Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1880-07-08
A CITY in Two States.

Union City, although called in In
diana, is in two States. AS the greater
part of the corporation lies in the State
of Indiana, Randolph county, and the
postoffice is there, Indiana gets the
credit of 1t all. 1t has two mayors, one
on each side Of the meridian which
forms the boundary between the two
States. When they are both good The
city has an abundance of good things.
When they are bad they can stand on
opposite sides of the line, make mouths
at each other across it, and dare each
other to come over. As rule the line
is strong enough to keep them apart.
Two years or more ago Frank Swallow,
of Indiana, dared Joe Williamson, of
Ohio, to invade the sanctity Of the soil
OF Indiana. Joe was unreasonable, and
refused or neglected to comply so long
as Frank stood drawn up in line on the
other side to give him reception suita-
BILE to his rank and station. Neither Of
them was mayor. or is ever likely to be.
A boulder about that time suddenly
emigrated from Indiana into Ohio. Will
hamson's head was directly in its path,
and got the benefit of the full heft of the
frantic stone, momentum and all. His
head was no m latch for that, so over he
went, assaulted and battered, and en-
tiEed to remedy at law. Swallow was
suspected, in fact charged with assist
ing that boulder in emigrating. But
the assault and battery was an awfully
compound case. It occurred in two
States, or the assault occurred in one
State and the battery In another; or the
complex compound act, considered as
one whole, occurred in two States, con-
sidered as two sovereignties, or else in
one definite portion of space comprised
in limited portion of two States viewed
as theqter of the melancholy event.
The situation turned out to be SO be-
wildering, confusing and tangled up
generally that all the legal ability, judi
cial and lay, in that quarter of the two
States has been unable to disentangle
the case, so that it might be considered
open for the action of a court. What
court? There arises question. Well,
the stubborn problem remains ursolved.
While the assailant escapes punishment
the assailed lives on without the salts
faction of having been avenged, and the
loyal citizens of two sovereign States
every day suffer from the mortifying
consciousness of two majesties of the
law unsustained.
But the law of compensation holds
good here. There is man on the Ohio
side whose stable is within 100 feet Of
the State line, and Tor the last six years
he hasn't dared to ride his pony over
into Indiana except by stealth. That
man owes debt and his creditor, an
Indianian, has an attachment for that
pony which he cannot put into practice
unless the debtor voluntarily brings the
said pony over from Ohio into Indiana,
and his aforesaid creditor finds it out
and can lay hands on tie animal For
six years this Ohio man has been
watched in vain. Only once did he
ride his pony over into Indiana, and
then to a funeral, but he got back over
tbe line before the clutches of the law
could be applied to his favorite. As a
rule the officers of the two corporations
work in harmony. frequently chases
occur ludicrous enough. The people
not seriously interested enjoy the
comedy