The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-05-17
PRIVILEGED INFORMATION.
a LAWTER'S STORY OF mrs OWN
EXPERIENCE WITH IT.
The QuandHry Into witch re Was Pet BY
ThinkinE that ISIS client Hnd Retained
Hin 20 Assist in PerpetrntinE n Crimc,
aud How Mln Ont Ont OF tho Meas.

sSd How ns cot Ont OF the Mess.
They were discussing the Kitson- Plnyfair
case, which stirred up London and the profess
sionnl world, IA the office of n down town law
yer the other day. and one OF those present. n
lawyer .of considerable standing at the New
York bar, told this story Of an experience Of
his own. IL happened only n few yenrs after
he had been admitted to the bnr, and before ho
had accumulated the wide experience which
would enable him now to settle the difficulty
offhnnd. He was retained zone day by n wo.
man to.secure the appointment of n committee
OF tho person OF her husband, who had been
for nine years an inmate OF an insane asylum.
The man had had n claim against the Govern.
ment which had been a long time IN litigati on.
At last the award was made. and then the
Treasury Department refused to pay the money
until tho bonded committee was appointed.
To the lawyers question as to why the wo.
man had had her husband committed TO the
asylum. she replied that he had been ugly to
her for some time. and that finally he had
become violent and had attacked her. Then
she had him committed. A few days after
this interview with his client. the lawyer sent
his clerk 10 the asylum to serve the custom.
airy papers on the alleged insane man and on
the Warden OF the asylum. Tho clerk re-
turned in considerable excitement.
1.-THE man is as sane as you or J." he said
TO tho lawyer. II talked with him for a long
time. and could not find n subject upon which
he was not rational"
The clerk reported that, whom he had served
the papers on the alleged insane man. the
asylum inmate had said to him;
why, 1 am no more insane than you are.
I know all about this thing. It's a put-up Job
on the part of nv wife and nm old friend of
mine. She is living with him row, and has
been living with him ever since they got me
put in here"
well. why haven't YOU made efforts TO get
out?' asked the clerk.
MADE efforts to get out!' exclaimed the
man. 'Do you SUPPOSE I've been here nine
years without trying to get away? That would
10 n crazy trick, sure. But YOU tust think It
over I'm cold blood md see whit sort of chance
n man in my fix has got. came here formally
declared insane. Half the urazy people here
,binL tbov = .ono and loo, nrotos,ing tb.i-
nm my are sane anu keep pro'esI.nS .ne.r
itors, to any one, in fact, who will listen to
them. It's the nroper thing for n crazv man
to do. and the finer his story Of outrage the
crazier most people think him, and, for a fact,
IN most cases II crater he Is. iiouh" lhaI
out mighty soon after got here, and l knew
m,abt bovo bs.n ab,o in .oma uov - aacrr,
t"'shS h"se e aoio III sohie ""s 'e'ulo
gated the circumstances of my committal, but
thov ,r,tohod that nro,tr rroII ,,hnn ,hor GOVT
ne here. and I've never had that chance. It's
a wonder, though. that / am not crazy. 1t
takes a good man to associate with such a pack
OF looms as they've got here FOR nine years and
not lose his his reason,
.,nn !. II, .n "ns, II s'et ,n,s .n.Ae "a WV" au IN, n man
n about a MS family T ana o himself ana all MS s.n o~s,1
and particular. and the clerk went away salts.
fed that the man m was really the vic tim OF a
criminal conspiracy.
The clerks enthusiasm and certainty a. to
the condition of the alleged insane man put
the lawyer in a quandnry. He didn't know
exactly "hether 10 20 on with MS case OF not.
If a crime was being carried out he wanted to
thing to do with #. At first he thought he
man. But afterward he concluded to see the
woman again before he took any further action.
At at the conciyusion that II might be better af,er
all. to complete the work which he was re-.
as he cSos ~'' A"u 'n'n n' """p' DC Tree ACT
II WAS several weeks before he could arrange
prepared the usual AFFIDAVIT for her TO sign set.
ting forth the facts of her husband Commit.
"svinm as nroof that the nafient ,xos ffn an w
and the s appOintm1en m. Of a a committee .mn5 tt ec, Of the
When the nfidavit had been execntcd Tho
l law. Shi %sk ed, his isa client hsr ,o again again. about boz to the .sai
OF her husband to an am ssvium' To q his anaze.
TAI details was an exact contradictinn If the
story abe had told him scnrreIv twn manths
Sofora un t,xei her vith tho ,iscrannnn,
NJ once. For q monent she was confmseJ'
Then she renoyereJ her sell .nossessionl said
sbn had rnede a m,stnke apI Immodio ttaii v
eddIIed u c,rcnmstancns IN" tbe sncnnT story
rhicb miebt reconr;,a r. With the frst RrI tbss
Ia n.vnr nant a,vnr Sissatisied ond ,nore thon
hai} Inclined 70 believe that tbe story Of The
ma IN the asvIum miebt he tr,,e aItSonab'h he he
h W." a nv nv diract nrtianca 70 "a ~ nmt II
II" "Sou. = satd tSe invver ,rban 10 hnod to,d
+bi. D,ncb 81 tba story '..w,b"t Womb vnu fru
lows recommend no tn tbe nroceInre Of n ron
IN sucT n Nv nartjcnIarly In law Of t,is "
dict s1ainst Dpl Plavfair2 NJ nformation in
r 81 10 he imnris"1sd man vas nririIayod u
nayer bearS ~ him mil / % ~ n pr.tained br
HI. wife Hal n rigbt tn use he inf"rmot,nn
7 attained fro,n ber and tbron,h bar In a No
caeIing against bery" N'uH N' ""p''
sNnE. sail one nf tho o,dest ,ovvers tbere
..,on %,od nnt sUnb n r,nht Rvt No r. rnatinn,
YOUR clerk ,itk" brought YOU was not priviIered. II