St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-11-06

VdUtOU, SplcneLlC. malignant and
indefensible attack upon both court and
jury. If L have been correctly informed,
it stands uncontradicted and fairly of
record that the plaintiff, poor and
needy man of thirty-si years of age,
having dependent family, was, through
the gross negligence of the defendant,
so injured that he lost leg and became
helpless and incurabie paralytic, and
yet because brave and fearless jury,
as yet untainted with so much as the
bare imputatfon of dishonesty or cor
ruption. award the very moderate sum
of S2S, 600 for injuries so grave that they
cannot be compensated in money dam
ages, be the sum never so great. the
sympathetic bowels of the P. p. move
in angulShed groan at the cutlery of the
defendant. The estimate of the P. 2. that
S2,S00"would have been liberal amount
considering the circumstances" seems
TO proceed on no other line of reasoning
than that the defendant beng st.
Paul commercial corporation, and the
judge and jury being also Of st. Paul,
the poor plaintiff ought, as matter of
sound public policy, to have been de-
feated anyway; that the rights of manu-
featuring plants are to be paramount to
those of the individual, or, in other
words, that men are to be stricken,
torn, mangled and manned that cor
porate nurslings and weakiings shall
live. and that foreign indemnity, cas-
ualtY and grand larceny corporations
shall not "get tile worst of il'' in this
home of the z, 2. and 1.-The house of
their friends;" that the diminished
earning capacity of the plaintiff prole-
tariat shall be the sole element Of dam
age, and that lost limbs, pain, mental
suffering and permanent helplessnesS
are not to be regarded as participating
factors. Such damnable and vicious
doctrines. such atrocious and subversive
theories, have never been eQualed in
even the red-mouthed ravenings Of a
Ravachol or Pyatt.
1t may fairly be assumed that this de-
PENDANT was represented bv able coun-
sci, and, II there be substantial error in
the record. the verdict will be set aside
and new trial awarded by the trial
court. but that the verdict will be dis
turbed by reason of eXceSsiveneSs is for
that court, and not the p. P, to deter
mine, and the effort of that paper to
precommit the trial court to disturb
ance of the verdict by such robust
misstatement of fact is at once indies
cent, undignitied and un-American,
and as such l here record my protest.
The district court of Ramsey county
ii1No WI yScio OOSi SplSuOuoly oOiC.
fearless and clean, and if the defendant
corporation in the case referred to has
not already been fairly heard, the
wrong will be rIghted by the trial
court without recourse to an APP
pellate tribunal, as suggested by
the z. z. No one in larger
measure than myself appreciates the
dldactlc value and corrective forces of
wise and temperate press; and free
press is justly one Of our boosted privi-
legeS, but that its legitimate scope and
functions should be- so hagrantly tran
scended as in the instance cited is all
outrage upon every citizen, a standing
menace to guaranteed rights, and a
reproach to our criminal code. and l. as
member OF the local bar. no less than
as a citizen of Ramsey county, now
enter my solemn protest, not only
against this unwarranted attack upon
the jury in question, but against this
palpable attempt TO bulldoZe and intim-
ldate the trial court and forestall its
final action i'll the case at bar. If an
Incorporate. irresponsible press. with
veins running rich with prO-corporate
vaccine, shall be permitted to thus won
tonly pillorlZe dignified court of
general Jurisdiction and arraign its jury
for the fearless and honest discharge Of
grave and momentous public duty,
then our courts will be the prey of pot
house politicians, juries will be terror
lied and intimidated, society subverted.
and the genius of common calamity
will camp at every fireside. 1t will be
''hell and repeat" E. S. THOMPSON.
st. Paul, Nov. 4, 1898.