The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 11, 1906, Page 7

THE SAN wn s are met, ehow! rney Shortridge the breach, upon the di- round, bearing moment before he flag of truce, and tion I have stu- word which the unhappy s ing more than a of tw lives, sanc- et i blessed by heaven es duties of the most solemn es in the ithful and mance of which all good r hest nt s & t the al- the grave. a shipwreck as sad and esterday plunged d north- hers c en Such a catas- € i t ert in this now publicly de- 1 regard it as a great t I could be in- ace and har- e happy home. jestruction, t ve There wif hildren to be res- » e power of the hus- which threat- warning fore- contending hus- e very cen- ge s day, this wing wife, sickness and gly by your side. for his Homor Mrs. 1 of tears, that Mr. dimmed and suf- « have heard a pin yom, and that eve court attaches sur- rted to handkerchiefs, der the conventional d and wife there was memories and tender w05t swept them to- resting g is, from the al point of view, that wyer willing to forego a TIUEEY A . 11OYD e legal trlumpn for the sake of a sen- timental triumph, or, if you will, a 1 triumph. It glves us the lawyer in a new light. It the fostering of contentions and the winning of cases at all hazards is not his most desired achievement, as layman holds, what then is the real ph of the lawyer? Call has put the question to the themselves, taking as repre- Th lawyers sentatives of the professfon those men whose names any Californian, if he were asked suddenly to name the big men at home, would tab off first on his finger tips. Attorney Shortridge has already put himself on record in the Talbot case b; aying that he would regard it as and worthy triumph” to bring her husband and wife, rather than get a decree and alimony for his nt ¥ is a satisfaction to win your cases,” he says, “and I'd like to win When I am handling a crimi- tog to all mine. case there is nothing I want so much as to bring about the acquittal of my client But In ecivil cases there Is often more satisfaction in bringing about an agreement, a settlement of the dif- fer , than in carrying the case into court and winning vietory. “People involved In a dispute can- not always see what the lawyers they lay their affairs before can see for them, that it is possible for each of the parties to the dispute to be right in some particulars and wrong in others. It 1s for their lawyers to point this out to them and to adjust their differences fairly without involving them in the worry and expense of going into court and suffering the ill-feeling engendered by Gefeat on one side and victory om the other. There was a time when a lawyer's reputation depended on the number of ses he brought to trial. It would be sald of one, ‘S80-and-Bo has s0 many cases on the calendar—he must be a won- derful lawyer!” And of another that ‘So-and-8o has only one case, or two, wree, as it might be, on the calen- e can't be much of a lawyer.’ ow, it is just the other way round. It is the big men and the big firms in law that do not appear on the calendar; that £o0 on doing business just the same, but settle thelr cases out of court. “And in domestic cases—there, it seems to me, if anywhere, a man's duty is clear. Where a husband and wife are at outs, where there is bitter feeling against each other, where anger and pride have driven them apart, where there are children in- volved—and honor 1s not at stake—there, surely, it is the duty of the lawyer, if he is 2 man as well as a lawyer, to bring them together if possible. It is his duty to point out the awful consequences of di- vorce to their children as well as to them- selves, for dlvorce In cases like this, where honor does not enter into the ques- tion, means, just as I sald in the Talbot case, the shipwreck of the family. It is the duty of the lawyer to avert divorce. TABER. TR Y vr‘,//’;\ S s 4 GEORGR '~ to fan into Name the embers of love—ay- ing embers, perhaps—and not to widen the breach. : “To do a thing like this gives me a higher satisfaction than to win any case in court. ““Of all the triumphs known to the law I would rather have had that of Rufus Choate In the case of Helen Dalton of Broslon than any other that I ever heard of. “I would rather have made the speech he made In her defense—with its far- reaching results—than to have done any- thing else in this world. “Helen Dalton was a young married woman whose husband killed a man on her account, belleving he had been dis- honored. He was acquitted on that charge and then brought suit against his wife for divorce. “It was in this suit that Rufus Choate defended her. In his speech in her de- fense, the greatest thing of its kind that was ever written, he made his plea for her with her husband so strong, he point- ed out the obligations of husband and wife so clearly, he so beautifully brought out the sacredness of the marriage rela- tion and so forcibly pictured the conse- quences of divorce to both that the jury not only found a verdict in favor of the accused wife, the Judge not only denied the petition for divorce, but the effect of that speech extended beyond the Judge, the jury and the courtroom, and brought about a reconclliation between the hus- FRANCISCO SUNDAY /A ENICHT band and wife—a reconcillation that en- dured until death. “A triumph like that seems to me & lawyer's greatest triumph. “Being a man as well ag a lawyer, it seems to me that I can get more real and lasting satisfaction by striving to heal wounds than by widening them.” To the casual outsider who takes only the critical Interest of the dilletante in a trial it would seem that merely to de- liver one of