Fifty years in Wall Street

by Henry Clews

The system of arbitration which I contemplate could be extended in every line of business throughout the entire country, with a Central Association in New York or any other city that might be agreed upon. In fact, there might be several business centres, one in each important city, with its ramifications extending throughout the section in which its commercial interests more immediately clustered. Branch associations could be organized in the smaller cities and towns, enjoying all the facilities of direct communication with the central body, and availing themselves of all the information and statistics there collected, and the nature of decisions in special and leading cases of settlement.

Each association in its own city or town should be considered fully competent to deal with its own affairs, the Central Association being only consulted as an advisory body. I should recommend also that each association should have a governing committee, which should constitute its Court of Appeal, whose decision should be deemed final.

It would hardly be necessary to prescribe penalties for the few isolated cases that would kick against the arbitration system, and resort to law, as their legal experience before they got through would be punishment sufficient without the association taking any further action. Discipline, however, of a mild character, would have to be enforced in these and other special cases, for the better efficiency of organization.

It might be well to have a rule whereby the parties submitting their cases to arbitration should recognize the necessity, after having the methods of procedure thoroughly explained to them, of putting themselves under obligations to abide by the decision.

In carrying out a national idea of this kind of association, business could be greatly facilitated and much expense saved by the various committees having due regard to their places of meeting, so as to be as near as possible to the centre of the greater number of the witnesses in each particular case.

The courts, which are now greatly overworked, would be immensely relieved by this system, and they would have more time to sift important and exceptional cases which, in their nature, could not possibly be made subjects of arbitration. There are quite enough of such cases to occupy the time of the various courts.

One of the most vexatious and irritating things connected with court trials is the constant attendance required, even when no progress is being made in the case. The expenses, too, are always accumulating.

Though nothing is accomplished the attendance of the lawyers is far from being a labor of love. Their services must be handsomely rewarded by the litigants.

Such a process of settlement as I suggest would not, after all, be any great hardship to the best of the legal fraternity, as there would be enough work left for them, but it would afford immense relief to the now overworked judges, while it would facilitate and forward the ends of justice to an extent that can hardly be imagined by those who have been always accustomed to the slow and monotonous machinery of the law courts, and it would help to weed out the large camp following of pettifoggers, whose occupation would be partially gone.

There is a great deal of time lost in regular court business, causing much exasperation to the parties to a suit, in settling mere technicalities and side issues of law, before the real merits of the case can be reached. Many of these technical delays could be easily disposed of by business men, on business principles, and by taking a simple and common-sense view of the matter, by the usual methods pursued in arbitration.