New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-05-21
A Question Of Laz.

u "
the we'll known lawyer, the other day'
when the judge had time to listen to III -
said: -
"Judge, my name 10 Scudder. Icsl>lA
see you about dog case that kiAdsr LS1|
wilders me, and thought maybe ~
might throw some light on her-mieht -
give mo the law points SOS I'd h~N
whether it was worth suing or not. C.
"Well, Judge, you see me and -
named Potts went into partnership 9
dog. We bought him. He vas . -
and me and Potts went shares on hin T.
to take him out hunting. was nsve ~
actly settled which halt of him ov,s;.1
and which half belonged to PotA y
somewhat / kinder formed an idea X -
own mind that the hind end was Scudl,2sJ
and the front end Potts. ,Consea uenoe ~
that when the dog barked alwsys ~
There goes Potts half exercising ~
and when the dogs tail wagged I Az n
considered that my end was being agitaa3 =
And of course when one of my hind = %
scratched one Of Potts ears or one q VI
shoulders was perfectly sstiefied; frsk
cause that sorter thing was good foe 4
would get about even when Potts be -
would reach around and bite q flea 81 7 h
my hind legs or snap ct fly. A
'WelE things went along smooth ens,i y
for while. until one day that dog begaaS 4
get into the habit of running around A. n
his tail. He was the foolishest dog A.
that ever see. Used to chase his tail roel
and round until he'd get so giddy he couldIA
bark. And You know I was skeered lest y
might hurt the dogs health, and a. Pr i
didn't seem to be willing to keep his q
from circulating in pursuit Of my end,
made up my mind to chop the dogs tail Z y
sn,o to yuaka him rofovvsn and heh>-. u
last Saturday l caused the dog to back 3 Z
again log, and then suddenly dropped =
AZ on his tail, pretty close up, and the NJ
minute he was booming around that n q
yowling ike . boat load of Wild -
just then Potts came up, and Let on to 3
mad because I'd cut off that tail. O.
word brought on another, and pretty - p
Potts sicked that dog on me-my own ~ n
too, mind you-and the dog bit me in =
leg; bit piece out. See that; look st e
leg! About half . pound gone; cot up b
that dog.
':Now, what I want to zee Won ab~t
Judge, 10 this: Can't l recover dana ]
for assault and battery from Potts WI
/ chopped of belonged to me, recollect. I
owned an undivided half of that setter %
from the tip Of his tail clear up to bis TIL 1
rib. and had right 10 cut away o. muA J
of it as I'd Q mind to: while Potts, beiw
the sole owner of the dogs head, is reeponi
BILE when he bites any body"
II don't know" replied the Judge mae
ingly. There haven't been any decisoM
on cases exactly like this. But what does
Mr. Potts say upon the subject"
why, Potts view is that I divided tn
dog the wrong way. When he wsnta b
map out his half he draws line from tn
middle Of the nose, right along the spips
and clear to the end Of the tail. That give
me one hind leg and one fore leg, and
makes him joint proprietor in the tail. And
he says that if l wanted to cut off nv hall
of the tail l might have done it, and b
wouldn't have cared; but what made hin
mad was that l wasted his property with
out consulting him. But that theory seen
to me Q little strained, and if it's Legal
why am going to close out my half of ii
dog at sacrifice sooner than hold anyk
terest in him on those principles. Nos
what do You think about itr'
well" said the Judge, II can hardly u
eide 3D. important question off-hand ID
at the first glance my opinion ia that N
own the whole dog and that Potts IL
owns the whole dog. So when he bites ym
. suit won't lie against Potts, and tho ont
thing You can do to obtain Justice is b
make the dog bite Potts also. As for IL |
tail, when it is separated from the dog It'll |
no longer the dogs tail, and it is not word /
fighting about"
Cant sue Potts, you sayq"
II think not"
Cant get damages for the meat that
been bit out of met
II hardly think you can"
"Well, well, and yet they talk aboa
American civilization and temples of ,justiu 4
and such things! All right. Let it 60. I 4
kin stand it. but don't any body ever undsr
take to tell me that the law protects ht q
man beings in their rights. Good morning
Judge"
wait q moment, Mr.. Scudder." said til
Judge, you've forgotten my fee.'
"F-ff.fee! Why, you don't charge any
thing when don't cue, do youg'
dollars"
Ten dollars! Ten dollars! Why, Judg
mats Just what paid for my half of ths
dog. l haven't got fifty cents to my nam
but ~ tell you what I'll do. I'll max
over all my rights in that setter pup to you'll
and you kin 60 round and fight it ont With
Potts. II that dog bites me agin Ill sue|
der!"
Potts owns the whole dog now and Scud
der goes without one.-Philadelphia b.
letin.