COURTS AND CORRUPTION 369 



tors in all bonds protected by trusteeships under 

 the laws of New York, for it cuts the ground 

 from under all such alleged securities. The de- 

 cision was rendered December 8, 1902, and the 

 scathing minority report is especially illuminat- 

 ing. 



It is curious how tightly I was tied up. I had 

 assigned away all property and rights and could 

 hardly lift a finger legally. Then everything 

 had been taken from my assignee and he could 

 do nothing but make motions in court which al- 

 ways went against him. When a distinguished 

 member of the bar was engaged to appear for 

 him he returned from the court room to report: 



"The case was decided before it was argued. 

 It is a change of court and not of counsel that 

 you need." 



I like to deal with principals and I took my 

 legal trouble to the most prominent Tammany 

 judge in the city. I wondered what his attitude 

 would be, in view of the fact that his last meet- 

 ing with me had been in my steamship office, fif- 

 teen years before, where he had called for $5,000, 



