The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-02

| richer if he had devoted himself 10 cor
poration rather than general practice,
! john G. Johnson of Philadelphia is gem
orally recognized as one of the great
est lawyers in the country. He once de-
/ clined seat on the bench of the supreme
| court of the United States because, lie
| said that with his income of 100000 a
| year he would be reduced to poverty il
! he agreed to become justice at S,O0l
a year.
/ Mr.. johnson has since been paid $780,
| 00o for a single case. like the Northern
| Securities litigation. involving the Union
| Pacific merger But lawyers say of him
! that he viii also take 500 cases with 81
! fees to right an injustice or punish crook
| ed dealings when the victims are poor.
/ This story IS told Of Mr.. Johnson:
An estate worth about $4,000 was badly
| tangled and in litigation. On one side
| We're the women Of the family. They
knew nothing Of business. The property
was all they had for their future sup
port On the other side was a claimant
with crewd lawyers and apparently the
better of the case. At the first hearing
the decision was against the women.
There was stll Il forlorn hope. A
great lawyer could save the Si5.oO0 for
the women. Would Mr.. Johnson UNDER
take it? There were two discourage
ments to sueh plan. The evidence was
unusually complicated. To disentangle
tile facts would be worth lawy er's fee
that would probably leave little of the
esetate.
Nevertheless. the womea's lawyer took
the papers to Mr. Johnson lie said he
would read them overnight. 1t is one of
Mr.. Johnson's peculiart;es that by ignor-
ing details he can reach the very heart
Of a controversy in the shortest possible
time, then express the gist of it ia a few
simple words. The next day the women's
lawyer called on Mr.. Johnson.
I'm take the case he said
He did so, and fought the suit through
the county and appellate courts He saw
ed the $4,000 for the women
'What will be your fee, Mr. Johnson"
one of his clients asked
I will charge YOU $1,000, he replied ,
The women wanted TO pay more, but
Mr.. johnson insisted that his services
We're worth no more.
/Old-fashioned lawyers didn't demand
big fees. They thought $500 a big fee and
5000 exceptional. Rufus Choate. even
when recognized as one of the greatest
of American lawyers. took cases for $50.
Aaron Burr. successful practitioner in
his day. accepted cases for much less.
Daniel Webster, in the height of his le-
gal career in Boston. earned $4,000
year. Before his life ended he accepted
contributions of money from his friends.
The same was true of Henry Clay.
Like Lincoln. both of these famous men
ksacrificed much to public life. One of
Lineoln's largest fees while a lawyer in
Illinois was a land warrant for his ser
vices in. the Black Hawk war. He took
a tract of land in Iowa, opposite
site Omaha. His fellow lawyers took him
to task for accepting small fees, or none
at all, saying it demoralized the pro-
fession. "Old Abe" as he was then
called, defended two boys on murder
charges and would take nothing for it.
When he came to New York in 1860 to
deliver his famous address at the Coop
err Institute an old friend asked him how
he Jared in the world.
oh very WELL" Lincoln is said to
have replied. Il have a cottage at
Springfield and about $4,000 in money.
If they make me vice-president with
Seward as some say they will. I shall
be able to increase il TO $4,000, and that
is as much as any man ought to want
Has S9O000O.0OO Of wealth been taken
out of this country by the marriage Of
American girls to foreigners? This state
ment was made prior to the marriage of
Miss Gladys Vanderbilt to a Hungarian
count, and Henry Clews, the banker, says
It is conservative.
In the last few years $40 American wo-
men have married titles. The list of
twenty heiresses printed herewith foots
up to $l60.000,oO0, Undoubtedly upward of
$500 600 has been paid for titles alone,
for the dowres have by no means rep
resented all that went with the brides.
In some cases the actual dover was
small in comparison with the money that
was subsequently spent by them. 1t has
been estimated that the Dowager OUCH
ess of Marlborough, for example, spent
. ~ aStJa
is known that many of the Huntington
and Mackay millions have been spent in
paying the debts of Princes Hatzfeldt
and Colonna. How many millions it cost
Levi p. Morton to have duke for SON
in-law and then to get rid of him. prob
ably only the former vice-president could
tell. What Count Boni de Castellane cost
Anna Gould, all told, is known only by
her brother. George. Here is the list of
twenty heiresses who have married I'll
ties:
May Goelet carried away $4,000. 900;
married Duke of Roxbury.
Pauline Astor carried away $2000o.0OO;
married Capt. Spender Clay.
Anna Gould carried away s17000,0O0;
married Count Boni de Castellane.
Mrs. Marshall Q. Roberts carried away
sl2c00.Oe0: married Col. Ralph Vivian.
Sarah Phelps Stokes, carried away $780,
O0o,000, married Baron Halllett
Consuelo Vanderbilt, carried away s1O.-
100000, married Duke of Marlborough.
Mary Letter. carried away s5,ooO,0OO,
married Lord Cursor of Kedleston.
Nancy Letter. carried away $4,000
married Captain Colin Campbell.
Margaret Letter. carried away 100000,
married Earl of Suffolk
Belle Wilson, carried away s5,000,0 900,
married Hon. Michael Herbert.
Caroline Aston. carried away 5000, 900,
married G. Ogilvy Haig.
Marie Satterfield, carried away $1,000
00O married Count F. Lariseh Won Moe
nish.
Lily Harnsley. carried away s3,ooo,OOo,
married Duke of Marlborough, Lord
William Beresford.
Gertrude c. Parker, carried away ST.
100000, married Sir Gilbert Carter.
Julia Bryant (Mackay). carried away
50, 900, 900, married Prince C. di Colonna.
Miss Garner. carried away 100000,
married >SrGuis de Breteuil.
Florence Garner, carried away 100000,
married Sir William Gordon Cumming.
Claire Huntington, carried away $1,000
0Oo married Prince F. Won Hatzfeldt.
Mrs. Livingston (nee Simpson,. carried
away 100000, married Due de Dino.
Minnie Stevens. carried away 100000.
married Gen. Sir Arthur Paget.
Beatrice Winans, carried away $1,000, 900,
married Conte de Bearn, Prince de
Chalais.
Helen Zimmerman, carried away 49,,
100000, married Duke of Manchester.
The forthcoming automobile race from
New York TO Paris should prove interest
ing. Starting out from New York, the
machines will make for a prearranged
point on the Canadian frontier, and they
will find compa atively good roads Only