The evening times., 1900-04-16
PAY OF Federal JUDGES
Views of New York Law Journal
Regarding Increased Salaries.
The District Bench officials Affect
ed by the Proposed Changc-lm-
auires the Best Legal Minds 10 BE
Had-Appro,cd by the Profession.

In commenting upon the suggestion Of
Attorney General Griggs, that Congress
make an appropriation. TO meet the eX-
pense Of an increase of the salaries Of the
Federal judges. including the salaries OF
the Justices of the Supreme Court of the
| District. a leading Law journal, Law
Notes" published in New York says
We noticed a short time ago the pro-
posal Of the Attorney General OF the
United states 10 increase the salaries OF
Federal judges. The movement in the d-
rcction OF increased pay for judicial Off
GERS seems 10 be spreading. Bills have
been introduced into both Houses of Con
gress to increase to SG00 and 5000, re
spectively. the salaries of the Judges OF
the Court OF Appeals and the Supreme
Court OF the District of Columbia; and
the Legislature OF Massachusetts, has be
fore IL q bill TO increase the salaries of the
Judges Of the Supreme and Superior Courts
in that State The Judges OF the supreme
Court of Massachusetts now receives So
Gee except the Chief Justice. who has S500
more. Ii is proposed 10 raise all salaries
81 600. The usual discussion pro ana con
has been the result. A large proportion
OF the press and the legal profession al
most without exception approve the in
crease.
LAWYERS point OUT the desirability of
making sure the occupancy Of the bench
by he leaders at the bar; the Importance
CT the work done by the judges and the
vast amount of labor involved: the gradual
change IN conditions which have rendered
the present salaries inadequate: the dis
proportion between the salaries paid and
The incomes derived from active practice
by men of the class who occupy the bench;
the lowering OF the dignity of the common
wealth involved in asking such large sac
rfices from the men who assume judicial
positions. On the other hand a certain
part of the press warns against public ey-
travagance. and says that plenty of desra-
bic judicial material is always to be had,
though an occasional appointee may be una
BILE to accept a place on the bench because
ne cannot afford to give M a lucrative
practice; and it is even said squarely
meeting the argument for an increase,
that not iufrequently judge is in receipt
of an income much larger than he was able
to earn b. the pursuit of his profession.
Such arguments as these have lately
prevailed in Maryland and Ohio and plans
to increase the salaries of the judges
in these States have failed. The voters in
Maryland recently rejected a constitutional
amendment increasing the pay Of Supreme
Court Judges from s.. 900 to s. 0G0. A bill to
raise the pay of the Judges of the Ohio
Supreme Court from $i.GC0 10 $5.eGO has
just been defeated in the Legislature of
that State
The Ohio bill is said TO have been beat
en- by the asricuturists aided by few
lawyers. Most of the lawyers favored the
bill, but the members from the rural coun-
ties argued that the sentiment of the peo-
pie and the tendency Of the times demand
ed a decrease rather than an increase in
the pay Of public officials. 1t is hard to
imagine what these gentlemen mean by
the tendency of the times. The sentiment
Of the people Unqucstionably demands
economy. but it does not demand a rg-
gardly palsimony. The trouble is that the
average elector or rural legislator mas no
proper standard by which to distinguish
economy from parsimony. To Farmer Jones
or Farmer Brown salary of 1880 or 81
600 seems princely, almost regal, and any
increase is resented as an unholy and cor
rupt wasting of public moneys The
growth of a healthy spirit of State pride
and a general broadening Of ideas viii in
time cause the scales to fall from the eyes
of these gentlemen. In the meantime they
and their fellow-citizens get a great deal
more than they deserve in the services of
worthy and able judges at miserably insult
hcient salaries.
There is an old adage TO the effect that
wisest men occasionally relish a little non
sense. The judges Of our highest courts.
whose title to superlative wisdom it were
heresy for legal magazine to question,
prove at least their humanity by an occa-
sional descent to levity. In a very recent
opinion of the Supreme Court of West Vir
ginia. Mr.. President Dent remarking on a |
mistake in the drafting of lease, declared |
that it might be the result of ignorance. |
But he proceeded, ignorance or not |
he dug the pit, and his friend fell into il. |
Many do likewise. He is not the only pab /
BILE Times change. A hundred years ago |
a Judge would have supplied the place of |
this slang by some classical tag, perhaps |
'humsnum est errare.' But then hundred |
years ago gentlemen wore queues and ruff |
fes and cultivated dignity and the clas- |
eics. Is the old or the new way better?"