The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-05-23
WHY DONOVAN
 OPPOSED INCREASE
 OF WITNESS FEES
Points Out Glaring Incl dences of How Well Off
 cials Collected Fees
6By our stan Correspondent.3 )

Washington, May 23-Representa- tive Donovan spoke yesterday against proposition to increase the fees of witnesses in the federal courts of 12 western states from s1.50 to s3 a day and provide extra mileage of IS cents | a mile when travel is by stage and , cents mile by rail.
 He ga i'd: MT. Chairman, had supp posed some of the legal brethren here would have given us some informa- ton that would lead us to some prop CT conclusion. By increasing the amount of fees you increase the re- keefpta of the professional witness You have professional witnesses who often appear in a number all set for the same day That is true. Now, on this propo sitioE, it is whether we shall have a law for one state and not for apother; whether we shall have this law for one state or for the whole na.- ton. H is ridicriaus proposition to have laws eoncerufag fees not uni- form in each state That is a cor1di- tion that should not prev ail Witness fees should be the same all over the country The cost of litigation in this country at the present tiTas repre- seIits great sum Of money; and the costs of cases are increasing from year to year The expense for wit- ten on your statnte books at the pres ent time runs into hundreds of thou- sands Of dollars in soEne cases.
 Professional witnesses, # they can get their name on IS or 20 subpoenaes and you increase the fee from 50 to g, you are addang to their already swollen fees in that proportion. z
 MT Kahn Of Chliforn1a asked if they have any professional witnesses in Connecticut
 Mir Donovan replied They have professional witnesses in California. 4l~- They send phern to San Quentin. or whatever you cali 1t and suppose the most notorious cases in this coun- try were in the gentlennan'S own city,. One Of them went by the Sunday name Of Reuf He was the most ira- dustrious character tha has been known in this country for Hlching
 LAS to a profeesionaI witness a Cuited States officer will do this in addition to his O fee. namely. have his name Inserted in the subpoena, and he will draw the witness fee as as fxed by tae statutes as an official
 For another instance u ake a coIIec- tor ok lnter1ial revenue who appeared in a tobacco case where an arrest has been made Tor rnutilat1ng the stamps on a ci gar box. Hfe draws his fee as
 
 drew his fee as a witness in the pros ecution of that particular case Now. he will go into a town and find as many as 20 cases there He will have 20 feas ae d witness, and if the fee is $1.s0 day he will have 20 times q dollar and half if you make the per diem at that rate This is what you are doing to the people. 2
 Mfr. Bartlett Of Georgie asked MT. Donovan # he lnew Of a. case where any ofiacers Of the United States had collected q witness fee for himself ! Mfr. Donovan replied: know of a collector of internal revenue who has Ia fixed salary Of s 500 g. year and yet his name has appeared in s1bpoenas at least 20 times and he drew the fees and 1t vvaa passed upon before. the commissioners, as an item of cost. z
 The gentleman ought to report that to the prosecuting attorney, said Mir. BarfIett.
 .sH you reported such cases to the prosecuting attorney you would have them all there, :, replied MT. Donovan.