The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-05-29
BEFORE THE LAW.
Decisions Handed Down By
Judge and Jury.

A peculiar case has recently arisen
in Iowa. Just as a passenger train on
the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific
railroad pulled into Linville. a town
situated on the border-line between
Iowa and Missouri, the dead body of
an unknown negro was discovered on
the forward platform of the baggage
car. At the time the body was found,
the platform on which it lay was a
few feet across the line in Missouri.
Against the protest of the Iowa Off
Gals. the train was backed and the
body deposited at the Linville station.
And now Wayne county is suing Mer-
Ger county, Mo-, for the burial ex-
penses, claiming that the tody was
found In that state and therefore be-
Ionged there. But Mercer county
maintains that, as the negro died in
Iowa and was merely propelled short
distance into Missouri and immediate
ly returned, the state of Iowa should
bear the expense.
A divorce case, in which the nutri-
tious but reprehensible onion figured
prominently came up recently in the
New York court 1t appears that dur
ing the early portion of her married
life the wife with misguided affection
sought to induce her husband to ac-
quire taste for fried onions For her
sake he tried, but found himself una
BILE to attain to that degree of civlliZ-
alton. Then he demanded q written
guarantee that onions should not be
placed on the table again. She indg-
nantly refused. The court was of opin-
ion that, while onions were certainly
a good reason for temporary separa-
ton, they did not furnish a sufficient
ground for loosing the bonds of mat
rimony.
In the last congress, out Of eighty
five senators sixty were lawyers. and
about the same proportion prevailed in
the House of representatives. OF the
twenty-four presidents which this
country has had, eighteen were regu-
larly bred to the law. OF these, JET
ferson, Madison, Monroe, ]. Q. Adams.
Fillmore, Pierce, and Mckinley became
involved in politics before achieving
much success at the bar; but Jackson,
Van Buren,, Tyler. Polk, Hayes, Ar
thur. and Cleveland were good law
yers; and John Adams. Lincoln, and
Benjamin Harrison We're really great
lawyers, with commanding positions at
the bar before their election
By a remarkable accident. the dis
covery has been made that the Iowa
legislature in 1897 in revising the code
unintentionally provided that hereaf-
ter presidential electors shall be chos-
en- by the congressional districts in
stead of by the state at large. The
political economy class at Simpson
college, Indianola, in studying the
method of electing presidential electors,
found that the revised statutes provid-
ed that each congressional dis
trict elector and the state as a whole
shall elect at large The law as it
stands would probably give the demo-
cratic party two and perhaps three
electors in the presidential election Of
1900. The next legislature viii undoubt-
eddy restore the old law.
In view Of the statute recently passed
in Maryland abolishing the practice Of
kissing the book" and substituting
therefor the method of swearing by
uplifted hand, It is interesting to note
that it was formerly the custom to
swear Roman Catholics on a specially
sanctifled Bible. In United States v.
Hewson, 90 Fed. Cas-. 305, which was
decided IN 1874, Judge Story remarked
that some four or five years previous 70
that time a witness was brought in 60
testify who was a Catholic, and
Bible was sent for which should be
certified by the bishop TO be a correct
version according to the doctrine Of
the Roman Catholic church The bishop
gave the certificate, but said that he
considered an oath taken on a Prot
estant Bible to be equally binding as
one taken on the most highly sancti-
fed copy of the scriptures.
We have not found any reported
case, says the New York sun. relating
to the x-rays which antedates the de-
cision on Dec. 3, 1896, in Smith VS..
Grant, by the district court Of Colora-
do, first division (29 Chicago Legal
News, 145.) The pictures werc object
ed to on the ground that inasmuch as
no human eye had seen the inner Or
eans of the body which they assumed
TO portray, there was no evidence that
they correctly represented those or
eans. The court held, however. that
they could be received to be used
like pictures or maps, in illustration
or explanation of the testimony of the
the medical or surgical expert wit
nesses. 1--WE have been presented" said
Judge Lefevre, with a photograph
taken by means of q new scientific
discovery, the same being acknovl
edged in the arts and in science. It
knocks for admission at the temple
of learning. and what shall we do or
say? Close fast the doors or open wide
the portals?" He answered she QueS-
ton by letting the X-rays in.
In a recent Utah case il was held
that a passenger could recover for in
turtles received while travelling on a
pass. Notwithstanding he had signed a
contract waving all claims in case of
personal injuries, II a valuable consid-
Grafton was received by the company.
In this case the plaintiff had been en-
ployed as q brakeman and was given a
pass so as TO report for duty. II was
held that his promise TO report for duty
at the specified place was a valuable
consideration.
Regarding the saying that a lawyer
first duty is to get "On." the second to
get honor" and the third to get hon
est" a correspondent writes from Ore
.naIr THE nuI DDCu 4 nDIuv