The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-06-27
THE CANNON CASE NONSUITED.
rorRT HOLDS DECEASED DID NOT
EXERCISE ORDINARY CARE.

,udre NorwOOd's Decision Placed
the suit Upon the Same Basis as
THAT of the Head Case Against the
street Railway Company, Which
Citv Court-The Case VIII BE APP
neaIed to the Supreme COurt-Can-
NON was Run over and Killed Feb.
4 While Acting as Switchtender at
the Junction of the Central and
the F. c. & II. Railroads.
4 non-suit was granted by Judge Nor
wood Yesterday in the suit of Mrs. NJ. A.
cannon against the Central of Georgia
railway Company for $4,000 damages for
the killing of her husband, John A NJ
cannon. The case was on all day in the
Ci.v Court, Judge Norwood's decision be-
inc rendered late in the afternoon, after
hearing argument from the attorneys on
both sides.
Cannon was employed as a switchman
nv the Florida Central and Peninsular
Railroad at its junction with the Cen
tral Railroad, near the water works. He
was run down and killed on the morning
of Feb. last by Central yard engine
The engine was running backward at the
time. being in charge of w. B. Tarver,
Central hostler or yard engineer, the en-
eine being on its way from the coal chute
TO the yard.
Mrs. Cannon's petition to the court
charges that the engineer in charge was
unfit and incompetent and that her hus-
bands death was due to his Incompetence
and reckIessness. She also charges that
the engine was running backward at a
high rate of speed, with no one on board
but the engineer and with no light al
the rear end She claims in her petition
that the signal for the Florida Central and
Peninsular track was given by the engi-
neer, but that instead OF waiting for a
response from the switchtender, her hus-
band. to indicate that the switch was
ready. he came on recklessly al speed
of twenty to thirty miles at hour when
the rules required that he should slow
down to four miles an hour. She further
charges that the engineer saw her hus-
band in time to avoid injuring him, but
that he recklessly ran him down.
Several witnesses were placed on the
stand by the plaintiff. The weak point in
the plaintiffs case, however was that
there were no eye witnesses to the killing,
unless Engineer TarVer was one, and he,
of course, is a witness for the company.
There was another man with Cannon in
the switch tenders house, but he was
asleep at the time The supposition at the
time of the accident was that Cannon was
also asleep at and that hearing the engine
whistle blow he stepped out of the house
upon the track in front of the approach
ing engine, and was run down before he
had time to step out of danger. Engineer
Tarver stated at the coroner's inquest
that he saw a man on the track about fif-
teen feet ahead of the tender and when il
was too late for him to stop the engine.
Tarver was not placed upon the stand yes
terday. Engineer John H. Donovan, of the
Georgia and Alabama Railway, stated that
he was on his way to work about o'clock
on the morning of Feb. 4, when he saw an
engine pass the switch house, and heard
a man shrek. The wheels of the engine
jolted. showing that 1t had run over some
thing upon the track. 1t was shortly after
this that Cannon's dead body was found.
Mr.. T. M. Cunningham, representing
the railway company, moved for nom
suit, on three grounds; first, that it had
not been shown that the defendant killed
the deceased; second, that 1t had not been
shown that the death of the deceased was
due to any negligence on the part of the
defendant and, third, that the defendant
geuce for his own protection.
The motion for a nonsuit was argued at
considerable length by the attorneys,
Messrs. w. B. Stubbs and R. R. Richards
representing the plaintiff. Judge Norwood,
in granting the motion for a nonsuit, said
that the conditions were practically the
same as had governed his decision in
granting nonsuit in the case of DR.. j.
B. Read and his driver Lloyd, against the
Savannah, Thunderbolt and Isle of Hope
Railway, viz, that the plaintiff had not
exercised ordinary care and diligence for
his own protection, and was, therefore,
not entitled to recover.
The attorneys for the plaintiff stated
that they would appeal Judge Norwood's
decision to the Supreme Court, before
which tribunal the nonsuit in the Read
case is now pending. Mrs Cannon was
in court With her youngest son, little
fellow or 6 years old She has several
other children. Her petition states that
her husband was earning $50 month,
but that he was capable of earning $50