Evening journal., 1893-05-31
THE TEST CASE BEGINS.
Merchant Owen ]. Hession
Demands Fifteen Thousand.
FOR DAMAGES FROM AN OVERFLOW.

Attorney sauborn opens the Celebrated
Case Upon Which Hing . a scorel Of
Damage Cases Against the Clty-Bird.
Ball and sanborn for Plaintiff; Curtis,
Bradford and vandegrift for the
city.
Owen J. Hession, the well.known
Wholesale -four, feed and coal dealer,
whose place OF business was In 1891 on
Front street between Monroe and Adams,
began suit against the city Of Whining.
ton for $4,000 in the Superior Court
this morning The action arose from
damage caused by the bursting Of Ship
ley Run aad Norris Branch sewers.
II Is a test case and if Mr. Hession
gets verdict the following persons will
prosecute their cases against the city:
Francis w. Hyatt. John Magilley John
| Spragg, John r. Spragg, Frank w. De-
Valinger, Hugh Mckinley, Daniel G.
Haughey, Francis j. Haughey John I'll.
| Bennett, William A. Brown, John A.
| Todd, William ]. Rash, Catharine Farley,
Rose Kyle. Levin l.. Shockley, Michael
| Joyce and Catharine Harrigan. Conse-
/ quently, unless there Is compromise
ia such an event, there Is no telling how
many thousands of dollars will have to
be paid out Of the city treasury TO meet
the awards.
Levi Q. Bird represents the plaintiff in
every case with the exception OF the one
ON trial. In it he has Judge Ball associ-
ated with him. The city is represented
by Lewis G. Vandegrift and E. G. Brad
ford, who were employed to assist City
Solicitor Charles NJ Curtis
The Opening Delayed.
When court opened at 10 o'clock this
morning Mr. Bird ascertaiued that
several of his most important witnesses
were absent After a tedious wait of forty
minutes enough Of them arrived to allow
the trial TO proceed.
The following jury was drawn from a
special panel aud is as follows:
Arnold Naudine. George A. Cleaver, w.
E. Husbands, Elwood w. Crossan. Ben
amin Gregg, Robert l.. Truax, James
NJ Hurd, James II. Staats, Atwood
Weldin, Douglass Mccoy, W. Z. White
man and John g. Berger.
William NJ Cloud was excused on ac-
count Of sickness. Thomas Il Lyman,
Robert Motherwell, Jones Guthrie and
r 4. Cam, Jr, were challenged
The special jurors not drawn were
discharged from further attendance and
the general Jurors until 10 o'clock next
Monday morning.
The Sewer Too Small.
Andrew r. Sanborn opened the case
for the plaintiff He informed the couri
and jury that they would show
that Mr. Hession had sus
+ tanned a loss Of $l5 600 II was due Ii
J, the inadequacy aud bursting Of SIMPLE,
3 run The city was responsible for th'
], damage done TO the plaintiffs propert,
8 BY the memorable break of thl
8 sewers and consequent flood OIL
I July 90 1891, as botl
e shipley and Norris run sewers wer
choked up by filth and sand and the cit,
l. had ample warning both as to their con
y dition and insufliciency to carry of tn
y water. He said that Shipley run wa
IS nearly three quarters Of a mile long, be
9 ginning at Tenth and Jackson street
e aud running IN an irregular course t
Q Maryland avenue and Chestnut stree
q where it forms junction with Norri
d run sewer.
3 MIR. Hession ON the Stand.
4 l OWen y. ntooipuy lho HihiANAis bool
! fed that his place was flooded to tn
depth Of two courses Of bricks above th
/, floor. At Catharine Harrigan's plac'
opposite, the water was twenty inche
- deep. He asserted that the mouth Of tn
sewer would not carry off the water
times Of heavy rains
. Assessor Michael J. Conway testihe
y that he had noticed the condition of II
I, T. sewer mouth on many occasions II wa
= visible from his yard and he could M
n help seeing it every time he went ini
- !. the yard. On occasions he had seen IL
- sand and dirt deposits banked up
" front Of the mouth of the covered sewl
- stopping it up.
a Map of the Sewer and Property.
IN Mr.. Conway left the stand to NAL
room for Frank r. Carswell, who pr
4. sented plot Of the courss Of the sew
IL and that part of the city through whis
N Il runs. He explained 1t to the cou
ny and Jury and it was then offered and ~
ld mitted In evidence.
at Mr.. Conway was then recalled al
II testified to the bad condition Of Il
az sewer and circumstances of the flood.
81 GRAND EXCURSION TO READlN