New-York tribune., 1912-01-28

At one time l saw much Of Mr.. LtS-
bouchere, because l saw much OF the late
Cir George Lewis, and the two were in
senarsble. Lewis had real and even
snrectionate liking for Labouchere.
Whether Labouchere had an affection"
ate liking for Lewis, or for anybody. !
never knew. II he had. which is possible
enough, he would have died sooner than
show II by his manner or speech He
Was. so far as personal intercourse went,
n professional cynic. Lewis, ever
stanch friend. used to insist that cyni-
cisn was. in Labouchere only a cloak
for kindness. In other words, he liked TO
do kind things. He was sometimes gen.
erous with money. Of which he always
had plenty; even more generous with his
time. and there was no limit to the pains
he would take or the sums he would
spend in a case which, for any reason,
appealed to him. That was Lewiss view
OF Labouchere.
Most Englishmen have in them the
love Of sport: in certain classes no love
IS keener II Labouchere had It. as l
lDlNk ne ndu. ne dlu IbN SilVN ~ bS f''
suing foxes or shooting pheasants. The
game he loved to follow was of diff
ferent kind. He stalked money-lenders
and other sorts of rascals with zest
which never grew dull He harassed
his political opponents as if they had
been money lenders or begging-letter-
writer's In the House of Commons there
was no limit to the license Of his tongue;
nor was there in private He loved mis-
chief and he loved to practise it on those
who held opinions which were not his.
That motive Of public interest lay
behind his crusade against the usurers
is likely enough He hated to see people
imposed upon. and he hated the i'm
rostcr-
The willingness to back ones opinion
with money is in England reckoned a
test Of sincerity Tried by that. there
could be no doubt Of Labouchere's sin
cerity any more than Of his fearlessness.
Year after year. week by week. and for
something like quarter Of a century,
he attacked the fraudulent He filled the
pages Of Truth with libels, or what
would have been libels had they been
untrue or malicious. or could they have
been legally proved TO be. He told his
readers some years ago that this pastime
had cost him first and last s16O,000 in
law costs, Action after action was
brought against him. He won almost
every case yet as the plaintiffs were
commonly men from whom costs could
not be recovered he paid his own. In
all these proceedings Messrs. Lewis &
Lewis we're his solicitors, and in the
more Important Of them. Sir Charles
Russell. afterward Lord Chief Justice,
was his leading counsel Lewis often
urged Labouchere 10 use more caution,
and Labouchere used to answer:
IF / am willing TO pay for my fun
why should not have it?"
He used the word "fun" with much the
same meaning that II had in Mr. Roose-
vclts mouth when he was policeman.
and -wish much the same levity. Yet
both men were in deadly earnest None
the less, Labouchere took infinite pains
TO be sure Of his facts. and as Lewis took
equal pains to be sure of his law they
almost always came out triumphant. AT
one time Lewis was, in fact the legal
editor Of Truth" and read the proofs
10 see whether a libel lurked anywhere
in Labouchere's incisive sentences, and
whether. II libellous, he had legal de-
fence. This was a partnership in the
public 'nterest--not a partnership, Of
course, in the legal sense but for the
purposes Of justice. and against those
who lived by plunder.
The sum named above as paid for law
costs r. probably much within the mark
A single action is known to have left
him. though successful. $4,000 out of
rocket. That sum he cheerfully paid for
the pleasure Of exposing an "inebriate
home" the trial lasting twenty days and
ending with verdict for the owner OF
Truth" When the foreman Of the jury
announced that they found for the de-
fendant Labouchere turned to Lewis and
asked
Does that mean me-"
Now and then there was a verdict
against .hirn, and once or twice a case
was settled out OF court, but on the whole
these contests were series Of triumphs
far LAbouchere III: attempt TO silence
Truth" wes a failure. 1t could hardly
have been otherwise, since Mr.. Labou-
chere had a liking for litigation and
ample means to indulge this taste. He
inherited competence from his father
fortune Of 100000 from his uncle
Lord Taunton, and made money at every
turn by his shrewd business talent
Truth" started on account of a quarrel
with Mr.. Edmund Yates, for whom Mr.
Iabouchere wrote financial articles In
The World" paid Its way from the be-
ginning and for aop1e time earned a
yearly income OF $4,000
He was what is called born journal
ist; meaning a man who with certain
natural aptitudes takes infinite pains 10
master the secret Of success in profes-
zion which has no scientific basis La
bouchere had this advantage: an entire
freedom from prejudices and never too
many scruples. He cared. or professed
TO care, nothing for society, and Truth
was a society journal, with farreaching
relations among people Of rank and posi-
ton. both men and women. It's gossip
did as mitch as any other one feature to
popuiarize IL. but II was comprehensively
organized. and dealt with all the chief
subjects OF human. or English human,
interest: and all by novel methods. Pol
-.
Court. the Army and Navy, Music, Sport