The Washington times., 1915-01-03
AN AMBULANCE TRUST

The district attorney Of one Of the
counties comprising Greater New
York has secured two indictments
and expects to get a number more,
against members of what he calls
the Ambulance Chasers' trust" He
charges that in New York this or
ganization is highly developed and
specialized; that it includes inhuen;-
tial and prosperous lawyers who
make speciality Of damage cases,
especially against thoroughly solvent
corporations, railroads preferred;
that it has great corps Of agents
in the towns along the railroads Gen.
tering in New York, whose business
is to be on hand early after an &C.
cident and get the "right kind" of
testimony framed up; and that on
this fright kind" of testimony it is
quite the regular thing to secure SET
Elements or verdicts at high figures,
the lawyers getting contingent fee
that is commonly so per cent of the
award, and the "trust" maintaining
the organization out Of the general
earnings of the 'business."
An indictment just returned in
Bronx county is said to give a char
acteristic view Of tho "trust's" work.
ing. A lineman on the New Haven
road was killed by an electric shock
while handling wires. At the coro-
ner's inquest which followed, the
foreman under whom this man had
worked. was put on the stand. He
testified that it was his custom to
warn the men under him about the
danger Of handling live wires. But
he blandly swore that on the day of
this particular accident he neglected
to give the warning; and further, he
recollected that he had indulged the
egregious error of telling the line
man that the particular wire that
caused the fatality was not charged.
On this statement, which clearly in
dicated negligence, the "trust" law
yer got settlement for $4,000
without even a trial. The case was
too strong to be risked in court.
Now, the foreman who provided
the accommodating testimony of
negligence has confessed that he
perjured himself; he has been in
dicted and arrested, and the prose-
cutor is after the alleged organiza-
ton Of suborncrs Of perjury in like
cases.
There are particular reasons why
it will be q good thing if this per-
jury and ambulance-chasing trust
can be trailed to its lair. Respec-
table lawyers, who get and try cases
decently and honorably, will be glad
to have the takers exposed. So will
the corporations that are wont to be
mulcted.
But in addition, the demonstration
of such methods will do . great deal
to force to passage the employers
liability legislation that has been
pending in, Congress for several
years, and that lately has been stuck
in the Senate Judiciary Committee
because few members of that body
will not listen to its passage. This
legislation proposes to establish, for
the interstate railroads, rule of de-
termining and settling damages
without the necessity Of resort to the
court save in exceptional cases. The
commission which Investigated the
subject and prepared the measure,
developed the fact that the fee paid
to lawyers in such cases throughout
the country ranges from 25 to GO
per cent, averaging about 40 per
cent. The railroads paid in one year
rather more than $1s,OOO,0OO, but
only about half of this got to the
persons injured or their dependents;
the rest went in fees, expenses, etc.
To conserve practically that entire
fund, and get it to the people who
ought to be its beneficiaries, was the
broad purpose Of the authors of this
legislation. The bill passed the
House by an overwhelming vote; but
it has been on the rocks in the Sen.
ate committee. 1t does not seem g
violent presumption that if an ambu.
lance-chasing trust should be thor.
oughly exposed just at this juncture
Ia perjury-promoting combination
profiting by the very fact that this
Legislation cannot be enacted-it
would help to get the measure Out
of the Senate and into the statuts
books where it ought to be.
NEUTRAL SHIPMENTS
SSrTl>o IopoonI nc tha Av,or;.o