By MATT CHANDLER
Buffalo Law Journal

After an extensive tutorial from a reference librarian at the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, I took my seat at the microfilm machine, armed with boxes of film taking me back eight decades into the written word of the Buffalo Law Journal.

As the staff reporter for the paper, I found this interesting on several levels: first, to see how reporting the news has evolved through the years; second, to feed my writer ego by comparing how I stacked up against those who put paper to pen before me; and third, to see how the core issues our readers have followed have changed through the years.

Think about that last one. Surely what sold papers in 1933 is no longer relevant in 2009?

The hours I spent spinning the reels of the old machine, coupled with a trip into the bowels of the Lafayette Court Building to explore our own archives, gave me a snapshot history lesson of legal life in Buffalo - and beyond - for the past 80 years.

Though I would imagine a book could be written on the subject, for the sake of brevity, I've boiled 80 years of front pages into three categories that I believe sum up the words found for many years on the paper's banner: "News You Cannot Get Anywhere Else."

The more things change ...

The fashions, technology and hairstyles may change, but a look at these headlines and story excerpts will show you that the news doesn't.

• February 1943, Buffalo Daily Law Journal: Tobacco Taxes Possible Lucrative Source of Replacement Revenue
Tobacco tax laws are attracting attention of 1943 legislators in their search for replacement revenues, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators.

• August 2008, Buffalo Business First: Seneca Leader blasts tax bill
Lately, the troubled U.S. economy has been opening potholes along the Senecas' business paths ... leading a down-and-out New York state to pursue what it sees as a potential $400 million-a-year revenue stream - the taxation of cigarettes sold by Indian retailers to non-Indian customers.

• March 1933, Buffalo Daily Law Journal: Beer Taxes Offset Income Tax Losses
Thanks to the productivity of the beer tax, miscellaneous internal revenue should yield the government $822,232,000 for the year.

• May 2006, Buffalo Business First: Brewers Lobbying Feds to Lighten Beer Tax:
Most people don't realize about 40 percent of the cost of a glass or bottle of beer is tax. Beer is taxed three times before it gets into the hands of the customer.

• February 1934, Buffalo Daily Law Journal: Warning Sounded on Extended Mortgages
Necessity of a new policy in the mortgage loan business which would extend the principle of long-term repayment, restrain real estate speculation and promote more prudent practices by both borrower and lender is noted in the current issue of The Index, publication of the New York Trust Company.

• November 2008, Buffalo Law Journal: Congress weighing foreclosure relief legislation
Foreclosures continue to outpace efforts to modify mortgages, prompting calls for the federal government to provide more robust relief to struggling homeowners. October foreclosure filings were 25 percent higher than in 2007, with nearly 280,000 properties reported.

Unless, of course, things actually do change

Fear not, there is some actual progress reflected in the last 80 years of headlines. OK, maybe "progress" isn't the right word, but there were certainly a few headlines that today would be considered laughable.

• February 1933, Buffalo Daily Law Journal: Jobless Insurance is Called Unsound
National unemployment insurance is actuarily and practically unsound, the legislative committee of the New York Board of Trade believes.

• January 2009, Buffalo Business First: House passes economic stimulus bill
The bill would extend unemployment benefits and give unemployed workers subsides for health care coverage.

• May 1943, Buffalo Daily Law Journal: War Manufacturers Are Not Making Exorbitant Profits, Survey Indicates
Belief that large producers of munitions and war materials are making exorbitant profits out of the war effort still persist in some quarters, despite the wealth of evidence to the contrary according to the National City Bank.

• October 2008, Associated Press: Gov't probes US defense contractor over payments
In July 1999, Combat Support Associates was selected for a Camp Doha support contract, a 10-year deal potentially worth $547 million. In March 2003, when U.S. forces invaded Iraq, demand for the company's maintenance and repair services increased dramatically as bases across Kuwait became hubs of activity for American troops. The value of the contract ballooned as well: $2.2 billion has been spent between 1999 and 2008 on the Combat Support Associates contract.

Front-page material?

Finally, for those of you who appreciate news on the lighter side, here are a few Law Journal nuggets worth revisiting:

• May 1933: Substitutions Made in Jail Sentences
Back in Civil War days, wealthy men paid others to substitute for them in the Army. Nowadays, wealthy men (that is, the bootleggers and racketeers) pay others to go to jail for them.

• June 1943: Legislature Refuses To Make Insanity a Ground for Divorce
Legislation to make incurable insanity a ground for divorce was defeated by the House of Representatives. "When we marry, we take a vow to cherish our mate until they die, not to cherish them until they go insane," asserts Rep. Austin Knetzger.

Had the legislation passed, it would have required the spouse to financially support the insane person and wait until he or she had been in a mental hospital for seven years before filing for divorce.

Last, but certainly not least, is my favorite news bite from the issues I looked at, a notice that ran for several days on Page 1 of the Buffalo Daily Law Journal, from 1943:

• Notice to Attorneys: A gray soft Mallory (Hat Co.) hat has been left in the Erie County Clerk's office. Owner may have same by identifying it to Deputy County Clerk Edwin B. Kenngott.

As I scrolled the microfilm and saw this notice running day after day, I thought it spoke volumes as to the integrity of our lawyers circa 1943. After all, given the parameters of retrieval, what kept anyone in need of a good quality hat from having the following conversation:

"Good morning, Mr. Kenngott. I seem to have lost my hat."

"Would you be able to describe it for me, sir?"

"Why, of course. It is a Mallory, gray, and it is incredibly soft."

"Indeed, we found one that fits that description perfectly. Here you are, sir."

With hat firmly upon his thieving head, the lawyer would walk out the front door of the office likely wondering the same thing I was as I read this notice - a lost hat qualifies for page-one news?