Evening journal., 1898-03-18
LAYMAN VS.. LAWYER.


There was an amusing scene in Mag
istrate Pritchett's court yesterday az
ternoon. The Wayfarer was not pres
ent in person, but he was lowering over
the combatants in spirit, and indus
triously engaged in taking notes TOT
the delectation of the readers OF his
Note Book.
Frank A. Mitchell sued Patrick Me-
garity for S39. money alleged to be due
for roofing done, and retained William
s Hilles TO prosecute the suit Mr..
MCCARTHY had refused to pay the bill be-
cause he held the work done was not
satisfactory. and retained Artemas
Smith to defend him in the magistrate s
court.
Mr.. Mitchell claimed that the roof
was put on a one-story building ana
that the owner or tenant OF the prem
ises permitted boys to walk over the
new work before 1t had time to harden.
Anyhow, yesterday afternoon was the
time set for the, ,hearing. AT the last
minute Mr.. Hilles informed his client
that urgent business OF graver import
would prevent him from appearing In
the case. Mr.. Mitchell and he talked
it over and finally it was agreed that
the plaintiff should conduct his own
case.
In due time the two sides lined up
before the magistrate. There were ten
or twelve witnesses to examine, and a
question of supremacy to settle between
the laymen and the har Of New Castle
county.
Mr.. Mitchell submitted his pleadings,
made his opening address, objected to
the leading questions asked by Mr..
Smith. conducted the direct and re-di-
rect examinations of his own witnesses;
crOss-examined and tangled up the
witnesses for the defence; raised sew
eral points OF law which Chief Justice
Fuller, of the United States Supreme
Court. could not have answered; stu
pifed the court with ihs legal acumen
and held the case within such narrow
legal lines that the defendant and his
witnesses did not get TO tell half their
story. He wrote out his prayers as he
went along. They were compound OF
the Ten Commandments, now ] lay me
down to sleep and ! shall be sanctihed
In the sweet bye-and-bye with a dash
of Josephus and the Koran thrown in
here and there to give them a foreign
flavor. There never was such legal
document drawn before, and, perhaps,
there will never be such a one drawn
again. II made Magistrate Pritchett
feel like an East Indian idol or
Yelled Prophet Mr. Mitchell never
prayed SO fervently in all his life, and
Magistrate Pritchett appeared TO appre-
ciate the fact.
Finally it came to the summing up
of the case. If there is anything at
which Mr.. Mitchell is a master-hand ii
is in summing up. He studied written
and mental arithmetic when he was a
.at fIa Iaad of
his class. fs
Ladies and Gentlemen, Brother
Members of the Brandywne Summit
Campmeeting Association" he began.
"Mr Mitchell" interposed the mag
istrate mildly, you will please address
the court"
Il beg your hqnor's pardon" said
Mr.. Mitchell. 1T has been demon
strated by the testimony adduced that
put on that roof and that have never
been paid for il. l have proved con-
clusively to your honor that, If the
work was not satisfactory, the defect
was due to those darned kids being
permitted TO play hi-spy on a new
pitch roof Therefore, l ask for a ver-
dict for the full amount of my claim.
! ask it in behalf of the laymen Of New
Castle county who are to-day arrayed
against the bar of the county and its
grasping and absorbing tendencies"
Mr. Smith followed him. but Mr.
Mitchell had built his argument on
heavy stone piers and smeared it over
with pitch and gravel until the lawyer
could not get within six inches of It.
Finally both sides closed. Magistrate
Prtehett shook of the drowsiness
which had weighed upon him for about
three hours and said:
Gentlemen, this case has been con-
Quoted with signal ability on both
sides. The law points involved have
been argued in a thorough and ex-
haustive manner. The judgment of the
court Is that the defendant in this case
pay to the plaintiff the sum of S34, with
costs"
The laymen Of the county have been
vindicated, said Mr.. Mitchell, modest
~ while receiving the congratulations
Of his friends.