his speeches, so rich in elo~ quence, so beautiful in diction, would be quite triumph enough for Attorney D. M. Delmas, regardles of its effect on Judg: and jury; but Mr. Delmas says, “Not s “To the young lawyer just beginning the practice of his profession there is, of course, no joy that equals the vanquish- ing of his opponent. For him the greatest satisfaction lles in winning his cases and defeating the other side. “But as he becomes accustomed to the experience there are other things that he finds satisfaction in. “The law is not a rigld thing. .You can- not measure off so much law to fit a case. There are as many cases as there are ap- plications of the law, With no two exactly alike. The law is simply an attempt to make human wisdom meet human needs, and is correspondingly complex, varied and elastic. And it is perhaps in fitting the law to human needs that brings the greatest satisfaction. “When I went.to England some years ago there were just three men I wanged CAY L, to see: Gladstone, Herbert Spencer and Lord Justice Brett. My reasons for want- ing to.see Gladstone and Herbert Spencer are obvious. . “Do you know why I wanted to see Lord Justice Brett? “It wag because of his action in a case that had been tried before him. It was that of a woman, a laborer's wife, who had killed her husband. She had been most brutally treated by her husband for years and she had endured the treat- ment uncomplainingly, even meekly, pa- tiently. One day he came home drunk and abusive and found her cooking his supper in the kitchen. He attacked her as was hig custom, and ghe, perhaps overwrought for the moment, or maybe maddened by the long accumulation of her wrongs, and having a knife in her hand for some domestic purpose, turned upon, perhaps even only to protect her- self and ward off a blow, and stabbed him to death. “All this was brought out at the trial. Upon the conclusion of the evidence Lord Justice Brett, as was his dnty, Instructed the jury, and he instructed them that as the woman had unquestionably done the deed she was charged with, it was thelr duty t, bring in a verdict of guilty—which they dtd. ““Then it was left for Lord Justice Brett to pronounce sentence, which in the Eng- lish courts is done immediately and not as here, later at the discretion of the Judge. “He sald that the jury had brought in their verdict as it was right and just for them to do, finding her gulity of man- laughter, and ‘It now devolves upon me 1o pronounce gentence upon you. Heaven forbid that I should do so. Go hence with- out day.’ “That was why Lord Justice Brett was one of the three men in England I wished to gee. “Because one person kills another it does not follow that he is a murderer. ¢'Human {mpulses and motives are too complex 'and subtle to be all measured by the same rule. “It s In the lawyer's power to so pre- sent the case of his client that all that bears upon it, the mitigating circum- stances, the provocation or temptation or motive shall have their weight in obtain- ing justice for him. “There is no greater satisfaction than this. “On the whole a lawyer’s real triumph is in securing the acquittal of his client in a criminal case, or in adjusting the aif- ferences of disputants in a civil case.” “Both as a lawyer and as a man I find my greatest satisfaction in doing as I would be done by. That leaves nothing to regret.” So, sententlously, Reuben Liloyd. “As far as the satisfactions of a law- yer's career go they change with the changing of your clothes. One day they are one thing, another day they are an- other thing, and this is because there are no two cases in law alike. They are as different as men’s faces. What would give you satisfaction in one case would not do so in another sums up Attorney “I say my greatest satisfaction is In duving as I would be done by, and that holds good with me In the practice of law. When I take a case I make it my own. I put myself in my client’'s place and I handle it as though my own inter- ests were at stake. There are lawyers, and ve d ones, too, who don't do that; with whom a.case is a matter of busi nothing more and nothing less. But I do that way; I can't avold personal identification with a case I am working on. It may be my temperament, but that's the way I feel about it; and so, when I take a case I try to do for my client exactly what I would want to have done for myself, and when I succeed I take a satisfaction in it “Perhaps the greatest triumph that can come to a lawyer—the thing that gives that peculiar thrill of professional satis- faction—is to obtain the acquittal of an inrocent person. “I say innocent person. becauss I have never willingly defended a person I be- lieved to be gullty of a crime. “And you must remember that because one man kills ancther it doesn’t follow that he is a murderer. “I have never taken the case of any person I belleved|to be gullty, and I have never defended but one such person, and that was because I was appointed by the court to do so. When a Judge appoints a lawyer to defend a prisoner he must do g0. I didn’t want to, but I had to. “It was the case of a man accused of robbing the altar of a church. “He was without counsel; he had no money to get an attorney, and I happened to be in court and the Judge appointed me. I sald I was too busy and asixed to be excused, but'I couldn't get off. “The man was unquestionably gullty. He bad taken the silver from the altar, end he bad villain written all over his face. “I didn't like it a bit, but I had the case, g0 I read the indictment and at once dis- covered an error in it. “The Judge wanted to know when I would be ready to go to trial. I sald ‘right away.” He wanted to know if I didn’'t want to talk to the prisoner and prepare a defense, etc., ete. I satd ‘No, I am ready fo go right on with it. “The Judge dldn't like it; thought the man was being rallroaded to prison, and perbaps it did look like that. The case was set for trial. I didn’t call any wit- nesses, nor cross-examine any, nor set up any line of defense until it came to prov- ing whose property it was that was stolen. “The parish pricst was on the stand. It was stated in the indictment that the silver was his property, and he so iden- tified it, as a matter of furm. There was where I went into the case. “I asked him if the property was his, ard the question coming direct he an- swered as I knew he would, that it was the property of the Bishop. *““Then the Judge smiled. There were objections, pleas and explanations from the prosecuting attorney, but all to no purpose. S D \DELMA < “The Judge instructed the fury that the prisoner must be acquitted on that indictment, and the law has it that no on acquitted may be twice put In jeopard My man was free. “He came up to me fawning and offer- ing me his hand in thanks. “Get out, you contemptible thief!" I sald, “and don’t you ever dare to speai to me again! There are satisfactions, Mr. Lioyd's smile would suggest, in work well done, n when reluctantly dope. 'Speaking seriously again,” he goes onm, “there i3 always satisfaction.in settling & case with the least loss and trouble and {ll-feeling compatible with fairness. I was feeling such a glow of satisfaction once when an eminent lawyer told me: “‘It's a lawyer’s business to practice law, not to make settlements.’ ‘That was his opinion, and not mine. Settlements are not always possible, They are not always the best solution of a difference, but they are often desirable, and to bring them about may be the best thing you can do for a client. “Still, to secure the acquittal of an in- nocent man and restore him to liberty is in my mind the best thing a lawyer can do." Attorney George Knight has a laugh that eddles In ever-enlarging circles to his very ears and perhaps beyond them, and that rolls up from his inmost depths, and he laughs his big man’s laugh when he repeats the question: “ “What is a lawyer's greatest trium what gives him the most satisfaction “Why, to win.all his cases and always to have the Judges with him, of cours That would be the ideal career for & law- yer, wouldn't 1t? “But, seriously, I don’t know how it is with others, but for me I find my great- est trfumoh and my best satisfaction in the gratitude of the poor man. “The rich may pay you big fees, but they treat you as if they own you, whila the poor man whose life perhaps has been in jeopardy and whose acquittal you se- cure, whom you restore to liberty and to his family— “Well, his gratitude is worth while. It's incers and you feel as if yow'd done something for somebody when you've helped him. “There's another thing that gives me satistaction—the greatest satisfaction, and that is to take the case of some poor devil with al! the world against him, and win it. “I'll fight ti1] the crack of doom In & case like that. “Where eoverything is against a poor devil, who hasn't got a friend or a cent in the world, there's some satisfaction in winning out. “So far as settling civil cases is con- cerned I'd rather do that than take them fnto court. It costs less in menev. in time, and In worry. I don't know about the ill-feeling—that's a matter Dbetween the contestants. The law takes no notice of a man’'s desire for revenge: it doesn’t take Into consideration his determination to get even, and I don’'t go into that. If it is possible to settle a case I prefer doing it because I can not only save but I earn the fee the office with- money to my client, for the firm right here ! out wasting valuable smoothing over strained relations, and that sort of thing, I don't waste any time on that. “] don’t belleve In doing Individual work in reformation. If I saw a man Jying drunk out there in the street I wouldn’t go out of my way to reform him, for if & man hasn't got it in his own soul to be decent and honest and kind, all your efforts at reforming him won't put it there. If he has, he doesn’t need your help. It's the same way with re- venge and sll the ugly passions that set people to quarreling. “My greatest satisfaction is in getting the acquital of some poor wretch who hasn't a friend and my next is in settling thelr disagreements with the least pos- sible trouble and the greatest beneflt to my clients..” Judge Carrqll Cook of the Superior Court has had ample opportunity to study the lawyer’s triumphs both by experi- ence and observation and he answers with characteristic judiclal earnestness and deliberation: “'What gives the greatest satisfaction to a lawyer? “You ask a very broad question and one almost impossible to be answered by any ome man. “Every man has his own Individual ideas; and what would satisfy or please one might not another. Speaking for myself, I can only say that during the quarter of a century that I practiced my profession the greatest satisfaction that I ever experienced was in listening to those verdiets which spared the lives of those who had Intrusteu them to my care and protection. “In my practice I defended thirty-three men and women charged with murder, each of whom had employed me as thelr counsel. ““The geveral juries which I spe: was ever hanged. “To be relieved by the verdict of a jury of the awful responsibility incident to having the life of a fellow being’ depend- ent upon one's efforts, is to my mind, therefore, the greatest istaction that can come to a lawyer.”