Omaha daily bee., 1909-09-17

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defendant have not been preserved and
that justice has not been done.
1T is true that 4in England they have
enlarged the procedure to the point Of al
lowing an appeal from a judgment in a
criminal case to a court of appeals, but
this appeal Is usually taken and allowed
only ON a few questions easily considered
by the court above and promptly decided.
Counsel are not permitted to mouse
through the record to find errors that in
the trial seemed Of little account but that
are developed into great injustices in the
court of appeal.
This is another defect Of our procedure.
No criminal Is content with a judgment
Of the court below and we'll may he not
be because the record of reversals is 80
great as to encourage It in every case and
to hang important judgments in appellate
proceedings some times for years. 1 don't
know when the reforms are to be brought
about In this country.
More Power for Judges.
Until Our people shall become fully
aware and in some concrete way be made
to suffer from the escape Of criminals
from Just Judgment in this country the
system may continue. One of the methods
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degree is to give judges more power in
the trial of criminal cases and enable them
TO aid the jury in its consideration of
facts and to exercise more control over
the arguments that counsel see fit to ad-
vance and especially judges who are elected
ought not to be mistrusted by the people.
A Judge holds a great office and the man
who holds It should exercise great power
and he ought to be allowed to exercise
that In a trial by jury.
Then it is undoubtedly true that in
England lawyers In the conduct Of their
cases feel much more and respect much
more their obligation to assist the court
In administering justice and restrain them
selves from adopting desperate and ex-
treme methods, for which American law
yers are even applauded. The trial here
is a game in which the advantage is with
the criminal and IL he wins, he seems to
have the sympathy Of a sporting public.
Litigation Too Expensive.
But reform in our criminal procedure
Is not the only reform that we ought to
have in our courts. On the civil side Of
the courts there Is undue delay and this
always works for the benefit Of the man
with the longest purse. The. employment
Of lawyers and the payment of costs all
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is extended, 1t used, 70 be thought that a,
system by which, cases involving small.
amounts could. be- CARRIED TO the supreme
court through two, or, three courts Of in
termediate appeal rwRs a perfect system,
because gave the poor man the same
right to go to the supreme court as O
rich man. Nothing is further from the
truth. What the, poor man needs Is a
prompt decislon Of his case and by limit
Ing the appeals in, cases involving small
amounts OF money SO that there shall be
a final decision in the lower court, an
opportunity is given to the poor IItigant to
secure a judgment in time to enjoy 1t and
not after he has exhausted all his re-
sources in litigation to the supreme court.
Lawyer Made Law.
II am q lawyer and admire my profess
sion, but I must admit that we nave had
toe many lawyers in legislatlng on legal
procedure and they have been prone to
think that litigants were made for the
purpose of furnishing business to courts
and lawyers and not courts and lawyers
for the benefit OF the people and liti-
giants. More than this, 1 am bound to say
that in the matter of reducing the cost OF
litigation and, indeed, the time Of II, con-
gress and the federal courts have not set a
good example. Probably under the con-
s~titution 1t is impossible In the federal
courts 10 unite suits at law and cases in
equity in one form Of action, as has been
done In the codes Of the states. but IL
certainly is possible to introduce q sim
pier form OF procedure both In suits In law
and suits In equity.
This last form Of procedure-that is.
~equity-has been entirely in the control Of
the courts and especially the supreme
court and yet in years no real reform has
taken place in that regard and the pro-
cedure is just about as clumsy, Just about
as expensive, just about as likely to pro-
duce delay as It was thirty or forty years
ago. The fact that no reform has been
Instituted may perhaps be due to the cir
cumstances that our Judges have been over
loaded with work In the supreme court and
thus opportunity has not been seised for
the reform. But l conceive that the stu
alton is now ripe for the appointment of
a commission by congress to take up the
question Of laws delays In federal courts
and. TO report a system which shall not
only secure quick and cheap justice to the
~itigants In the federal courts, but shall
offer a model to the legislators and courts
OF the states by the use Of which they
can themselves institute reforms.
No Fees for Officials.
Il would abolish altogether the system Of
payment Of court officers by fees. The fee
system may be properly continued for the
reimbursement OF the public treAsury by lit
igants specially interested, but the fees
ought to be reduced TO the lowest point and
the motive for increasing the expense OF
litigation that arises from the payment OF
the compensation out Of fees to court Of
Ulcers should be removed. 1 do not think
that the delays In justice are due to any
niggaTdliness on the part OF the public in
appropriating money to meet the expenses
OF administration The evil lies deeper In
! the system Will l have referred to only
In a most summary way.
o all the questions that are before the
American people l regard no one as i'm
portant as this, to-wit: The improvement
Of the administrator OF justice. We must
make II so that the poor man will have as
nearly as possible an equal opportunity In
litigation as the rich man, and under pres
ent conditions, ashamed as we may he OF II.
this is not the fact.
Praise for Chicago.
And now, my friends, l have subjected
you to a rather solemn piece Of a rather
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