Daily Kennebec journal., 1882-03-28
POWERS VS.. MITCHELL.
SAos1ng Day Of the Trial of This
Most Interesting Case.
synopsis Of Arguments of Coun.el.-Tbe
Judges Charge,

universal interest, and the court room b..
oeen thronged with intelligent and rss,ad
spectators during the progress of the trial.
Both plaintiff and defendant are we'll know,
IN the county, and the facts of the acc;den,
heed not be repeated. The plaintiff claim.
damages in sum of $40, ZOO, believing the in
Juries which she has sustained to be perma.
nent' and having been put to great expense
ior medical attendance. Orvile ID. Baker
Esq., senior counsel for the defence, began
MS closing argument at 1926. and spoke for
TWO hours and twenty minutes, holding the
closest attention Of the jury and audience.
Ills presentation of his clients case
was very strong, graceful and effective.
ar. Baker gave brief account of the acci
dent on State street, December 29th. 1879 in
which the plaintiff claims to, have sustained
INJURY. On the occasion of the collision Cant.
i'cheii made inquiries as to whether any
one had sustained injuries, and the answer
was that nobody was hurt. The lady went
nome, and 10 days afterwards consulted
physician. She then brings this lawsuit to
recover $4,000 damages from the defendant.
Captain Mitchell and his wife visited the
plaintiff at her residence, and made an effort
to compromise the matter by paving
reasonable sum for the trouble he
had caused her. But no settlement could he
reached. They would have $40 900 or nothing.
They would fall with one fell swoop upop
| Captain Mitchell and his hard-earned pror.
erty. The defendant has been pursued re-
lentlessly by the plaintiff and her influential
friends. But the law provides that before
the hunters can reach their prey, they must
| first pierce the shield of jury of II men.
The points in this case are simple They
are these: /. The defendant is not liable, be-
cause this accident was not caused by his
fault or negligence. This is not an action
for trespass, but for negligence. To establish
| their case it is incumbent upOn the prosecu-
ton to show that this accident, occurring pre-
| cisely as it did occur, was OccasiOned by the
fast driving and negligence Of Captain Mitch
ell. Mr.. Baker then argued that from all the
circumstances an accident at said time and
place was unavoidable and therefore the de-
| fendant is not liable. ,. We claim that
| this accident occurred, not only unavoidably
but that the plaintiff, at that point of time,
was not or could not have been injured as she
says. Mr.. Baker then argued from the evi-
| dence that whatever disease the plaintiff is
| suffering from now, if any, is not caused by
| the shock but from long series of violation
of natures laws in her sedentary employment
as seamstress and from other causes. Mr.
Baker, in closing produced the trim board Of
the plaintiff s sleigh, and claimed that the
trim board, after removing the cover, shows
marks made by the hold-back iron and thill
as they passed over it; that the end of the
| thill did not strike the back at all, but that
the break in the back of the sleigh was made
BY the string of bells hanging by one end of
the strap, the thill passing over the sleigh,
upsetting the defendant from right to left.
By this theory Miss Powers could not have
sustained the injury, as she claims; in fact
she could not have sustained any injury at all.
Judge Goddard began his plea by asking the
jury what it ought to cost a man who, in broad
daylight, in one of the principal streets of
the capital of the State, in sight of the Cap
itol itself, under the very shadow of this tenn
pie of Justice, converts State street into
race course, for the qualification of a foolish
desire to excel in horse racing. plunges pre-
cipitately against the back of this sleigh con-
tanning two inotfensive women. breaking in
the back of the sleigh and inIuring one OF
the ladies' so that she will be a hopeless and
helpless invalid for life. He could rely upon
the testimony of the defendant and his witness
es to proye all that was essential to entitle Miss
Powers to verdict: that there was co..
lision; that the defendant was driving at
rate of speed prohibited by the city ordinance;
that his conduct Immediately after the col
lision show ed that he considered himself re-
sponsible. AS he offered to pay for the dam
age inflicted upon the sleigh OF the plaintin'
| Counsel then went on to discuss the DEFEND
ants claim that there are no objective
symptoms in the case, and that the doctors
have to RELY entirely upon her statements as
=, what she is suffering now and has suffered
lie claimed that loss of flesh. restiessness
I and slptpeSSneSS anu NitRuiai "S"SeS
were objective symptoms. Judge Goddard
dwelt upon the good character OF Miss fow-
ers. her reputation for veracity, and asserted
that it was improbable that such woman
would attempt to extort $40, 600 from an inno-
cent man; and that it would be Impossible
for her, not being student of medicine, to
simulate the symptoms which she has descrio-
ed. Ii YOU should see this woman for
Is wears before this accident, enjoying good
health, and then Immediately after it broken
completelv down. what would be your natural
;nferencey Would it not he that her heaith was
shattered bv the accident? Can any honest
man doubt what has caused this sudden, dis-
astrous and permanent injury! Ihe pam
,if,-s musicians testify that her health mas
/ heen shattered and that she is far from oeihg
we'll woman. There can be no question
about the fact Of the injury. The counse'
claimed that the plaintiff was suffering ITO"
concussion of the spine, and that the 'es'
timony of medical experts corroborsfed TINS