The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-21
CASE LONG DRAWN OUT.
rurnv SUPPLY COMPANY YER
SIS T. c. * =. r. II.


.s of Fnct-suppIy Company
Inns $4,000, While the Report
,di,or ". w. MnckaII Allows
:. xco o00-Case Has Been in Court
-.... Norch. 1891, and Is Likely to
n. There Sometime Longer.
..,rtng was begun in the Superior
- ,-s--srday in the suit of the South
o''. ..,...,iv company against the Florida
...-.s.rr and the Florida Central and Pc
..-,~ Railroads. The suit is for the
-. claimed to be due by the con-
.,rs fo, the construction of the Savan-
=, svtsnsion of the Florida Central and
p.-irzr.ar and has been pending in the
- since the spring of 1894.
The amount claimed to be due by the
-..r,,v company is $S4,932.51. The claim
l. rs5ncsd by the auditor, Mr.. w. W.
,,'.i.,u 10 whom the claim was refer
~ n, The court. to s6O.334. The railroad
c,m39ny disputes this Indebtedness, how
.,..r and holds that on the contrary, the
.or,n.v company IS indebted 10 it because
~ l5magss incurred by reason of failure
:, ,omnleta the road by the time agreed
upon
rba sgjt was filed at the March term,
1sq5 and was referred at that term TO Mr..
al,ckan as auditor The hearing before
the auditor extended over parts of four
wears having been begun Aug. 10. 1895,
and concluded July %. 1898. During this
time twenty-one witnesses were examin~
ed by the auditor, and twenty-five days
were consumed in the examination. The
auditors report is lengthy and exhaust
ys. going thoroughly into the details of
tbs case. Some of the contentious of both
parties were upheld, but in the MAIN the
contentious of the plaintiff the supply
company. We're sustained and the railway
company was found to be indebted TO il
in HE amount stated.
The AUDITORS report was filed Nov y,
1875. and in the following month the at
torneys for the railway company fled ex-
oepdons to the report both as TO The law
and The facts. Argument was heard by
Judge Faugant at the last term of the
court upon the exceptions of law, and a
decision rendered overruling each and
every one of the exceptions. The eXcep-
tons of fact are now being heard before
jury. A bill of exceptions 10 the ruling
Of he court upon the ques lions of law in
yolved has already been filed by the at
tcfreys for the railway company, which
means that the case will be taken to The
Supreme Court as soon as the questions
o. fact have been passed upon by a jury.
I1a attorneys for the railway company
are its vice president, Col. J. \. FENDER
son of Tallahassee, and Messrs. Denmark,
Id. ONO IN. Of -
Gawarl, Nelirim e Newman are attor-
n5ys for the supply company. Each Of the
attorneys present at the hearing was
equipped with a copy OF the voluminous
evidence taken in the hearing before the
auditor. To read this evidence alone
would require considerable time and only
extracts were read and the proceeding was
rather a dry one.
The railroad company refused to pay
the claim of the contractors on the
ground that the contract had not been
completed within the time specified, nor
wtaiu the extension time granted by the
contractors it being claimed that this
DELAY resulted in great damage to the
road 1t also claimed that the contract
ing company had not exercised due dill
gence in pushing the work and had not
eXer,ed itself to complete the contract
within the time specified, though frequent
y called upon to do so. The Supply Com
pany on the other hand contends that it
was subjected to many delays which
could not have been expected or foreseen.
The spring of 1898 was very wet one,
and work was difficult. The survey having
been made by the engineers during very
any season the condition which the con-
tracing company had to meet were al
together different, 1t is claimed, from those
upon which the engineers based their cal
cuiauons lt is claimed that the engineers
were arbitrary and unrea sonable in their
requirements and that being unacquaint-
ed with the characteristics of the coun-
Try through which the road was being
constructed they were not competent tc
deal with the situation.
ia the summer of 1898 the Brunswick
!e!oW lever epidemic occurred, interfer-
Ing TO a considerable extent with the OPP
eIauons Of the company in that territory
4 AMI in August, 1898 The great storm Of
'h9t year occurred, damaging the work
ana greatly Tetarding the operations. The
4 supply company claims that owing to the
various causes of delay alluded to ii i:
deserving Of consideration and should MOI
u heid responsible for the delay.
Inc railroad company in itss reply. hold.
oaJ mad not the contractors been dilatory
o-eo SO far advanced that the variou:
1 vents ai1ded TO would not have prevented
-e completion Of the work within the pre-
ael'oea i-me. As a result of this delay
"as necessary for The railroad company K
~. lolI IN the work of track laying, reliev
aug 'He contractors of this portion of th'
~0lN' anu in other ways the company
was put TO expense and Inconvenience by
"S "e'ays OF the contractors. The contrac
7Agd Tor the completion of the road by
- ~ 10. This time was later extended a
T T,ie request Of the contractors to Nov. ]
~ road was completed in the latter par
~ december, 1893. but some minor worl
1885, ~ N0 u0iie nut4Hs Janual
os lug contract specified that five per cent
.ie amount due according TO the engin
SHOULD be retained from the MONTH,
80 i,'.n.s and This amount was TO be for
1gi,[ ,I IL, case the work was not completet
j Fa ham ne time allowed. The sums so with
4 ~ ~ amount to about $35 900. The CLAIM
evo... ny company is nearly $1,000 il
's9 Of his amount, however.