Evening star., 1922-06-10
New York's Arbitration Court Will
Reduce Court Calendars.

Generous Endorsement of the prin
ciple Of the newly established court
OF arbitration" in New York comes
from the editors of the country. who
hope it may lead to "a general reform
In judicial procedure which will do
away with warranted delays and
cheaper the cost of litigation. 1t is
accepted that the new court. estab-
lished by the Incorporated Arbitra
tion Society of America will reduce
the number of litigations where
questions of fact alone are involved
and il is likely that at the September
, meeting of the American Bar Asso-
citation in San Francisco the machin
cry will be set in motion to make the
plan operative throughout the United
States.
The proposal does not come too
soon.' in the opinion of the New York
| Globe. which believes that our pres
ent need is for preventive agencies
in every state and city. The arbitra
ton society plans to effect such re-
suit. uniform arbitration law. II
properly drawn and administe tered,
| can save the nation no end of wasted
time and money" The tribunal, the
New York Times says. strikes at the
roots Of an ancient evil" because
today the chief defect in our insti-
tutions is the lack of a short cut to
justice" Carried out to "a successful
conclusion. that plan would result lin
the litigation now overwhelming our
courts being diminished by rs per
cent" the New York World says in
suggesting that experience alone
Hafa ,i,1a ha Of
cess of this experiment. In any
event the courts will not be relieved
| of the necessity of simplifying their
procedure and reducing their costs of
administering justice. They will none
the less be trifing with the forces
which make for violent upheavals in
the established social order by letting
matters drift
There will be objection from the
legal fraternity, the Philadelphia
Bulletin is convinced, because the
employment of legal counsel. ii no.
forbidden, is measurably discouraged
in the interest of economy and rigid
judicial procedure is to be relaxed In
the interest of equity. Nevertheless
the American Bar Association stands
squarely behind it and uniform legis-
lation is to be promoted for the en-
New York statute which gives bind
: ing effect to the decisions of these
| peoples courts And while the
plan is ambitious" the New York
Evening World points out. "it rests
on broad foundation of experience"
| 1t also will Danish such distrust of
the courts as exists among u.s. the
New York Evening Post is convinced,
if 1t leads the way to a slashing Of
red tape and "a prompt handling Of
cases upon their merits"
Because 1t is designed as a poor
a c
sean is inclined to the belief that
from the standpoint of public well
fare the experiment is worth a trial.
1t may be the beginning of a drastic
reform of legal procedure, whereby
the truth may be arrived at without
the monotonous objections Of attor-
neys versed In the technicalities. Any
plan that will tend to eliminate the
tedious delays of the law and restore
public confidence in the courts is to
be welcomed" After all, that is the
! most important result to be attained.
the Louisville Post insists, because
upon the efficiency Of the courts
everything in the end must depend.
An arbitration committee Is nothing
but court. And when court into
which one goes voluntarily begins to
show a certain tendency disagreeable
to a certain class of litigants it is
plain that class will insist upon its
causes being heard by tribunal into
which litigants may be brought
whether they like 1t or not
The chief value of the new tri-
| bunal, the Springfield Union thinks,
will be it's availability for the dis
posal of cases in which the issue is
one Of fact and does not involve any
dispute as to the law. On the whole
the plan appears to offer one of the
simplest and most logical means of
dealing with the problem of the ex-
! cessive cost of litigation and the over
| loading of the dockets of the courts"
The lawyers who are backing the
| plan apparently are putting them
selves out of a job" suggests the
| Sioux City Tribune, but, "as a matter
of fact, however, they are only GUST
! ing those lawyers who make their liv-
! ing by throwing monkey wrenches
| into the machinery of justice. 1t is
a splendid idea and seems wholly
practicable. 1t will appeal strongly
| to all litigants who seek their rights
and nothing more" In the opinion of
| the Detroit News 1.-The New York ex-
pertinent will be watched with inter-
est. 1t sounds good"
Illinois, and now New York, have
blazed the way, the Columbus State
Journal says, but "for q quarter Of a
century arbitration of legal questions
has been practiced in Cincinnati with
out q state law to establish the tri-
bunal." It was successful there the
Journal says, land will be successful
in any other city where the right
men are chosen as referees and where
real effort is made to hurry important