and called. Cases have to be tried and others have to be reached in
order, but at least there should be sufficient and intelligent
planning of the order.

It seems rather a weak answer to say that no one can tell how much
time will be occupied in the trial of a case. If any systematic or
scientific method of regulating the calendar were devised, one of the
evils would be avoided.

The very call of the calendar in some courts occupies to an
unreasonable extent the time of the judge who might as readily be
engaged in the real work of the court. The aggregate value of the time
of the judge, the lawyers, the witnesses, and the jurymen who have all
been sitting about waiting, for the call of the calendar is, for one
hour's delay a large sum. The waste might be saved by an intelligent
bureau for the administration of court business which would have
absolute control over all calendar practice.

That the judge should delay a whole court-room full of people by being
late in opening court should not only be a matter of apology, but is
reprehensible to the extent of being multiplied by the number of
people he has kept waiting. On the other hand, the usual course of
proceeding being apparently with the object of dragging out the
business of the court, makes the tardiness of the judge seem only an
incident.

Fortunately there are few attorneys who make appearances in court
merely for the sake of adding another item on their bill to the
client, and the real delay in reaching a case is due more to the
confusion of administrative methods; until some more practical system