Connecticut western news., 1881-09-28
WAGNER'S 2,OOO VICTIMS.
The Persons he Sued in Maryland
 for Damages Without Cause.

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 A letter from Frederick, Frederick county, Md, says: About 2,000 of the suits instituted by Dr. Harrison Wag- ner, the professional litigant, against citizens of this county, were settled, the defendants being compelled to pay vari, ous sums, ranging from $50 to $75 in each case. The operations of Wagner are without parallel in the United States. About two years ago he was considered to be harmlessly insane. His actions were calculated to confirm this theory, and his eccentricities were re- garded with indifference by every one who knew him.
 In the fall of 1879 Wagner caused much amusement by going before an obscure country magistrate, and enter ing several hundred suits for damages against leading citizens, chosen at ran- dom in all parts of the county, who had never seen or had any dealings with him. The amount of damages sued for in each case was between $90 and $100, the limit for which suits can be brought before magistrates in this State No at tention was paid to the supposed luna tics suits, and the cases were soon for gotten, but were several times recalled to memory by notices of hundreds of other suits being brought by Wagner, who frequently entered as high as one hundred claims against one person.
 Early in 1880 Wagner disappeared from public notice, but in the fall of that year the entire community was thrown into furor of excitement when it was learned that Wagner had com menced proceedings to enforce judg- ments in 1,9OO of the suits. It was then learned for the first time that the persons sued, having failed to appear before the magistrate to answer, judg' ments had been entered in each case fol the amount named in the complaint. Wagner made no effort to collect the judgments until a year had expired, when by law the power of appeal had elapsed. In November last, therefore, he was possessed of 1,8O0 judgments, averaging $75 each, against about BOG county residents and corporations. Each judgment was indorsed, "By de- fault" and "No appeal taken" and oi course they amounted to lien on any property owned by the defendants.
 During Wagner's absence several per sons against whom he had obtained judgments died, and his first move was to file the judgments in the Orphans Court as claims against the estate. Martin Shank, one of his victims, had died and left an estate valued at $S, ,50( 1 to his wife and three small children Wagner filed judgments against the estate amounting to $6,200, and the Orphans Court was compelled to post pone the hearing of the claims severa times in order to avoid the necessity o admitting their validity. At length several citizens employed counsel fol Mrs. Shank, who filed an application for an arrest of judgment on the ground of fraud. The same policy was pursued by all the other victims, and since that time the cases have been dragging along in the courts, the indications pointing to Wagner being eventually successful in enforcing all of them.
 The courts ruled that the failure ol the victims to contest the suits was ir law a virtual acknowledgement of the jus tice of the claims, while the further failure to take an appeal from the magis trate within the period prescribed by law placed them beyond remedy.
 After he had begun to enforce the judgments Wagner found the county toe hot to hold him, and proceeded to New York City, where he now is. The pro ceedings against his victims have beer carried on by counsel here, and the set clement made in nearly all the cases, i is thought, will net him nearly $1O, 1000 He does not pretend that he ever hat any legal claim for damages in any O the cases, yet he has succeeded in ob taining considerable portions of the es tates of several deceased residents of thu county, besides mulcting hundreds o farmers of hard-earned money.