Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1898-11-28

only W4CneSS being Attorney JOnn lie
Fish of Milwaukee. Mr.. Fish and
Chic Justice CaSSOday congratulated
Justice lodge, and the court gathered
and filed out to the bench. justice
Dodge takes the seat at the extreme
left OF the bench, that being the seat al
ways taken by the members OF the
court on being appointed to me bench.
Justice Bardeen, Justice Dodge's prede-
cessor, who had occupied the seat,
changed according to the custom, to
the extreme right of the chief justice.
Justice Dodges first official act Was to
appoint Edward H. Smith OF MilWau-
kee his stenographer. Mr.. Smith was
Justice Pinney's clerk, and was for
several years reporter of the superior
court in Milwaukee. Justice Dodge
will continue to make his residence in
Milwaukee if he can do so consistently
in connection with ais new duties.
The case of Mrs. Annette A. Ben
son against the city for damages was
TUESDAY remanded for a new trial,
Justice Bardeen writing the opinion.
The action was brought for an injury
received by Mrs. Benson on the even
ing of u1ec. 5, 1895, at the holden cor
ner of State street. Mrs. Benson sued
for $4,000 and recovered $4,000. 1t was
claimed there was no apron leading
from the sidewalk across the gutter to
the street level. Yet Contractor Kelly
swore there was. The jury found there
was no apron and yet that Kelly was
not at fault. The supreme court finds
itself unable to reconcile the verdict
with the evidence and remands the
case for a new trial.
Among the most important opin-
ions handed down was that reversing
the decision in the suit of Julia L..
Green of Ashland against the Ashland
Water company, sometimes known as
the typhoid fever case. This suit att
tTacted considerable attention while
pending in the circuit court of Ash
land county, and the decision OF the
supreme court in returning 1T to the
lower court for another trial will be a
disappointment to many who wished
to see the question involved settled.
Mrs. Green sued the water company to
recover damages for the death of her
husband, Lars C. Green, who died
from typhoid fever alleged to have
been contracted from drinking water
brought from Chequamegan bay
through the company's mains to his
residence Mrs. Green alleged that
through the neglect Of the company
to properly extend it's intake pipes out
into the bay the sewage of the city,
which is emptied into the bay, was
brought back in the water mains, and
carried disease to the city. The state
mgnt of facts which precedes the opin-
ion says that from the evidence pro-
duced at the trial, it appeared that the
water was contaminated, and that this
fact was we'll known throughout the
city, having been discussed in the
newspapers, and means to prevent the
people from getting disease from it
published This being the case, the
attorneys for the water company con-
tend that Mr.. Green had ample notice
of the danger of drinking the water,
and of the necessity of precautions.
The suit ended in the circuit court
with a verdict for $4,000 in Mrs.
Green's favor, and the water company
appealed. The decision of the supreme
court in sending the case back for a
new trial is based on the fact that Ii
abilities incurred in the supplying OF
water are not the same as those gov
erning the supplying of common food
The court also holds that if the de-
PENDANT knew the condition of the
water and the danger of its use, his
rights are effected by his neglect to
act on that knowledge. The court
holds that water is not an ordinary
commodity, but is free to everyone
and the only rights of the water COM
pany is that of carrier. To hold
water companies to a strict liability
for the quality of the water furnished
to their consumers, the court says
would be to discourage enterprises in
that lin On the other hand, the