Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1881-10-06

In Frederick county, Md, about
1000 of the suits instituted by DIR.
Harrison Wagner, the professional lit
igant, against citizens of the county,
were settled, the defendants being com
PEELED to pay various sums, ranging
from $50 TO $40 in each case. The
operations of Wagner are without
parallel in the United States. About
two years ago he was generally con
sidered to be harmlessly insane. lis
actions we're 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 mag
istrate. and entering several hundred
suits for damages against leading citi-
zens, chosen at random in all parts of
the county, who had never seen or had
any dealings with him. The amount
of damages sued for in each for in
each case was between $50 and 500,
the limit for which suits can be
brought before magistrates in this
State. No attention was paid to the
supposed lunatic's suits, and the cases
were soon forgotten. 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 1879 Wagner disappeared
from public notice, but in the fall of
that year the entire community was
thrown into furor of excitment when
it was learned that Wagner had COM
menced proceedings to enforce judg-
ments in 1900 of the suits. 1t 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
for the amount named in the COM
plant. Wagner made no effort to col
lect the judgments until year had
expired, when by law the power of
appeal had lapsed. In November last,
therefore, he was possessed of 1,S00
judgments, averaging $1,000, against
about three hundred county residents
and corporations. Each judgment was
endorsed, "by default and mo appeal
TAKEN" and of course they amounted
to a lien on any property owned by
the defendants.
During Wagner's absence several
persons against whom he bad 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 bis victims, had
died and left an estate valued at
$500 to his wife and three small
children. Wagner filed judgments
against the estate amounting to So, 200
and the orphans court was compelled
to postpone the hearing of the claims
several times in order to avoid the
necessity of admitting their validity.
At length several citizens employed
counsel for 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 dragged along in the courts,
the indications pointing TO Wagner be-
ing eventually successful in enforcing
all Of them. The courts ruled that
the failure of the victims to contest
the suitS was in law q virtual acknowl-
edgment Of the justice of the claims,
while the further failure to take an
appeal from the magistrate within the
period prescribed by Law placed them
beyond remedy.
IAfter he had begun to enforce the
judgments Wagner found the county
tdb hot to hold him, and went to New
York city, where he now is. The pro-
ceediugs against bis victims have been
carried on by counsel there, and the
settlement made in nearly all the cases,
it Is thought, viii net him nearly s10,-
900. He does not pretend that he
, had any legal claim for damages in
any of the cases. yet he has succeeded
id obtaining considerable portions of
the estates Of several deceased resi-
dents Of the county, besides mulcting