The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1905-10-21

Co. The modern Captain of
criminal Industry robs the public in
stead of an individual, and he takes
every step under the advice of his at
torney' In a little supplementary dis
cussion l added: And the worst of it
IS mat when a corporation hires
man as lawyer, it hires him as a ctti-
zen as WELL"
FOR some reason these remarks gave
oHense to few lawyers. One of them
stopped his paper: Others wrote let.
ters politely explaining the theory ~
legal ethics, with which they assumed
me to be unfamiliar. According to ona
of these explanations:
"hen lawyer publishes an opin-
ION on a matter Of public interest with.
out suggesting that he represents
ciiehts IN SO doing. he is presumed to
speak as a citizen merely, and as an
expert on the legal side of the question.
speaking thus. the profession would
regard 1t as dishonorable and contrary
to legsl ethics for a lawyer to publish
aught but his honest, individual and
candid views Of the law of the case
more right than any other class to adj
wise. assist or procure a person to
commit crime
II ne does so, he is subject to GRIM
maj prosecut1on-as any other citizen
"ou1o oe-and his profession would
not uphold him in such conduct"
recent events have put these beau
tlful theories to the test. In Phila-
oe1ph1a certain notorious robbers pre-
pared to commit a crime of unexam-a
pied magnitude. THEY arranged 4o
steal public property worth at least
$loO,o00,oo0 and probably very much
more and to bind three generations
OF their fellow citizens to the pavment
OF extortionate prices for one of tho
necessar1es of life. This crime. which
was only the latest and worst of ;
long series of SIMILAR thefts, was plan-
neo IN all Its details by some of tho
leading lawyers of Philadelphia. Just
as lis predecessors had been. When
the patient city revolted against this
browning outrage, and the spork Of
civic virtue glimmered even on tho
Stock Exchange, the PHILADELPHIA bar
remained the last stronghold of tho
peleaguered ring. Mayor Weaver and
the Committee of Seventy had to draw
upon New York for counsel, because
most Of the legal talent Of Philadelphia
Was either in the pay Of the public
enemies OR HOPED TO BE!
Incidentally. it is sof interest to note
that the leading New York counsel on
the side of honesty and the leading
Philadelphia counsellor the side Of dis
honesty had been associated just before
in the Northern i" Securities litigation.
Retaining fees made them allies of
one case and adversaries in the other
When 1T looked as ii the people Of
Philadelphia were In "a fair way to
save their property from the robbers,
1.-THE best lawyers: I'M; town. quote
a typical New York press dispatch
were started to work tying up the
revolution in legal tang1e."" It was
"a brilliant exhibit of counsel night
ing for the life and .perpetuation Of
the political machine which the late
Matthew Stanley Quay made the most
powerful in the United states"
The mayor removed. the officials
whose power had been used to bride
or intimidate councils into voting for,
the steal. Thereupons an able attor-
ney promptly procured an Injunction
the purpose Of which was to: cause a
delay that would enable the thieves
to get away with their plumber before
the hands Of the owners Of the prop
erty could be united. When this fail
ed, the beaten plotters had one last
hope AZ Mr.. Paine said IN last weeks
Golfers cloud of lawyers futtered
g taaa %. - CT II seaaa,l.