Evening journal., 1896-12-16
THE JURY IS HANGING.
Damage Case Against the
City in Doubt.
SOME WANT A SMALL AWARD
AN ELOQUENT ARGUMENT BY MR..
KNOWLES FOR THE CITY.
STRONG CLOSING BY MR.. Hill
LES FOR PLAINTIFF.

STRONG CLOSING BY MR. HILL
LES FOR PLAINTIFF.
When time for court to reconvene ar
rived yesterday afternoon. Juror Smith
was not in the box. Court waited
nearly half hour, when Mr.. Smith
hurried in and explained to the court
that he mistoOk the time.
Horace G. Knowles closed the argu
ment for the city's defence in the
Ewing damage case in an eloquent re-
view of the testimony and appeal for
a verdict from the evidence alone. He
said: This gentlemen is another
damage suit 1t has reached a state
now where it is a streak of fortune for
a person to meet with some slight acci-
dent that he may come back upon the
city for thousands of dollars of dam
ages
Taxes are collected from the rich |
and the poor but they are paid in by |
these common people to the city treas |
ury with the trust that this treasury |
will be guarded against unwarranted
assaults. Such an assault as is made /
here.
THE plaintiff in this case admits
that she saw nothing wrong with
Ninth street when she passed along
there previously. going to church on
that evening. But coming back on
Ninth street. there is a gutter plate
opened three inches. Anybody could
have misplaced that gutter plate. We
have often seen a passer-by drop a
coin or valuable and at once remove
the gutter plate to look for il, leaving
the plate uncovered or pushed back.
City's fault City is to blame for dam
ages. Thousands of dollars damages.
After stepping in that hole. what
did plaintiff do? She walked TO Tenth
street and then down one of the steep
est hills in this city, one that you and
/ would walk a square to get out of the
way Of in broad daylight.
There is in this case absolutely no
ostitis. You heard it testified to on
that stand that ostitis is a disease of
the bone that prevents the backward
and forward movement of the foot
Only yesterday. according to the testi-
mony on that stand this woman's foot
! moved freely backward and forward.
Don't you believe Dr. Blocksom,
, Dr. Stubbs or Dr. Jones. when they
Z say that this woman is the negligent
, one in this case, by letting an injury
: TO her ankle run on and run on for
< three months without calling in a ply
[ sician-spending sleepless nights and
t not able to get about.
d But the plaintiffs have failed tc
d prove any direct notice to the city
d Constructive notice-which is assumed
h from long neglect of a dangerous
s place-even that has not been shown
n You will remember that not witness
+. placed upon that stand could swear
r that this gutter was in bad or danger
a GUS condition on October 1S.
d Now, gentlemen, your duty is a
l, sacred one. You cant let your pity
k for this unfortunate woman influence
It YOU I'm sorry for any person who
e meets with an accident, but particularly
II for a woman, and as no neglect haC
ie been shown, a verdict for defendant
must be expected"
N NOT SYMPATHY, BUT LAW.
William S. Hilles closed the argu
S ment by appealing for a verdict fo
N damages in full. No contributory neg
a ligence had been proved on the part o
ID Mrs. Ewing but the city had neglected
a dangerous and disordered quite
q, plate to remain abandoned for tw
lie years, when % cents worth of nail
IN would have prevented Mrs. Ewin
al from becoming a cripple for life.
"a Gentlemen" continued Mr. Hille.
is you heard my friend Mr. Knowle
at open to the jury, and you were doubt
less astonished to see what followed
the weakest attempt to prove any
thing that l ever have comprehende,
Il noticed a big brass band, wit
IN plumes and lights, coming down tn
&c street the other day. and behind it ra
40 one little ragamuffin of a colored bo.
Well when ! heard my friend open {
5. the jury yesterday and then saw th
Il procession of proof he has presente
t." to you, how emphatically am l
Use minded of the procession / saw benin
ge that big brass band.
lg. Now my friend speaks OF syn
,ut thy-I would never have dreamed
SIS mentioning it to thoughtful capab
on men like yourselves-but do we, do'
i'm Mrs Ewing come her and ask you Il
se. money out of sympathy? Positive
,ok no. She comes here protected by ju
of law which holds that when a corpor
eel tion pays men to keep its streets
the order, when those men neglect the
the ! business and allow miserable traps
ner remain about the streets for two yea
In for confding people to fall into, th'
,ok. the law provides a punishment to [
will negligent officials and a measure of !
per- lief for the sufferer
me CHARGE LIKE THE SEWARD CAS-
nice Upon the reassembling Of court Il
sed. morning at 10 o'clock, Judge Gull
and charged the jury. The charge was
out substance the same as that made Il
'all. February in the case of Sewaru agair
the the city. to the effect that the jury mt
not rely upon the statute introduced
'ere evidence by defendant, providing II
sing the several property owners and I
the city were liable for accidents
'iler curing on the the sidewalk, as Il
ting statute is unconstitutional. The il
was retired at 1926.
PROMINENT LAWYERS IN COUE
The trial list was again revie9
. * this morning by a numOer OF pro-
40 nent lawyers
Ex-senator Anthony Higgins
Senator George Gray were promin
NV among the attorneys of the bar W
DAi Superior Court reconvened at 10 o'cl
f,,n IL