Huntsville gazette., 1883-11-10
The Value Of a Man.

Men are estimated largely at their pc
cuniary value in these days, and the
pocket-book is too often taken as the
measure of mans worth. But there
is a sense in which men are worth much
more, even pecuniarily, than the mere
amount of money they possess or can
command A reference to certain judi
cial eases will explain this statement
The other day mans eye was put out
by another, and he sued for damages.
and was awarded $4, 500. THIS gives us
a starting point in estimating the man. s
real value. The other eye, being now
compelled to do the work OF both, is
certainly worth to that man $4,000.
For the two eyes, then, $500 seems to
be fair valuation.
In the case of Smith VS.. the A., B.
and c. Railroad Company for damages
sustained by the loss of leg at the
knee, caused by negligence on the part
of the employees of the company, plain
tiff recovered S15, ZOO and costs. In this
case the remaining leg could not per-
form the work of both, and its value can
not be put at more than $4,000. A
mans two legs may, therefore, accord
ing to the highest legal authority, be
counted worth $4,000.
Another interesting suit was that OF
Thompson vs. the Wimposkeag Milling
Company. Thompson was engaged in
defendants mill, and, through no fault
of his own, one of his arms was caught
in the machinery and made into cotton
goods. He brought suit for $4,000,
but recovered only $4,000. 1t was his
right arm that was taken off. but he has
since learned to shave himself, sign his
name. cui his food and do other useful
and necessary things with the left; so
that it is of more value to him now than
the right arm alone formerly was. A
fair estimate OF its worth, on the basis
of the judicially ascertained value of
the other arm, would probably be about
$4,000.
We have endeavored to fix the value
of an ear and a nose in she same way;
but these members are generally re-
moved under circumstances which make
it prudent for the injured party not to
bring suit; and we can find no better
measure of their value than the cost of
a new and improved member of papier-
mache-say 800 for the three. 1t is
difficult also to put an appraisal on
mans hair. Persons who have been
scalped can not carry the matter to the
courts, as the wild Indian is not citi-
zen, nor amenable to civil law. A wig,
however, costs in the neighborhood of
fifty dollars.
Reckoning up, we find that a mans
hair, nose, ears. eyes. arms and legs
are worth together at least $74,6
This is calculated to give one new and
increased idea of his personal worth. If
these mere appendages, every one Of
which a man may loose and yet go on
living, be worth so much, what must be
the value of his entire body? Right
here comes in one of the anomalies of
the law. The New York Leg
islature, in the exercise of its
supreme wisdom, has declared that
man is worth only $4,000.
That is all the Long Island Company
had to pay for the corpses made by their
recent disaster. So that it pays to kill
a man outright; for taking off one of
his legs may cost more than killing him,
even including Coroner's fees and fu-
neral expenses. We call attention to
this apparent conflict of legal authority,
not attempting to explain it save by the
suggestion that, perhaps, one of a man S
eyes is worth as much to himself as the
whole man is to his surviving friends. -
AZ. Y. Mail