The morning news., 1897-08-26
CAUGHT IN THE ooRRIDORs.
All the News of a Day From the
Courts and Lawyers.

Several members of the county commits.
sioners spent yesterday looking up plans
for the drainage of Buckhalter swamp.
There shas never been any definite plan
for this work adopted by the county COM
missioners, although the work has been
pursued on the canal by all the county
eonvicts during the entire summer.
At the last meeting of the commission
ers Mr.. Kehoe. a prominent member of
the board, raised the point that no plans
for the work haa ever been submitted to
the board, and no definite outline of the
work had ever been approved. Since that
time he has vainly sought to find the
plans by which the work is progressing
there. The only thing ever shown as the
plans was map Of the swamp. Com
missioner Kehoe claims that this was not
sufficient He held at the last meeting
of the commissioners that unless the coun-
ty commissioners had been allowed to pass
upon some definite plans the work ought
never to have been undertaken, particu-
larly when the drainage close to the city
was suffering from the lack of attention.
There was a conference yesterday be-
tween Mr. Kehoe, Mr., Guckenheimer and
Engineer Brown on the subject of drain
ing BuckhaIter swamp. Chairman Dale
of the county commissioners is out of the
city and SO is Mr.. Frank Lathrop, chair
man of the drainage committee of the
county commissioners Mr.. Kehoe is de-
termined that there shall be a clear idea
of the work at Buekhalter brought before
the commissioners and approved before
the work continues at that. far-away
swamp. 4ae AH
Engineer Brown displayed several maps
yesterday showing the formation of the
Buckhalter swamp and the general lay of
the land in that region of the county but
he will have to draw from this an outline
of the work that is to be done there be-
fore the county commissioners can nave
a clear understanding in black and white
to pass on favorably or uufavorably, Mr.
Kehoe still holds to the point that If the
plans for the drainage of Buckhalter
] swamp embraces, 4the scheme TO turn the
waters of qhe Musgrove watershed into
the Buckhalter swamp, for its discharge
| contrary to the natural trend of this wa
| tershed toward the Savannah river, he
| cannot approve the undertaking.
Mr.. Newell West, a member of the coun-
! ty commissioners, is expected to arrive
in the city to-day, and it is hoped that
a quorum can be had If he does not re-
turn to the city the meeting will have to
be postponed, as there cannot be a quo
| rum present without him. Chairman Dale
and Mr. Lathrop both being away.
The suit of Mrs. Laura Christie against
the Florida Central and Peninsular rail-
road before the superior court took
rather sudden turn yesterday, when Mr..
D. II. Clark. for the plaintiff, dismissed
the suit while the judge was charging the
jury. The counsel for the plaintiff had
argued his case, and so had the counsel
for the railroad. The judge had studied
| out the law to be given the jury, and was
busy with the rendering OF his charge,
when all of a sudden Mr.. Clark arose and
/ declared that he would dismiss the suit.
| He gave no reason for this sudden course
further than to intimate that there would
be another step taken to recover dam
! ages 1t is probable that the case will
come up again. 1t had already occupied
the time of the court for two whole days.
Mrs. Christie is suiag for alleged dam
ages because she claims she was directed
by the conductor of the train she was
riding on to get out at Fairfax instead
| of Denmark to make connection for Au-
gusta This claim is denied by the de-
fendant railroad company.
There was a suit tried in the superior
court yesterday against the Florida Cen
tral and Peninsular railroad for the al
/ legged killing Of a fine mare belonging to
Mr.. George W. Anderson. The case was
| argued at length by the attorneys for
the plaintiff and the railroad company,
but up to a late. hour last night there
had been no verdict received.
Judge H. D. D. Twiggs fled a suit in
the city court yesterday on behalf of
/ Grace Davis against the Savannah, Flor
ida and Western Railroad Company. 1t
is a claim for damages for the loss of
her husband, who, il Is claimed, was killed
while in the service OF the road as
| switchman in the yards al Savannah. The
woman claims that her husband was
| crushed to death under a push car, which
was being switched back and forth in the
yards of the company in this
city. 1t is claimed that he was
riding on the push car when it
| ran off on a sidetrack and threw him I'M
| derneath the wheels which passed over
him. mangling him In such frightfui way
| as to cause almost instantaneous death.
The most interesting feature to the suit Is
that the man was a member of the relief
and hospital department of the railroad
| company which offers certain benefits In
the way of insurance against injury and
| death. Judge Twiggs will make a test
case of it to see If this relief and hospital
department contract can prevent an en-
| p.oye of the Plant system from procuring
| not only the DEMENT'S OF the insurance
clause of the relief fund. but also dam
ages against the railroad company. For
this reason the suit carries a double mean
ing and viii be the first test case that has
been brought against the defendant cor
| poration of this kind forcing the test of the
relief fund contract.
Two charters for Incorporation were
granted yesterday by the superior court.
| one was to the Benedctine Order in Cfeor.
gia. The old nhapter of this organization
had expired and the members petltioned
for a renewal. which was granted for
twenty years.
The Dixie Oil company was also char
tered This is the corporation recently
| formed az the direction Of the members of
the s. p Shotter Company of this city
and others. The capital stock is TO be $780,
600 with the privilege to increase the same
to much larger sum az Will The com
pany will form and begin business without
! delay.
All jures have been dismissed by the
superior court until next Monday. Judge
Falligant endeavored 10 bring up some