The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1871-04-01
Heavy Verdict Against the City.

Heavy Verdict Against the City.
The case of !S,cce1ey q Wife vs.. Tie City Of
Otay6, which had kcen taken on Il change
of venue from the La Sale County Court to the
Grundy Circuit Court was tried at Morris
last week and terminated on Monday in YER
dict against the city Tor s., 10000. The verdict
is most extraordinary one, and takes such
Of our citizens at least as know anything
about the case completely by surprise.
The facts are about as follows Ottawa,
wear and half ago, was blessed or cursed, Gas
the case may bc) by the possession OF one of
those irytyuitr physicians who advertise large
~ their ability to cure all diseases which the
regular profession make nc pretence OF being
able to cure, and this doctor" was visited by
n Mrs. Sweeley, who was afflicted with
paralysis in the hand. While undergoing
treatment, the woman one day passed in
front Of Cheeyer's block, (Which was pro-
vldcd, by the way, at the time, with,as good
sidewalk as can be made of two inch plank)
and happened to step into depression near
the outer edge, (where horse had recently
trodden down the end of q short piece Of
plank and got fall, in which the woman
alleged her weight fall on the afflicted hand.
No part of the hand or wrist was even spran-
ed, but the cure-al doctor" failing to help
the woman alleges, and on the trial we are told
swore over and over most vigorously, that the
shock the fall had given the nerve Of the arm
had expelled dispersed or from the hand the
accumulated electric virtue or healing force
which he had deposited there, and which,
but for this dispersion, would have effected
cure On the other hand, six regular physi-
clans, picked up promiscuously In Morris, tcs-
tilted positively, that the shock could not have
had more than temporary effect and that no
permanent injury could possibly result there
from. Tn evidence was also full that the
woman s nd was for some time after no
worse thar II was before the accident, so that
the whole verdict of the jury, and the enor-
nous damages awarded rest on che dlsper-
sion by the accident of the virtue supposed to
have been od ged in the hand by the h.cus-
pocus OF the doctor, and but tor which dis
persion cure would have been effected
The verdict is another illustration of the
saying that there Is nothing more capr;cious
and uncertain thar the verdict OF an ''intelli-
gent jury. If the courts, however, shalt sus-
tain the verdict in this case, for of course it
will be appealed all We have to say is, that
the precedent will open new and rich field
for quack doctors and paralytic patients
While Ottawa is beyond all reasonable
question outraged by this verdict, she is still
more outraged by the conduct of some of her
own citizens in reference to it. We hardly sup.
posed we had man among Us mean enough
to send away such a despatch as appeared in
the Chicago youraaL OF Tuesday in reference
to this trial, dated from Ottawa. That the
scurvy author ofthe despatch is not going
about on crutches is alone a sufficient evil
dencc that Ottawa has either good sidewalks
or cery hdrmltSS achiS&ey But the meanness
OF this scribbler is exceeded by the comments
OF the Ottawa EepVjlican on the case That
paper Is even more bitter and mcndacieus in
It's representation Of TIE condition of Ottawa,
by declaring 1t as world wide in its reputation
as "heaviiy taxed and miscrably sidewakcd
l.n,t.' In the forty years existence o. Otta.
Wa, the first case has yet to occur Of broken
limb 10 man, woman or child from defective
s"IW&IN. very true, our sidewalks might be
better; but they are no worse than can hc
found IN any other city of equal rilc in the