Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-07-23
STORY OF MOTHER VS.. SON.
THEY DRAG OUT SEVENTEEN FLESH
Less FAMILY SKELETONS.
And All, FOrsOOth, Because of One
BrindIe COw-A DutifuI Son and
n DOting Mother Lose
Their Tempers.

A family quarrel-son against mother
was aired before a jury in Justice Spitz
court yesterday, where Claude b. smith
81 years old, brought a replevin suit against
his mother. Mrs. Mary C.. Caugheren. for
the possession of a COW, which he claimed
was his property. Smith is a single man,
and until recently has made his home with
his mother at sou Central street. Although
the point to be established in the minds
of the Jury was simply the ownership OF
the cow, the attorneys on both sides
brought In family matters and old quar-
rels, with the result that mother and son
contradicted each other on numerous points
and finally aired about all the domestic
troubles that had occurred in the family
for the past ten years.
Smith Is a stonemason, and by hard work
accumulated enough money 10 buy the
home at 3027 Central street and a farm Of
sixty acres in Central Missouri. Both Of
these pieces OF property he decided to his
mother with power to control during her
natural life. and on her death it was to
revert to him. He testified on the witness
stand hat he had clothed and kept her,
her aged father. his sister and her little
son, and that he had given his mother his
wages and earnings because he loved her.
Several years ago. he said, his mother was
seized with a desire to change the deed
and get control of all the property so that
she might sell or deed it to whom she
pleased. IT was then that trouble between
the two began.
Smiths story Of his troubles with his
mother was as m as those written
from the fertile brain of a dime novel
author. He said that she had plotted to
have him adjudged insane in order to gen
the deed to the home which he had pro-
vi0ed for her changed so that she could
sell II. and that she had caused him to
be thrown into jail on numerous occasions.
Tho nNfnRraw- for MrG HoVryharGn fp ~
attempt to prove that the young man was
of violent temper and had caused his moth
er endless trouble, asked him IL II were not
true that he had stabbed his stepfather
SAh, it is, answered Smith, with a look
then. and l did it to protect her. That man
had been beating my mother since 1 was
a little boy, and 1 warned him that when
One night we were all eating at the table
when he jumped up and. cursing her,
the point of choking her when I seized a
breadknife and tried to cut his throat. /
arrested. but discharged, without even a
tect my mother. 1 loved her then"
Although, If anything, Smiths story of
the stabbing AFFAIR had placed him in a
favorable light with the jury, the attor-
ney for his mother proceeded to question
him on another quarrel and asked him II
he had not been fined S225 in police court
several months ago for throwing dishes at
MS mother and threatening ner lie. smith
replied that he had and then dramatically
told what had led up to il. He said that
she had quarreled with him because he
had foiled her attempt to have him COM
mitted TO an insane asylum and that she
had begun the destruction OF the queens
ware, and then in a fit of temper he had
hurled several domestic articles at her.
You stated a moment ago that YOU pro-
vided for your mother and that she was
entirely dependent upon you" said the at
torney. Now, is 1t not a fact that your
mother, on your own plea to her, got you |
out of the ~workhouse on that occasion by
paying the remainder of your finer"
Yes. yes, my mother paid the remainder |
of my fine with the money 1 had given her, |
1t was she who had the shackles placed 4
about my limbs and wrists and had me |
thrown behind the bars like a criminal. |
in my helpless condition I sent word to her |
10 have mercy on me and as she had put
the cruel irons about me to take them off. |
She did: but il was with the money l had /
given her" he said amid ~gesticulations that
would have put hall the professional ira
gedians to utter shame
At the Instance of the mother, her lawyer
then brought up. old charges of crimina
assault which had been placed against him. i
hut these he absolutely denied and proved /
they each had been dismissed after
an investigation.
Mrs. Caugheren said HI it was not love
for her that had prompted him to place
the property in her name. but that he had
done so in order TO keep it away from a
young woman whom he had assaulted. On
II to her because he wanted to provide a
for her the rest of her life and put
1t in such a deed that II could not be taken
away from her by anyone in case he was
killed. He said that his life was in con-
slant danger from blasting, falling rocks,
and the like.
From the mass Of testimony. much of n
OF an unprintable character. the Jury, after
a half hours elaboration in its room. re-
turned a verdict that the COW belonged to
the son as he had bought it with his own
money. His mother took an aDneal