Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1903-05-04

wanted 10 nave Dulit RTtdk puUuC
institution. Yet some distant relative
with whom he never had any close
affiliation, by the aid Of scheming law
yers, broke that will. 1t was only be-
cause one of the new heirs was intrin-
sically honest that part of the estate
was placed at the disposal of the trus-
tees who were appointed to carry out
the scheme.
where Lincoln stood.
There is an old saying that nothing
Is more deceptive than a column OF fig
ures. There is another old saying,
Nothing is more unjust than law"
Any lawyer who prostitutes his brain
and energy to plead the dishonest civil
suit Of client becomes party to the
corrupt purpose. The lawyer himself
by that advocacy becomes a dishonest
man. Abraham Lincoln won the APP
pellation Honest Abe" How? He
would never allow himself to get mix
ed up in a dishonest suit Many years
ago a man went to his office in Spring
field and wanted him TO be his attorney
for a certain case. After Mr.. Lincoln
had studied all the facts he turned to
this man and said: my friend, by
technicality of the law you can win
that case. but / will not argue it for
you. You are dishonest In your at
tempts to win that money. If l stood
before a jury to plead for you, every
word l uttered would seem to echo in
my mind this sentence: ABE, you are
pleading for an untruth; Abe, you are
dishonest mani" John j. Crittenden,
the great senator, had marvellous pow
er with q jury. Every Kentuckian
knew that Senator Crittenden would
not under any condition consciously
argue for a dishonest cause. Many
college lad has contracted a habit
which has contaminated his whole fu-
ture by standing up in literary soci-
ETY. to champion a wrong theme. There
fore, my legal friend, never under any
condition become a party to fraud by
advocating In a civil suit the dishonest
| cause of a corrupt client.
The honest lawyer never uses false
means to plead for justifiable cause.
He never produces false witnesses to
an alibi, no matter how much he may
believe in the innocence Of the defend
ant He never believes it honest to be
dishonest or to tell falsehood, no mat
ter how good the cause may be for
which that falsehood has been told.
The Lawyers Many Temptations.
But, though this may be all true, the
temptations before honest criminal
lawyers are very great. Believing in
the innocence of their clients, they
know as no other class Of men how
many innocent victims have been sent
to the penitentiary or the gallows
through an unbreakable chain of false
circumstantial evidence. In one of our
large cities of the east a man was
aroused one night by a noise. With
lighted candle and cooked revolver, he
descended the stairs and was shot
dead. An ex-convict was arrested and
charged with the crime. His lawyer
believed him to be innocent. He die
all in his power to save him. He was
hanged. Some years after the execu
ton q dying convict confessed to tina
crime and thus proved that an limo
cent man had his life choked out by
false circumstantial evidence. In the
same way a few years ago a woman
In the far west was murdered. An in
nocent man, proved so by later devel
opments, was found to have suffered
for that crime. 1 once said to thu
warden of Sing Sing penitentiary
warden, do you believe there are an.
innocent men in this prison who hav
been sent here unjustly by circumstan
tial evidenceP Lots of Them" he an
swered. 81 believe there are lots o
them" Now" says the honest law
yer. 81 believe my client Is innocent
and yet this false chain Of circumstaT
tial evidence will convict him unless
break 1t. Is it not right to fight frau
by fraud? Am not justified in usin
any means to deliver this innoceI
man?' In such a crisis the temptato
Is overwhelming to present any ev
dence available, even though 1t
known to be false. He argues himse
into this position because he believe
he is justified in doing a wrong to wi
a right.
, But, my legal friend, two wrong
never make a right. No lawyer in an
: capacity is called upon to lie. A falls
, hood is falsehood, no matter how
. is told. If you believe in Justice. yo'
= own hands must be clean when the
/. touch hers. nor must you contamina
q your own lips when you would WOO b
: to protect the life of your client. If
: lawyer is willing to lie for got
y cause, the time will not be very f
= distant when he will be willing to tt
= a falsehood to win a bad cause.
= The righteous lawyer tries to ke'
, his client out of litigation If possib
9 That means he does for his client e
! actly what the honest doctor would
q for his patient. The family physical
! coming to the bedside of an inval
4 does not say, How long can l Ike