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THE GREEN BAG

employers of labor. It would be preferable to have a law fixing the measure of damages, with reference to which the parties would be deemed to contract. I fully appreciate that legislation of the kind above suggested can be obtained only with the greatest difficulty. I realize that bills of this kind would meet the determined opposition of labor organizations. Possibly such legislation is impossible at present.

But I have an abiding faith that the time will come when employees will realize that their interests are identical with those of their employers. It is not to the interest of injured employees, who have meritorious cases, that dishonest cases should prevail or that excessive damages should be allowed so as to cripple employers and to discourage investment in manufacturing enterprises. DETROIT, MICH., March, 1906.

MR. BRYANT. IS there too much litigation in the Courts The Court of Common Pleas was in session of Maryland? If yea, what is the cause, 211 days and about one fourth of this time and what the remedy? If there is not, then was occupied in the trial of commercial cases with the cause and remedy we need not and all of the commercial cases were called bother Ourselves, in this State. Of course for trial and either tried or continued; the in the very nature of things Baltimore City, other three fourths of the time was taken up with its six hundred thousand inhabitants, in the trial of damage cases. would be looked to in a great measure for The Baltimore City Court was in session an answer to the several inquiries. 293 days, 98 days of which was consumed in In this city we have three courts with the trial of commercial cases, the whole concurrent jurisdiction, where our jury trials commercial docket having been called for are held. From data gathered we find that trial or continuance, and the balance of the on the second Monday in January, 1906, the time was consumed in the trial of damage Superior Court had on the trial calendar 977 cases. cases, 508 of which were damage cases and This data discloses the fact that in the 469 commercial cases. The Court of Com year of 1905 in two of our three courts all of mon Pleas had 436 cases, 355 of which were the commercial cases therein had an oppor damage cases and 81 commercial cases. tunity to be heard and disposed of, and in The Baltimore City Court had 1157 cases, the other, the Superior Court, the first of 930 of which were damage cases and 227 this year 1906 finds its docket with the cases were commercial cases. about equally divided; hence it cannot be Thus we see in the Superior Court the liti accurately claimed that damage litigation in gation was about evenly divided. In the Baltimore city in the year of 1905 crowded Court of Common Pleas there are about four out other kinds of cases. In the other courts damage cases for one commercial case, but of Maryland, outside of Baltimore city, I the docket in that Court is small in com cannot get any specific data, but I am in parison with the other two. In the Balti formed that at each term the dockets are more City Court there are a little more than practically gone through with, and the four damage cases to one commercial case. court adjourns before the next succeeding Thus it appears, that in January, 1906, term begins, and there is no overcrowding our three Courts began the January term of the dockets by what is known as damage with 1793 damage cases and 777 commercial cases as distinguished from other causes of cases. For the year 1905 the Superior litigation. Court was in session 292 days and this time I presume that damage litigation is on was about equally divided in the trial of the increase, and I believe this can be proven damage and commercial cases. by an examination of the records of our