The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-10-06

Congress to give us an additional judge to reside in the Northern district, and then let him and the judge residing In the Middle district have equal powers in each district, and allow them to divide the business out between themselves. Such disposition has been made for the dispatch of business in single dis tricts in New York and elsewhere, and is found to work well. Besides. In event of the sickness of one of the Judges. his absence from the state. or disqualification in particular cases, litigate in each dis trict would always have a judge to act.
 Docket Is congested.
 Speaking approximately, I may say that at present time there are probably 100 litigated cases at law and in equity in the Northern district alone. Every lawyer knows that ordinary damage suit is not tried under two days. and some of them take a week. It would re- uuire at least 800 days of Judicial labor. under the most favorable circumstances, to dispose of the business of the common law and equity 'dockets, for which we now have only 1885 days in the year-if there were no Sundays. and no time spent in travel to reach court and the judge never had any vacation. Then there Is a heavy criminal docket in the Northern district.
 Alabama, believe, Is about the fourth state in the union in number of cases in bankruptcy. and the applications for re- ceiyerships objections to discharges, and appeals from referees. are interminable and innumerable. A similar condition of things, though to less degree. owing to the less per cent of litigation there, Is true of the Middle district. It is ab- solutely impossible for any one man, no matter what his physical and mental pow
 tch ho ff1n fnf of business and if the present arrange ment continues, it will only result in continual clogging of the docket, and amount to an absolute denial of justice.
 ''I may mention the fact because 1t is known to many, that during the last four years I have been absent from the state but three times, the whole not amounting to a months time. One time I was absent on account of the Illness of A member of my family, and twice on official business. I frequently go to work at six in the morning and work until ten or twelve at night l have heard in the last four years over three hundred cases at night. The correspondence of the office Is extreme lv burdensome( and during sessions of the court 1t is impossible to keep up with if. We have several hundred prisoners lon parole" so to speak, moonshiners, who are paying fines on the installment plan, but trying to do better, and gener- ally they do do better, and these parties are constantly writing the judge asking for extension of time, and about their fines.
 Many of the public do not understand the iudge's functions in bankruptcy mat ters, and frequently claims are sent tc him by mail, and still more frequently letters come daily asking for information about dividends, and the status of partic-
 t-t. fh.r t.r1r ha. nothing to. do, unless appeals are taken to him. Owing to the great amount of territory in the two districts, the judge being necessarily absent from one of them during half of the time, members of the bar write numerous letters about the dis position of cases, setting them, etc, and there is also correspondence regarding the administrative duties of the judge, the marshals, referees and district attor- neys offices The official mail some times runs as high as fifty letters a day.
 Conferred With Delegation.
 q was in Washington the first of the year and conferred with members of our delegation. and somewhat with the de- partment of justice. Tennessee will soon have another judge, the creation of the office being dependent upon the agree ment among the members of Congress from that state. South Carolina is seek
 
 ing relief and will get 1t. Every one ad- mits the absolute necessity for additional judicial force in Alabama. l know our senator knows the difficulty as to legis- lation of this character, some of which he has mentioned, some of which I have mentioned, and some of which probably 1t is not proper to mention here. think may say, however. with confidence that any legislation which our delegation in Congress asks will undoubtedly pass and be approved I am equally sure that they will accede to any solution which men on the ground who must deal with the solution. and who know best how to remedy it. will urge I think 1t proper to say I believe no one of them would in sist upon any personal view he had upon the subject against the wishes of the bar of these two districts. These are the reasons for the plan suggested in my letter. It would have been easy to have agreed with some of the proposed plans which, perhaps. unthoughtedly, shifted an