The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1878-01-31
Weakness Of Circumstantial Evidence.

Shortly after the Ashtabula accident
Mrs. Webber, of this town, who is a
poor woman with two children, APP
peared in the Office of a well-knoWn
lawyer, and, stating that she had every
reason to believe that her husband had
been killed in that disaster, requested
him to begin suit against the railroad
company ON her behalf to recover the
five thousand dollars which the law al
lows in such cases. The evidence
which she offered in proof of her hus-
bands sad fate was only of circum-
stantial nature, as nothing was ever
found of the body, which was supposed
to have been burned. She had been to
Ashtabula, and in the debris of the
wrecked train she had found bunch
of keys which she positively recognized
as having been in the possession of her
husband. One of these keys, in further
proof, she had ascertained, exactly
fitted the clock in her house, and an
Auburn man was ready to swear that
he made just such key for Mr.. Web
Der. Another key fitted exactly a chest
which she had, while still another of
the keys fitted exactly to the lock on
the door. But the strongest proof of
all which she had discovered was a
piece of cloth which she lad recognized
as having been part of her dead hus-
bands coat. The proof by no means
stopped here, however. A well-known
physician of this city testified that he
rode to Buffalo on the same train with
the deceased on the fatal goth of De-
cember; while another gentleman testi-
fed to seeing him take the train at
Buffalo which went to ruin at Ashta-
bula.
With this all but positive proof that
the husband was among the victims of
the disaster, the suit was begun, the
funds enabling her to carry it on being
supplied by we'll known and kind
hearted gentleman of this city, she be-
ing too poor to avail herself of the ben
efits of the law without aid. When the
railroad company's attorneys were
confronted with the proofs of the
plaintiffs case they at once advised
settlement with her for $4,000, or
1000 less than she claimed. But she
wanted her $4,000 or nothing, and then
the railroad company's lawyers con-
cluded to let the matter go before the
courts. As is well known, the mills of
the Goddess of Justice grind very slow
ly, and time passed on.
The Investigations concerning the
fate of the husband were continued,
and among other things it was ascer-
tanned that he had been sent by Gen.
Martindale, his former superior officer
in the army, to a Pension Home, either
in Dayton, Ohio, or similar institu-
ton in Wisconsin. 1t was afterward
ascertained that the General had sent
him to the Pension Home in Wisconsin
several days previous to the Ashtabula
disaster, and this fact soon brought to
light the very important disclosure that
man of his name, answering his de-
scription exactly, and who stated that
he had wife and two children in
Rochester, was still alive and safe in
that institution, and that he had not
been near Ashtabula at the time of the
disaster
OF course this knocked the suit
against the railroad company in the
head; the poor woman is out $4,000,
and the kind-hearted citizen who adj
vanced the funds to carry on the suit is
out his disbursements, as the woman is
too poor to repay him. The case is a
most remarkable one, however, from
the very fact that no person doubts the
entire truthfulness of the witnesses
whose evidence formed the basis on
which the suit was commenced, but
who nevertheless must have been mis-
taken. Of course the plaintiffs law
yers feel much chagrined over the
ridiculous result of their efforts. 1t
certainly is strange case of " Enoch
Ardenism'' in new vein.-Rochester
m Y ! E1Drese