Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1896-05-08
SENATOR ALIENS STORY
EXPERIENCE LONG AGO WITH GOV.
GIBBS OF OREGON.
Mig Fee for n Brief whitfield Down
From a Thousand to Fifty Dol
lars by the Jury.

good story on his old friend, Ex-Governor
Gibbs Of Oregon. who practiced law
throughout the northwest for many years
after he gave up his duties as chief exec
| utive of the Weoroot state. The story
told by Senator Allen is as follows, says
8. r.. Crawford in the Seattle Post-Intel-
| ligencer:
In 1875. while acting as United States
district attorney, John Paul Judson and
l were retained to defend little Irish
| man who was being sued by Governor
Iipos In Judge Roger 8. Greene's court
at Oysterville. for what we considered an
excessive bill for legal services. 1t seems
that this little Irishman had engaged him
self to marry woman residing at Oys-
terville, aged 36 years, and the couple
mad gone to Portland to have the services
performed While there the woman be-
came annoyed at the delay, and thinking
TO hurry matters. commenced a suit for
breach of promise against her intended,
liking the damages at $4,000. A deputy
sheriff served the papers on Patrick, and
following close behind him was A. J.
Moses. self-styled lawyers detective,
who approached the bewildered Irishman
and after sympathizing with him in his
trouble, told him that he had lawyer
friend who made a speciality of such
cases. and could literally knock the stuff
ing out of the whole affair. After some
hesitation the little Irishman accom-
panied Moses to the lawyers office and
was soon ushered into the august pres
ence of the dignifed Gibbs
DO you know in whose presence you
are?" asked the pompous lawyer in his
most impressive tones.
THE little Irishman assured him that
| he had never met him before, and did
not even know his name.
Well. SIR continued the attorney L
am Ex-Governor A. C. Gibbs of Oregon
member of the supreme court of this state,
as you will see by examining that certif-
icate hanging on the wall. All these books
1 you see on these shelves, full from cover
to cover with the decisions of all the
courts in this country. belong to me,
and l am familiar. sir, with their con-
tents. Now. sir, what can / do for you?
Pat handed the lawyer the papers
which had been served on him and left the
office The lawyer drew up a demurrer
to the complaint, alleging that 1t did not
| state facts sufficient to constitute cause
| of action.
| Becoming Disguised with all this hum
buggery, the Irishman hunted up
the woman, married her, and
home for himself and bride.
It was shortly after this that Governor
| Gibbs commenced an action against Pat
| for $1,000 for his services in the case
After the jury had been selected Mr..
| Gibbs took the witness stand. detailed
| the whole affair and set out that his SER
vices were worth $1,000. On cross-exam-
nation he stated that the chief services
consisted in the preparation of a brief,
research and labor. asked him IL he
| could produce the brief. He said he could
and after going through his various in
side coat pockets. all of which fairly
bulged out with legal papers he handed
me paper labeled Brief on the outside:
Brief in case of Patrick O'Day VS.. Mary
o'Brien.' looked at the paper, had him
identify it, and had it marked as an ox-
hibit in the case.
His next witness was Judge Orange
Jacobs. who had just been elected dele
gate to congress from this territory and
was making a farewell visit to his con-
stituents in Pacific county preparatory to
his departure for the national capital
friend Governor Gibbs, and testified that
the services, such as had been described,
were reasonably worth the sum claimed
On cross-examination he, too, said that
the principal work in a case of that kind
would be in the preparation of the brief,
and the research necessary for the pro-
mitigation of such a document 1 then
handed the witness the brief which had
been given me by the plaintiff, and made
part of the testimony in the case, and
asked him to read it over and then tell
the jury how much the preparation of
such brief would be worth. I noticed
Judge Jacobs looked little nonplussed
and 1 then asked him to read the brief
aloud to the jury, which he did in his
deep. round basso voice. 1t read as fol-
lows:
:" Touch lightly on marriage First in
stituted by God in the Garden of Eden
" Spoken of approvingly by St. Paul the
apostle. If worth $4,000 at IS, what must
she have been worth at sweet 1872
THE conclusion of this reading was the
signal for tremendous outburst of laugh
ter, in which Judge Greene, the witness,
the jury and all the spectators took part
Governor Gibbs maintained his stolid dig
nifty through it all. 1t was 20 minutes be-
fore the court could restore order, and
when the jury returned a verdict it was
for $50 instead of $1,000"
Make All Persoua Toe the MarL