Evening star., 1912-08-29
JUDGES POORLY PAID
PIaint Goes Up at Bar Assn
citation Sessions.
THEIR WORK DEFENDED
Legislative Procedure Gets Blame for
Delay of Cases.
SPEAKERS URGE REFORMS
Standards of the Profession Must
Be Raised Higher, Says France,
in Discussing Lawyers.
THEIR WORK DEFENDED
SPEAKERS URGE REFORMS

MILWAUKEE. August 2s.-Judges
were declared to bo "scandalously un-
derpaid" and the delays in settling law
suits in this country were attributed
to cumbersome methods of procedure
rather than to judges by various speak
ers before the American Bar Associa-
tion.
Most Of the criticism which has
started the movement for the recall of
judges results from dissatisfaction in
the slow ways in which cases get
through the courts said Charles
Blood Smith Of Kansas This tardi-
ness is due to modes of procedure and
not to the judges. II is our belief that
recall of judges is not necessary to
remedy the causes which have started
the restlessness of the public over
judicial procedure. The Improvement
will be and is being accomplished"
Prevent Temptation.
We should keep our judges from
temptation" asserted Henry D. Esta-
brook of New York. AN occasional
judge is found wanting because all
judges are human. I am inclined to
think that judge should be permitted
no patronage whatever. whereas we
are forever thrusting UPON them pow
!ers of appointment because we yDint
assurance of their greater ability and
undoubted probity.
There should be no perquisites to
the judicial office. but in lieu thereof
we should pay our Judges salaries
worthy their position AS it Is, We get
infinitely better judges than We de-
serve.
Stands on Defensive.
Joseph c. France. in an address on
Lawyers" said:
In popular speech and literature
the lawyer is standing at the bar of
public opinion--on the defensive.
The complaint against the lawyer
is. Your profession is Indifferent to
Its responsibilities and its vows.
The purpose and object of a legal
system should be the production
OF justice. And while the wisest rules
of law and procedure, may go wrong
in some concrete case. and miscar
riages of justice may often be due to
faulty legislation and to unfit jurfes-
nevertheless. you do not put justice in
the first place You are more inter-
ested in the legal machinery than in
the product: and YOU do not keep the
machinery up to date or even in re-
pair
There is nothing new in this charge.
1t ignores the splendid work which the
leaders of legal education and our bar
associations. national and local, have
done and are doing. Nevertheless.
there is part of the complaint which
Is not demurrable.
I'VE know too we'll (but our critic
does not appreciated the difficulties in
1ected into the problem by the lax
standards for admission to the bar,
which were universal once. and are
common still Much has been done TO
raise the standards and in some states
they are reasonably high: but, taking
the average. much remains to be done.
Judicial Procedure.
Frederick " Judson. speaking on pro-
cedure in our judicial systems, said:
1T is no exaggeration to say that the
judicial procedure of the United States is
now on trail before the bar Of public
opinion OF the country and even of the
civilized world.
This subject is not new. Some twenty
five years ago searching investigation
was made of the causes of the delay In
the administration of justice, and 1t was
found then that the average length of
civil lawsuit in the United States then
varied from a year and half to SIX
Years The special committee appointed
by the association for this investigation
reported that II il We're possible to put
into ten words the chief causes OF the de-
Law and uncertainty in our judicial ad
ministration they would say: Complex
procedure. inadequate judiciary, procras-
tination. retrials. unreasonable appeals
and uncertain law
THE true remedy is that which is now
being pursued by the Supreme Court OF
the United States in the reformation OF
the equity procedure of the federal courts,
and that lies In the repeal of all statutory
rules of procedure and in leaving the de-
tails to be controlled by the judges under
rules OF court. made from time to time
as occasion requires.