The Worcester spy., 1899-04-16
QUEER LAW CASES
Curious Legal Battles
Waged In Worces-
ter County.
TOLD BY A LAWYER.
West Boylston Farmers
Dispute Over 4 Quarts
of Berries.

brought in Worcester county, the
smallest thing over which two parties
in this neighborhood ever went TO
law?" The Spy man asked of one of
the city's leading lawyers recently.
well, there is one case on record
that would be hard to duplicate any
where" was the reply 'FWhat would
you say if you were told that two Wor-
cester county farmers actually went to
law over four quarts of blackberries? :?
Yet that is a fact. The case was fierce
1y contested in both. the superior and
supreme courts, and the plaintiff was
finally made happy with verdict of rs
cents and a bill of costs and lawyers
fees amounting to several hundred dol
lars. But he won his case and was
happy.
There must be many Worcester
people who remember the case. 1t was
tried back in the early eighties. The
contestants were two West Boylston
farmers owning adjoining farms. Their
names were Gleason and Moore. Dis
putes over the proper position of fences
e1l0 lHo OAHSI snip VI stray CdLllG anu
poultry had caused the relations be-
tween the two neighbors to be the re-
verse of friendly.
Gleason had threatened to have the
law on Moore. Moore, on his part,
bided his time and waited his chance.
1t came. One hot autumn day Gleason
strolled along the public highway in
front of Moore's farm. The sight of
some luscious blackberries growing
along the roadside tempted him. He
yielded to temptation. He did not
climb the fence: He simply picked
those berries that grew along the road
side. After he had satisfied his hunger
he filled his dinner pail. Then he went
home.
"The incident came to the ears of
Moore. Here was his chance at last.
He promptly instituted suit, and the
ownership of the berries was bitterly
contested. From the lower court it
was appealed to the state supreme
court. The final outcome was a verdict
to Moore of 70 cents, the full assessed
value of the berries.
There are plenty of smaller suits on
record than this. There is one on rec
ord in the Scotch courts, where one
Scotchman sued another for penny
with costly results to both. But so far
as is known, the famous berry case
is the smallest ever known in WorcesT
ter county. While the case appears
trivial, there was after all an import
ant legal principle involved. That case
was the first to definitely settle the
fact that picking berries along high
way constitutes trespass.
The shortest decision ever offered bY
the state supreme court is llE words
long. 1t was in the case of tile Ciri-
zens' National Bank Co. VS.. Willard
lhfa -
dorsed a note for $500. The drawer by
chemical process then raised the note
TO $4,000. Before being discounted tY
the Citizens National Bank, the fraud
was discovered, the original writing re
stored and action brought to hold the
endorser for the $500. The court gave
a verdict to the defendant. The deCls-
ion is as follows: The defendant never
made the note for $4,000, which was the
only one the plaintiff accepted. W. S.
b. Hopkins appeared for the plaintiff
in this case and F. T. Blackmer for the
defendant.
"A Worcester county lawyer, in the
course of his practice, experiences
many things that are stranger than
the most imaginative felton, said Ihe
Spy informant. Here are the outlines
of a story that would furnish a plot
for a novelist.
"A Frenchman, so years of age, Hv-
ing in the south of France, is despond-
ent. He has just money enough to pay
A. steerage passage to America, and ne
deserts his wife and family and 'ands
in Boston penniless. .~
''He finally settles in the north part
of Worcester county and engages III
the woolen industry. He icYents q new
process, saves money and in course Oh
time becomes full owner of the plant.
"After becoming rich he marries and
gaNrs a large family of children. In
course OF time he dies. Word reaches
1vifa number one now living with her
children in Marseilles. They institute
legal proceedings and finally come iAto
nossession of the whole estate, leaving
wife number two and her family pen
niless. -. 80,
Many queer cases, the lawyer con.
tinued. "grow out of the necessity of
deternalning which of two people die
frst in an accident, The future success
ion of property depends on which was
Arst +o die Many cases of this kind Will
soo1, he brought into the courts by the
heirs of the Portland victims. The old
English common law used to provide
in cases of this kind that the stronger
of those killed survived the weaker.
Thus it is assumed that a man survives
a. woman when the two are drowned to-
gether. In the Massachusetts courts
the time of such deaths is entirely q
matter of fact and left for the jury to
determine.
IT once knew the case of an old Ger
man couple living on lonely farm zO
miles out from Worcester. One night
the man became intoxicated and shot
himself in the head. 1t was slight
wound but the pain smarted and he
ran wildly out to a brook back of the
house. The wife followed eXcitedly.
Next morning the lifeless bodies of hus-
band and wife were found floating in
mill pond.
"Well. there was a little property and
the heirs on both sides took the matter
into court and it was a delicate ques-
ton to determine which of the two died
first. But the jury after much delibera-
ton decided that the woman survived
the longer, basing conclusion on the
fact that one witness testified to hear
ing a woman's voice cry out in the
night, George. George the name of
the drowned man.
Speaking of juries, to show what
queer things a jury will do on occasion,
I will cite the case I had Of a school
master who was sued by an angry
father to recover damages for an al
legged cruel flagellation inflicted on a
how The jury after hearing the evil
dence STAYED out three nights and days
on the case. 1t afterwards transpired
that one Of the jurors had obstinately
demanded a judgment of 1920 until the
third day, when he consented to take
one cipher off the amount he demanded
on condition that each of the other
Jurors would assess 81 damages. They
did so. The ad damnum amounted to
SILL"
There are many limitations of DR.. Sic
rert's Angostura Bitters-most Of them
dangerous. The genuine is househoid
Ssmsdya