The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-12-10

case was reversed.
submitted to any attorney the secre
tary may select, who is under pledge
to take the case and handle it as he
would any case that paid him fee,
and, If necessary, to take it to the
supreme court of the state. At first
this might seem to work a burden
inasmueh as all pledged to do this
work, it means that not more than
once or twice a year are they called
upon to act.
1T takes, of course, time to inform
the working people that such an org
ganization exists. This can be done
through newspaper publicity, and also
through placards placed in every in
dustrial plant in the city, stating that
free legal aid and advice will be given
an application at such time and
such a place.
1--WE have not found it difficult to
finance the work, as manufacturers
can easily be shown that 1T will be
great time-saver for them, and that
it will relieve them from the annoy,
ance of having their help dragged
out at unreasonable hours to mag
istrate's court, and will also, in many
cases, stop the running of gafnish-
ments that frequently have been the
cause of a valuable workman throw
ing up his position rather than con-
tinue to submit to the injustice that
he has to undergo.
ITO the retailer the bureau can be
made of great benefit in cases where
men have become involved who can
not pay on demand. and yet who are
willing TO and would pay if they were
given time. In cases of this kind
the bureau gets hold of the debtor,
finds out just how much he is earning
a week, gets an agreement from him
to turn over to the bureau so much
week to be prorated among his
creditors, and in turn gets an agree
ment from the creditors to grant the
necessary extension of time. In other
words, the bureau becomes a trustee
and collects from the debtor regular
ly and pays to the creditor his pro-
portionate amount, and this is done
without any expense. In our expert
ence here, numbers of men have been
able to pay 100 per cent on the dol
lar of what they owe, kept out of
bankruptcy, saved their credit, and
make good, honest debt-paying Cit
liens, when otherwise they might
have become dead-beats.
1.-THE committee handling the bu-
reau should be composed of two
thirds members of the Chamber of
Commerce and one-third from the
be a lawyer
1.-THE bureau should not at any time
accept a case where the client is able
to pay a fee, and should refer such a
client to the secretary of the Bar as
ISOLATION. Criminal cases should not
be handled except in rare instances,
and then only after the committee in
charge has thoroughly investigated
and discussed the matter.
Bar Co-Operaion.
John S. Broadway, secretary of the
National Alliance Legal Aid societies,
also stresses the Importance of secur-
ing the entire cooperation of the
Bar association, and outlines the fol-
lowing organization deails; as they
are carried out in bureaus in the
larger cities:
Il. An interviewing desk where
clients are first received. 1t seems
the best plan to have an attorney at
the desk because 1t is unlikely that q
person unframed in the law can
diagnose the situation properly.
"2. An investigation force which
operates to collect information with
regard to the particular case and
prepares it for court, or effects a
settlement, such an insurance COM
pany has men detailed to make settle
ment of cases or to secure evidence
for court.
"s. A clerical staff providing one
or more persons who can properly
care for the stenographic work, the
preparation of legal papers and the
filing.
"a. A suitable staff of trained at
torneys to take the cases into court.
IS. A bookkeeper who will keep
records both for funds received to
operate the bureau and for the mon
70 oil
"A record is made of ~ the source
from which cases come to the organi-
cation; CD the nature of the case,
such as, wage claim, loan shark diff
ficulty, and so on; CD the DISPOSE
ton of the case, showing what the
office did with it, how much money
was collected through the office and
for the benefit of the client; % a
| record of the cases which actually go
to court showing the result.
with regard to the matter of rev.
enue there are many possibilities:
Methods In Use.
1.-THE following are now in use:
81. private corporation with GER
tain classes of members who con-
tribute certain dues each year.
20. division of funds from the
community welfare league or the
charitable organizations.
"3. A contribution from the Bar as
ISOLATION.
-. A contribution from the city.
rs. A registration fee of 25 or so
cents charged to applicants for legal
aid, to be RENTED in case the appli :
cant cannot afford it.
IS. A fee of 10 per cent of all
money over SIS collected for client
az. A drive for an endowment
which will support the organization"