Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1908-02-15

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At the first hearing the decision was
against the women.
There was still a forlorn hope. A
great lawyer could save the $4,000
for the women. Would Mr.. johnson
undertake it? There were two dis
courag ements TIC such a plan. The evil
dence was unusually complicated. To
disentangle the facts would be worth
lawyers fee that would probably
leave little of the estate.
Nevertheless the women's lawyer
took the papers to Mr.. Johnson. He
said he would read them overnight. 1t
was one of Mr.. Johnson's peculiarities
that by ignoring details he can reach
the very heart of the controversy in
the shortest possible time, then ex-
press the gist of it in few simple
words. The next day the women's
lawyer called on Mr.. Johnson.
Ill take the case" he said.
He did SO ane fought the case
through the county and appellate
courts. He saved the $4,000 for the
women.
What will be your fee, Mr.. John
SOM" one of his clients asked.
Il will charge you $1,000" he re-
piled. When the women recovered
from their surprise, they were rather
hurt. They were proud, and felt that
they were an object of the lawyers
| charity Mr.. Johnson was stubborn
about it. He insisted that his services
were worth no more.
Fees Past and Present.
| A lawyer who is an authority on
| the question of fees, drew an interest
| ing comparison between the altered
standards of fees, past and present.
'.The lawyers of the old school, he
| said, had a very moderate notion of
| fees. When I was a student under
Mr.. Evarts and Mr.. Choate $3.50
seemed to be an average fee and $500
the exceptional fee. with a tendency
| to charge women little or nothing. l
think Mr.. Choate's fees all his life
have been much less than is charged
or supposed to have been charged in
] exceptional cases by men like Guth-
rie and Cromwell
| The lawyer continued:
Always what seems large fee to
the up-country legislator is really a
small fee down here. Expenses are
larger Loss in other business is many
| times as large as in the up-country
districts.
LAS to contingent fees, there are
many popular misconceptions. In the
first place, many monopolist would
go unwhipped of justice, as the courts
have said in their opinions, but for
| the fact that the poor man who has no
money or the man Of moderate means
who feels he cannot risk money can
| employ counsel on a contingent fee
81 personally believe that no pro-
vision in our statutes is more Ameri
can, in the better sense than the pro
vision for a contingent fee. Every law
yer of standing, in some shape or
| another, makes his fee contingent in
part or entirely upon his success No
modern lawyer would think of charg
ing a full fee on a failure, except in
the rare case of a client whom he
never expects to see again. l know
that some charge too large contin
gent fee, but many charge only 10, Ii
and 20 per cent, and some charge
as little as five per cent. in rare in
stances.
How Rewards Are Fixed.
4 "a student went to James Russell
Lowell and said: Professor, think
you have marked me unjustly.' Sir.
said Mr.. Lowell, with his grand cour
tesy, I would not willingly wrong
you; will you tell me how you think
you should be marked? The student
set forth his views, and Mr. Lowell
admitted them i think it has beer
the common practice of such men as
Mr. Choate and Mr.. Evarts to ask
clients their view about their fee and
to fix the fee largely accordingly
And then, even more than with the
medical profession, it is the custom OF
lawyers to make low charges to the
poor and unfortunate, and to charge
women little or nothing
But the surprising fact remains, as
one lawyer said, that of the 11.00(
lawyers, fully two-thirds, or 1890 OF
them, do not make more than S., O0t
year.
Yet at this estimate, the 1900 attor
news earn nearly $22, 000. 900. The q
lawyers making $780, each put an
other $4,000, 900 into their pockets
Allowing $4,000 each for the $500
practitioners remaining conserva
tive estimate-they would add SIS.
375, 900 to the expense bills of 1itigants
Wizard of ~Mungo Park"
The Berliner Tageblatt, reviewing I
, recently published biography o
, Thomas A. Edison, tells of the trial.