Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1892-07-22
TAKERS FROM TALKvILLE.
A Tale of Tenement Life as Shown in
Squire Phillips Court.

Squire Phillips Court.
An inscrutable Providence looked
down upon a rather narrowing tale of
tenement life as related in Squire Phil
lips' Court Yesterday afternoon. People
passing by the office heard conglom-
Grafton of sounds as though of voices
rapidly intermingling and over tapping,
and walking within were ushered into
a confusion Of tongues. There was
enough talking and excitement for
case involving a two million slice OF the
the Northern Pacific. yet not even a
red" was wrapped up In the imbroglio.
1t was a case where domestictty was
at vari ance In a double-decked doml-
cile.
1t seems that out on Nineteenth street
there is house numbered l39. IL is
two-story double tenement house with
three rooms on each floor. George Au-
ten and family occupy the fat next to
the earth, while Jacob Meagle and wife
reyel, or rather try to revel in domestic
bliss on the second floor. But for some
time it seems there has been discord In
the tenement, largely brought about by
Mrs. Auten on the lower floor, who for
some unknown cause has had playful
fancy of locking the outside door at in
opportune times. Now this door leads
in common TO both tenements, and the
people upstairs have been annoyed, as
they claim beyond reason. 1t was also
claimed that the Auten woman blocked
up the hallway, exercised undue author
ity over the yard, allowed her children
TO cut up all manner OF caperS,
and used abusive language, making
life burden to the tenants above. The
Meagles said they stood it to a point
where forbearance ceases to be virtue,
and yesterday Jacob Meagle swore out
o warrant against Mrs. Auten for dis
turbing the peace, and she was ar
raigned before Squire Phillips. And
here was where the picnic enSued.
There was gathered on the scene the
defendant, Mrs. George Auten, her
husband and the plaintiff, Mr.. Meagle
and his better half, along with a small
girl, and a large son, belonging to the
Auten family, also the landlord. The
Auten woman is wiry parsonage,
with fierce eye, and she rained food
of words upon the Court, constantly
refuting an corroborating things said
by the others present. The plaintiff,
Mr.. Meagle, was not slow, aud he
struck ont from the shoulder with
remarkable frequency, assisted now
and then by his helpmeet, who
unwound with dramatic effect. To ill
the bill, Mrs. Auten'S husband Clipped
in constantly and had several wrangles
with the landlord and the plaintiff, and
not to be left in the cold, Mrs. Auten's
two children swung around with side
flank and yipped out some awful things.
There were times when the entire seven
were talking at once, and at no time
did less than three have the floor at the
same time.
For a solid half hour the babel Of
voices ran on and it would take a
philosopher to catch the line of argu-
ment. All the details of domestic life
in both families, from the borrowing OF
coffee and tea to the kicking OF the
family cat, was unraveled
in graphic style, and nothing
could equal it outside of Harrigan's
stage production of the "Squstter Sow
ereignty." Can Mrs. Auten talk?
Well, three to one she can break an
iron photograph.
During all this time that the wrangle
was going on Squire Philips was en-
gagged in making out the bond, which
Mrs. Auten was politely requested to
sign. She was placed under bonds in
the SUN of 500 TO keep the peace for
six months. She kicked vociferously
about signing, and when through she
fred the pen down with great vehe-
mence. She remarked incidentally as
she left, "Yon're not giving no law,
Mr.. Philips; that amt no good law, at
all: aud I'll jest go now and git that
Meagle woman placed Under bond,
too. 1 WILL"