, 1890-01-04
M'BRlDE MADE HAPPY.
A Compromise With the Injured
Union Pacific Employee.
Close of a Heavy Damage Suit
Commenced In 1884.
How a Man of Perfect Physique
Was Made a Sad Wreck.


stricken from the docket of the first Judi
cial district, where the first entry was
made In 1884.
A settlement was affected yesterday by
Attorneys Campbell & Stoll and their
client, the defendant and Corlett, Lacey
& Riner. for the company. The. amount
paid Mcbride has not been made public,
but is said to be liberal. His suit was for
s25, 900.
HOW HE WAS INJURED.
John Mcbride, who had before been a
healthy man of great vigor, strength and
powers OF endurance. was made a sad
physical wreck at the Union Pacific shops
in this city Nov. 81. 1888. while engaged
in the performance of his duties as a
helper or laborer. He and three other
men and a boy were under
the direction of Harry Stubs,
a gang boss. lowering an engine which had
been ION the stocks" to the track, the
repairs having been completed. The To-
connective was raised a few inches at a
time by jack screws and pieces of timber
removed. Then the monster was let
down to the next tier of supports. This
temporary foundation was OF enormous
squared logs.
When the wheels rested on the track,
but two timbers remained. These were
lengthy and weighed about $50 pounds
each. The last was to be removed when
Stubs ordered away the man opposite
Mcbride, leaving only the boy. Mcbride
pulled the timber toward himself while
the lad pnshed. When the burden ad.
vanced the end nearest the boy fell into
the pit on account OF its weight. This
caused the end held by the man to fly up
with great rapidity and force. 1t struck
the plaintiff under the chin, threw him
up to the engine AMI forced his head
against the driving rod with great vio-
lence.
The effects upon Mcbride OF the acct
dent were of the most serious character.
Several teeth were knocked out and his
iawbone shattered. The greatest in
iuries, however. were internal. ''disor-
gaDizing," as an expert testified, the
cerebellum and medulla ~obiongata and
rendering the plaintiff an object of pity
to those who knew him and an object of
curiosity to strangers. The seat of a
part of these internal injuries is the cere-
bellum. that part of the brain in which
the coordination Of voluntary movements
takes place; that is to say, if one desires,
for instance, to place his foot in a certain
place, his ability to do so results from
this particular part of the brain CO ordi-
mating such desire with such movement.
From the injury in this part of the brain
Mcbride is forced to stagger about
like q drunken man, being ut
terIy ! unable to control his steps
and being compelled to shuttle and sham
BILE along in a zig gag course, almost IN
conscious of moving at all. The seat of
the other part of the internal injury is in
the medulla oblongata, the connecting
part between the spinal cord and the
cerebellum, and in which the centers of
the nerves of hearing, seeing, tasting and
smelling are supposed to have their ORR
gin. From injuries here the victim of
the accident became almost deaf and
blind. There is a buzzing in his head
continually and he is frequently sick at
the stomach. He is subject to attacks Of
vertigo. His injuries are permanent"
Mcbride was 81 years of age when the
accident occurred.
THE LEGAL HISTORY.
Walter R. Stoll commenced an action
against the Union Pacific on behalf Of
Mcbride June 81, 1884. but trial of the
case did not begin until Juuc IS, 1886.
A special verdict was returned by the
jury the first of July, 1886.
This special verdict was somewhat pc.
culiar, but presumably in accord with the
instructions of the court. Here is the
final clause: That if on the facts the
finding should be for the plaintiff we find
tor the plaintiff and assess his damages at
the sum of s25, 600. If on The facts the
finding should be for the defendant, we
find for the defendant"
In pursuance of this verdict the de.
PENDANTS counsel filed a motion for the
judgment mentioned. This was over,
ruled July Is, 1886.
Motions for a new trial were made and
denied July 10.
A bill OF exceptions was presented and
allowed. The case was carried to the su.
preme court and a new trial ordered.
This was the status of the case when yes
terday's settlement was made.
The chief question in the trial was the
relation OF Stubbs to the company. There
was a determined effort on the plaintiff
side to establish that he was a foreman in
charge of specific work. while the de
PENDANT held that Stubs was only a
fellow workman with Mcbride. Or
this subject the Jury said. Stubs was
a gang boss and had immediate control
OF the men. The settlement of the case
demonstrates that Stubs was in author
ity and was mainly responsible for the ae-
cident.