New-York tribune., 1902-12-15

and passage of the act under which the Gov
ernor recently appointed the commission. 1t
was then declared that the delays were denying
justice to many. and the resolution mentioned
| the abuses in the system of compulsory refer
ences administered by the courts in the city
as costly and dilatory and otherwise detri-
mental to the administration of justice, and
denying equal protection of the laws to certain
classes of 1itigants, particularly those suing
upon commercial accounts" Charles Stewart
Smith, representing the Chamber. told the COM
mission at its first hearing that the resolution
was called forth by information of intolerable
conditions in of the courts, and he men
toned case before the Appellate Division In
Brooklyn which had been in the hands of a
referee several years, and the fees of the ref
cree, stenographers and counsel In the case
amounted to over $4,000 more than the original
claim The case moved the court to this Wig
orous language:
1T is these things which bring the admins
tration of justice into disrepute. This practice
courts should lay hold of with iron hand,
setting their stern dsapproval upon such meth
DDS. The system impoverishes litigants,
amounts to denial of justice, and is the cause
OF just complaint by the people"
TWO YEARS FOR CASE IN COURT.
Mr. Smith told the commission that he. had in
formation that a case begun to-day in the Su-
pre1ne Court in New-York County could not be
reached for trial in less than two years. and
probably not in three years. In the trial term
of the court there are about 10000 cases waiting
TO be tried and the court disposes of about 5000
cases a year There is work for three years
ahead therefore while thousands of cases
are to be added this year A business man.
suing for a just claim might be bankrupt be-
fore he could get an award in the court His
children might die Of starvation before his prop
erty could be apportioned for their support
Many of the business of the city. Mr.. Smith
said. had to the conclusion that they
would rather lose their money than have inter-
mfnabIe lawsuits. He had come to that conClu-
sion himself, after starting and finding
at the expiration of fifteen months that it was
apparently no nearer trial than when 1t began.
and that one of his two witnesses had died and
the other had moved out of the State. Speak
ing upon the apparent inability of the courts
to keep up with their work, and the fact that it
took three years to get case to trial In the Su-
preme Court, Mr.. Smith said
Now if u business asked what he
would do in such a case in his own business, he
would say he would get more help. 1t seems to
me the obvious answer is that we want more
judges to dispose Of these cases. 1 think 1t is a
fair statement to say should have judges
enough TO 90 tn1S service uHlll Solii NC
sure that his case be tried and have an end
to 1t in from four to six months"
LAWYERS who have appeared before the COM
mission to make suggestions admit that the
greatest abuses are to be found in the system
under which references are made compulsory
and are long delayed In every equity proceed
ing in the Supreme Court In which an account
ing is necessary the sending of the case to
referee to hear and determine is made COM
puIsory by existing law. It may be a difficult
task for the commission to ascertain the num-
ber OF compulsory references. because most or
the references that appear the calendars
"by consent" are really compulsory. Counsel
for the plaintiff may not want to send the case
to a referee of the courts choice. knowing that
there NAV be interminabe hearings and i'm
nense fees. but he is powerless If the defendant
asks for a reference. II he does not consent to
the reference he VIII have to pay the costs OF a
motion for the reference and stand longer delay
in the proceeding. In most cases. therefore, the
case goes to a referee ''by consent" against the
wish of the plaintiff
Once before a referee who seeks to make the
case pay, the plaintiff in a suit is practically
HELPLESS An accounting that should require
single hearing of a few hours or less is con-
tinued over many hearings. lasting for months
or years. Stenographers fees are added to the
fees of the referee. Extra allowances are given
to counsel for the defendant. In many cases the
DELAYS exhaust the resources or the patience of
the plaintiffs and cause them to give up In
despair Hundreds OF young lawyers have
sought affiliaton with Tammany Hall for the
sake of getting 'in line for appointment as
referees. Lawyers who have given attention TO
the subject have ascertained that about 2ooo
are appointed by the courts in New-York
County every year, and that the average cost of
a reference is not less than $500 This means
that litigants have to pay each year In the
county S750O 600 for references That sum would
pay the salaries of ten additional judges
One lawyer interested in the investigation by
the commission said the other day that a great
wave of popular Indignation would compel
change in the law governing compulsory refer
ences if the facts generally known He
spoke of one case in which he had begun suit
to compel an uncle of three orphans to make
an accounting of property which had belonged
TO their father. This property. he said, con-
sists of small piece of real estate. and the
uncle held possession of 1T and collected the
rents The suit went TO referee by compu-
sion, I used every endeavor to have the ac-