222 Urdahl—The Present Fee System in the United States. 
pected of being. It must always be borne in mind that it is 
usually the poor, the unfortunate, and the less favored mem¬ 
bers of society that are likely to be exposed to unjust prosecu¬ 
tion. The rich and strong are able to protect themselves, and 
can usually secure remuneration for their trouble. Nor is this 
all. The fee-paid district attorney is directly interested in hav¬ 
ing no criminal plead guilty without a trial. He will usually 
see to it that no prisoner pleads guilty at the outset. Thus a 
great many cases that might be disposed of without trouble or 
cost, result in expense and needless trials. 
Taken altogether, it is not too much to say that the whole 
system is vicious. It is not economical, in fact it is quite the 
opposite. It is not likely to make the attorney any more effi¬ 
cient, except in “ drumming up ” cases for petty or trivial of¬ 
fenses. It will not lead to the punishment of more actual crimi¬ 
nals, while it may lead to the unjust punishment of innocent 
persons against whom some malicious individual bears a grudge. 
Finally, it tends to degrade one of the most important positions 
in the American courts into a pettifogger’s office, to be run for 
gain. 
E. THE RELATION OF THE FEE-SYSTEM TO THE DIVORCE PROBLEM. 
It might appear to a careless observer that the connection 
between the fee-system and the number of divorces is very 
slight. But a careful examination will disclose the fact, that 
certain allowances in the nature of fees are indirectly responsi¬ 
ble for a large proportion of the hasty and uncalled-for divorces 
granted in many states. Our divorce laws have in most states 
been framed so as to be favorable to the wife as against the 
husband. In the eye of the law she is the weaker, and is more 
likely to require the strong arm of the state to free her from 
bonds too onerous to be endured. A great many states have 
therefore provided that she shall be entitled to court money 
from her husband as soon as she files her application, and 
usually she is given alimony if the divorce is granted. 
The purpose of the court money is to enable her to engage an 
attorney to plead her case, and it is usually paid to the lawyer 
as his fee. In amount it is just about large enough to make the 
