The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-04-10
VERDICT IN FAVOR
OF MISS DICKINSON
Jurors Allow Her Damages 10 the Sum
of Six and 0ne.Q Quarter Cents.
is SATISFIED WITH THE VERDICT
Miss Dickinson Saws That Is some-
thing to he Declared Sane--Way
the Jurors Stood--Two Were OPP
posed to Giving Her a Verdict.
Closing Scenes ofthe Triai-- Charge
of che Court.

At $50 last evening the Anna Dick
inson case was given TO the jury, and
at 11.3O last night 1t reported verdict
to Judge Acheson awarding Miss Dick
inson damages in the sum of Ga cents.
The plaintiff was in court when the
verdict was rendered and seemed much
pleased with it. She afterwards warm
ly shook hands with the jurors and
thanked them for the verdict.
None of the defendants were in court
when the verdict was taken nor were
they represented by counsel Judge
Acheson received the verdict without
comment Of any kind, and then dis
charged the jurors from further duty.
Miss Dickinson when asked by Trib-
une reporter for an opinion on the
verdict, said:
IT'S something to be declared sane,
you Know" and then turned aside to
shake the hand of one of the Jurors
and thank him for the verdict,
The jurors who returned the verdict
were Charles d. Bradley, clerk, Pitts
burg; Aaron Brown, miller, Tunkhan-
mock; Cyrus w. Blackburn, farmer,
Point, Bedford county; w. S. Corbett,
insurance agent, New Bethlehem,
Clarion county; w. j. Casky, merch-
ant, Pittsburg; S. w. Coe, mayor,
Parker Armstrong county; Henry
Mussins, merchant, Cowan, Union
county; James Miller, farmer, Grant
boro, Lawrence county; Henry Schock
farmer Selin's Grove, Snyder county;
Daniel Trout farmer, McConnellsburg
Fulton county; Vincent Tonkin, lum-
herman, Grant. Indiana county; Daniel
NJ. Wonders, teacher, New Paris, Bed
ford county.
HOW THE JURY STOOD.
When the jurors retired a ballot was
taken which disclosed the fact that the
jurors stood ten in favor Of giving n
verdict in favor of Miss Dickinson and
two against. The two directors. it Is
said, were Aaron Brown, of Tunkhan-
mock, and Henry Schock, of Selin's
Grove. Finally they were won over by
compromise verdict of Ga cents,
those who favored Miss Dickinson
agreeing to that sum rather than to
have another disagreement, although
their original intention was to stick
out for at least $500.
The total cost of the trial of the case
was not less than $3,500.
Yesterday was devoted to the argu-
| ments of counsel and the charge of
| Judge Acheson. The latter created
| some surprise on account of the frank
| ness with which the Judge expressed
| his views with reference to the evil
| dence no less than from the manner
| in which he reviewed what was said
| by the witnesses. The plaintiff and
| her attorneys were far from pleased
| with the charge and Immediately filed
| objections to it.
Immediately after court opened yes
| terday morning Attorney Vosburg be-
| gan his address to the jury for the de-
| Tense. He spoke Of the plaintiffs high
| intellectual qualities and force of char
acter and then referred to the defend
| ants separately as men of honesty and
| sincerity. He read the declaration in
! the case and eXhaustively reviewed
| the testimony and said that its prepon-
| derence in favor of the defendants war;
ranted a verdict in their behalf
| Mr.. Hodge began his closing argu-
| ment to the jury at 1.20 p. m.; re-
| viewed the testimony in detail and
| combatted the arguments advanced by
| Mr. Vosburg in his closing address for
| the defense. Mr.. Hodge then dwelt
| upon the importance of the case He
said it was the most important work
| the jurors had ever been engaged in or
ever would be engaged in, for they were
| passing on human rights and their ver-
dict would be heralded from the At
lantic to the Pacific.
| CERTIFICATE DEFECTIVE.
He contended that the certificate OF
commitment was defective and that
| the defendants acted with a reckless
| disregard of the rights of the plaintiff
| and when persons act that way they
should be prepared to take the conse-
| quence of their act like men. The GER
tifcate set forth that Dr. Underwood
| and DR.. Heilman examined Miss Dick
! nson separately, but the speaker said
he doubted that and gave reasons why
he was convinced that the examination
If the physicians was made at the
same time and that it was anything
! but a thorough one.
He said it was not their duty to prove
that the plaintiff was sane, for if
| people We're called to do that anybody
| would be apt to have a hard time of it.
| The duty of proving Miss Dickinson's
| insanity devolved upon the defense and
! Mr.. Hodge maintained that it had not
| been done. He ridiculed the story of
| Or John Heilman to the effect that
| Miss Dickinson told him she was a VIC
lin of the liquor habit.
She never told him that" said Mr..
| Hodge, ''and he lies when he says she
! did"
Following this Mr.. Hodge rapidly
went over the facts connected directly
with the incarceration of Miss Dickin-
son in the Danville asylum. He spoke
of the motives that actuated Miss
| Susan Dickinson. He did not know
whether it was jealousy or a desire to
excite sympathy for Anna that she
| might the more easily raise money
without Annals knowledge for Anna s
good and possibly for her own, too; he
did not know it was these things that
| caused Susan to act as she did, but
he did know that the events did occur
| and the injury was done. "Never again
| shall / close an address on which such
| important consequences hang as in this
ISSUE" he said. II want you to feel
that every particle of evidence in this
case should be weighed by you with
an eye single to the purpose of ascer-
tanning the absolute truth and justice
of this case"
THE JUDGES CHARGE.
1t was five minutes to clock when
Judge Acheson began his charge to the
jury. He began by briefly sketching
history of the case. On one side, he
said, it was alleged that a great out
age had been perpetrated on the plain
| tiff, while on the other hand il was
held that her commitment was humane