Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1878-01-30
CTRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE.
A Case Where it Seemed Strong, but
Turned out Very Weak.
Rochester n. " Express.

Shortly after the Ashtabula accident
Il Mrs. Weber, of this town, vino is q
poor woman with two children, appear
ed 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 COM
pany on her behalf, to recover the five
thousand dollars which the law allows
in such cases. The evidence which she
offered in proof of her husbands sad
fate, was only of a circumstantial na-
ture, as nothing was ever found Of the
body, which is 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
a key, for Mr.. Weber. Another key
fitted exactly a chest which she had,
while still another of the keys fitted eX-
actly to the lock Oh the door. But the
strongest proof of all which she had
discovered was q piece of cloth which
she had recognized as having been part
of her dead husbands 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 December, while another
gentleman testified to seeing him take
the train at Buffalo which went to ruin
at Ashtabula
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 Il well-known and kind
hearted gentleman of this city, she being
too poor to avail herself Of the benefits
of the law without aid. When the rail
road attorneys were confronted with the
proofs of the plaintiffs case they at
once advised a settlement with her for
$4,000, or 81 600 less than she claimed.
But she wanted her $1,000 or nothing,
and then the railroad company's law
yers concluded to let the matter 90 be-
fore the courts. AS is well known, the
mills of the Goddess Of Justice grind
very slowly, and time passed on.
The investigations concerning the
fate of the husband were continued, and
among other things it was ascertained
that he had been sent by General Mar
tindale, his former superior officer in
the army, to a pension home, either in
Dayton, Ohio, or a similar institution in
Wisconsin. 1t was afterward ascer-
tanned that the general had sent him to
the pension home in Wisconsin, several
days previous to the Ashtabula disaster
very important disclosure that a man
of his name, answering his description
exactly, and who stated that he had a
wife and two children in Rochester, was
still alive and safe in that institution,
and that he had not been near Ashta-
bula 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 disbursement, as the poor wo
man is too poor to repay him. The
CAST - IL ulOoe tIlldl>dDiG one, lOWSNCI,
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
mistaken. Of course, the PLAINTIFF
lawyers feel much chagrined over the
ridiculous result Of their efforts. 1t
certainly is y strange case Of Enoch
Ardenism in new vein.