The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1892-12-05

This mornings session OF the Su-
| perior Court convened ut 10 o'clock.
with Judges Houston and Cullen on
the ben9h.
A Jury was drawn to try the case Of
Joseph Qulnn. administrator OF the
estate OF Harry Peace,y vs.. the johnson
Forge Co.
The plaintiff was represented by
blrd aud Stnborn and the defendants
by Benjamln Nlelds.
This Is a case to recover dnnnnas
Tor injuries received by Peace. who
finally committed suicide on account
OF Tho injuries received at the com
pany'5 works by reason OF a defectiy q
crane. After Mr.. Bird made his omen
Ing to the jury, he exhibited To tho
Court and Jury model OF tho crane
used by tho defendants, when tho
plaintiff was injured.
The accident occurred on Julv 20
1891, and for months afterwards Peace
was u cripple and seriously affected.
William Pitt testified that he had
boon working for the johnson Forge
Company about II months as a roller,
before the accident occurred. He had
been engaged in the business Tor 80
years previously to tho time that he
engaged with that company, and Ia
now employed In Ohio. On tho day
~ Wv uSGihohb lhclc was u ldEQ0
10 DO lifted and placed elsewhere
William Quinn was assisting Peace TO
raise the roll, which weighed about
IOU0 pounds. The Witness was four feet
from the crane when they com menced
to work IT, The roll was raised within
short distance OF it's bed, when he
heard Quinn say look out Harry it s
slipping
Tho witness looked at onoe and saw
hi L. oil Il
roll on Peace's back. lie had never
seen Peace work on the crane before.
neither had he ever seen as much
weight lifted on crane OF that kind.
The crane was defective in several re.
speets all OF which the witness de-
serlbed from the model. The handl es
OF the crane were also loose and unfit
Tor work. He considered the crane
dangerous and unit to work. The
next morning after the accident the
company had the crane repaired, and
put II In complete order.
In hls opinion the crane was badly out
OF order, The cog5 were also out OF
order, and the witness could push
them from the slow to tho rast gear,
with his thumb. Peace and Quinn
were operating the crane at tho Lime
OF the accident In the most careful
manner. -
Ho had never seen crane OF this
Kind worked anywhere else, except in
stone quarrles, ana considered 1t very
dangerous.
The witness was cross examined at
length by MIR. Nlelds, but nothing con.
ttrary to the direct testimony was
brought out.
Samuel Richter was sworn, and tes-
titled that he Is a machinest and learn
ed his trade In Germany. lie had
worked at his trade for 10 years, and
butt great many cranes, but had
never built one that could lift 1000
pounds without stops or switchable
devices to control it. He examined
the model OF the CRAZE and said that
in his opinion the crane which ne saw
at the works OF the Johnson Forge
Company was not safe, and that under
no condition would he attempt to
work It,
On cross.examinatlon the witness
said that he left Germany when he was
% year! OF age, and is now about SO
years old. About . years ago he work
Ell Us tho erecting shops ut Harlan &
HolllnPsworth's, but they always had
guards on the cranes. The cranes
used by the r. w. II b. Company, where
he is now employed. have guards
upon them.
William Mccullough testified that
he worked with the johnson Forge
Company, as a puddler. at the time OF
the accident. He was assisting on the
crane and felt the shock, which
throw him over and tore the skin from
his wrist. lie saw Peace when he was
hurt. and helped carry him away. He
did not know what caused the acct.
don't, and when he was shocked,
thought 1t was caused by the crane
getting away from the men
The witness had worked number of
years In England, in the iron busi-
ness, but had never seen crane like
this. All Of the others had stops on
them to prevent accidents. and he con
sidered tho crane used by the John.
son Forge Company as unsafe for any
one to work on. He had known OF
others being hurt by this crane, and
saw Mr., Morris, the superintendent,
washing tho blood from the head of u
colored man who was injured by it.
Patrick Welsh testified that he work.
ed at the Johnson Forge works at the
time OF the accident Ito was q pud-
dler's assistant, and about six feet from
Peace when he was hurt. He was
thrown up and then fell on the floor
unconscious. The witness helped
carry him to another room. Tho crane
was out of order, and when he exam
ined 1t tho next day lie found that 1t
had been fixed.
William Shilling testified that he Is
now employed at the Old Ferry Mill,
but that al the time of the accident TO
Peace he was working for the johnson
Forge Company. He was asked to
work on the crane but refused TO do
so as several mon had already beea
hurt while working GU 1t.
lie did not consider il safe, as there
were no stops, and the wheels were
worn smooth. lie saw Peace when he
was hurt, and considered 1t the fault
Of the crane, viii 'h he considered de-
fecttve. At the time Peace and Quinn
We're working on the crane the handles
were loose and liable to cause All acct
dent.
At | O'Clock court took recess un-
til $50 O'Clock this afternoon.