting the books Attorney Pryor
insisted that the jury must either con-
vict Holland of murder in the first de-
gree or else acquit him altogether, and
that the Judge was bound to charge
them to that effect. His point was
finally sustained, with the result that
the jury acquitted Holland, and he
walked out of the courtroom a free
man just ten minutes after the Judge
had concluded his charge For his SER
vices in this celebrated case, which at
tracted great attention all over this
country when it was tried in New York,
in the month of March, 1856, Pryor is
said to have received the very large
fee of $4,000
There are probably no more widely
known criminal lawyers in this coun-
try than Howe and Hummel of New
York. 1t is probable also that no 9TH
er lawyers have ever had as their cli-
ents in criminal cases so many men
and women - especially women - of
wealth and prominence. They have
had many cases involving the life and
reputation of people who were willing
and could afford to pay almost anything
to secure their acquittal In the cele-
brated cases arising out of the Beecher-
Tilton scandal. some twenty-five years
ago, they were retained to defend the
notorious Victoria c. Woodruff, and her
equally notorious sister, Tennie G..
Caffiin, who. as Lady Martin and Lady