Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1886-10-13

against the company IN such q manner
as to me seemed proper. conducted
the litigation to q successful conclusion
and the suits growingSout OF it having
in n form or another been carried
through the State courts, district and
supreme, and United States Circuit
Court and Supreme Court, andl Obtain-I
ed and collected from the company for
u city over $3.50, 900 for damages, costs
and accrued interest. And the same
company, having obtained the bonds OF
the city of Lake City to the amount OF
CT, 600, brought suit against that city to
recover, and was employed to defend and
did so acknowledgements q judgment
for the city. The sum which they could
have recovered in that suit would have
been almost s125, 000-had they recover
ed at all. '@ ~" -
HEAVY vERDIcrs woS
l have also recovered verdicts against
the Northern Pacific Railroad Company
for personal injuries, mi for the sum of
$4,000 and one for go, 600. The first
was cut down by the court TO SO. 600 and
after being carried through the circuit
court and supreme court of Dakota and
the United States supreme court was az
firmed for the above sum and interest
and costs, amounting to between S13,OOO
and S14, 600. The other, for $4,000. was
affirmed by the supreme court Of the ter
ritory for the full amount and is now
pending in the supreme court OF the
United States, by which, have not the
least doubt it will be affirmed. l have
also recovered many verd1cts and judg-
ments against other companies OF $1,000,
$1,000 and under. 49,. ..~
I believe that l can truthfnlly assert
and prove by the record. that l have col
lected very much more from the railroad
companies of the state than any other at
torney. in the state. And the record
shows, too, that in the most important
matters my acts have been unsel1sh and
without fee or reward except such reward
as l got as q member of the community
and by feeling that l have done my duty
fearlessly. .,,~
do not refer to the several verdicts
judgments to show, nor do l claim, that
the railroad companies are always wrong,
but merely to show the reason for their
opposition. While l believe 1 was right
in each case, l also believe that the coun-
sci opposed to me in each was equally
honest and conscientious. Such corpor-
atoms have an equal right to justice with
any and every other person. And he is
an unmitigated and shameless dema-
gogue who would assert that it was al
ways wrong to defend such companies
or bring suits for them. When the rail-
road company is right, it ought to be
defended. When wrong, it ought 10 be
compelled to respond in damages. The
only test in all such cases should be,
and with honest, honorable and intelli-
gent men always will be, did the attor-
ney deport himself honestly and honora-
bly,. And any man who will ask support
because he has successfully sued a rail-
road company or any other corporation
or n who will try to prejudice an adj
vcrsary simply because he has counselled
or defended q railroad company, insults
the people by assuming that they are be-
nightedly ignorant and prejudiced.
Railroad companies are a necessary part
of modern civilization. It is not wrong
to either build or operate them. But
inasmuch as concentrated capital has q
| power that if improperly used would be
most dangerous to the State and to the
individual members of society, it is prop
er that that
| POWER SHOULD BE MOST CAREFULLY AND
vIG1LANTLy GUARDED.
In all countries and under all forms of
| government the most important duty of
| the government is to protect and defend
the rights of the masses against the ag-
gressions of the wealthy and powerful
and especially of corporations and mo-
nopolies generally; and perhaps this duty
| has never been so imperative as now.
Not only does my record show that l
have %sympathized with the people as
| against the improper influences and exer-
tiOns of corporate power n centralized
capital, but l may be permitted to say
that it clearly shows that l have, accord
ing to my best Judgment and ability, dill
igently and always stood up for the rights
Of the people against all forms of attack
| by sharpers and those who wish to make
money by their acts at the expense of the
people in disregard of justice. '.-s- -.
A few years ago We were overrup by
swarm of patent right sharks, who, by
all sorts of trickery and fraud, swindled
honest and unsuspecting people. They
attacked the people to-day by one spe-
cies of fraud, tomorrow by another.
! Soon after l left the bench I found that
nearly $50, 900 of patent right notes of
! citizens of Houston. Fillmore, Winona
| and Omsted were held by a resident Of
Winona. They all had been purchased
before they grew due and suit was brought
on a number of. them. They had all
been obtained by some fraudulent prac-
tice. The defendants applied to me for
counsel. l tried and won the cases and
not one dollar of the notes was collected.
In all this l deserve no credit; for it is
just what any. intelligent, conscientious
lawyer would have done. But l may be
! permitted to say that in one of the suits
carried to the supreme court of our
State Commons vs. Thompson, IS Min
nesota Reports, p. 246) certain principles
were settled that greatly crippled that
class of swindlers. But l did not stop
there. l drew and carried through the
Legislature, o bill which gave to the de-
PENDANTS in such suits the right to prove
that such notes were obtained by fraud
and thus defeat the action whether the
notes were in the hands of the original
payee or not. 1:. .
I not only drew this bill and got it
through the senate of which I was a
member, but l followed lt.into the house
where it was earnestly opposed by GER
tain bankers and dealers in such paper
and aided in its passage through that
body. Since that bill became q law, pa
tent right swindlers have rarely been
head of in this state, I believe-and it
would be fruitless for them to come here.
I thus practically did away with litiga-
ton on that class Of cases, to the great
detriment of those of my professional
brethren and especially of those who are
accustomed to take them ION the halves"
SUITS o THE FARMERS. =,
A few years ago our farmers storing
grain in warehouses had only the Pc
cuniary responsibility of the warehouse
men, where the grain was not stored in
a special bin. If the gram. was shipped
out by the warehouseman in such case,
he was irresponsible; the farmer suffered
the loss. This was a crying evil. Idrew
the first bill. Offered In the legislature to
make it penal for a warehouseman to
| ship out grain stored with him without
the written consent of the owner. This
bill I gave to q member of the legislature
from Winona county to be introduced.
and it was by him introduced. 1t did
not pass that year; but the next year it
~ ~1s-N.A1. ---lSC~l E.. O.