The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-04-10
CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY.
SENSATIONAL TALK IN JEFFORDs
INSURANCE CASE.


Life Was Obtained by a Fraudulent
Conspiracy, of Whinh Thomas C.
Jefords' Was the Master Hand.
The Plaintiff Traded in His Bro
TIERS Life, Said CounseI-Mr. du-
BiGnon Answers With Bitter Satire
Against the Company and Its Rep
resentativcs.
The arguments made yesterday morning
and afternoon in the case of Thomas c.
and Edna Jeffords against the Fidelity
Mutual Life Association, for some days
on trial in the United States Circuit
| Court, developed matter of unusual and
at times of even sensational interest.
In arguing the evidence in the case on
behalf of the insul ance company, Mr..
! Pope Barrow made the charge that the
policy of insurance upon the life of Mar
tin Jeffords was obtained by fraudulent
representations as to the physical condi-
ton of the insured. Mr.. Barrow charged
that Thomas c. Jeffords, brother of the
dead man and one of the plaintiffs in the
case, was at the head of the conspiracy
to obtain the policy on the life of his
brother, that Thomas C. Jeffords knew
of his brothers precarious state of health,
knew that he was even then afflicted with
the dread disease. consumption. of which
! he afterwards died, and traded on this
! knowledge to the end that he might pro-
| fiji by his death
! This charge Mr.. duBignon, who made
the concluding argument for the plaintiffs,
repudiated and in turn scored the COM
pany, and some of its agents and in
spectors with bitter satire and invective.
But two witnesses, both for the plant
ifs were introduced when court convened
in the morning. and it required but a
brief time to complete their evidence One
Of the witnesses was DIR. Hall, of Worth
! county, who made the medical eXamina-
ton for the insurance company upon
| which the policy was issued. DR.. Halls
evidence had already been introduced by
means of interrog atories, but he stated
| on the stand that ne had come to Savan-
nbh, for the purpose of correcting some
| mistakes that he had made at the time
| he ans ered the heterogeneous. The
evidence he gave was not particularly in
teresting or important
! The opening argument for the plaintiffs
was made by Mr.. w. b. Stephens, who
| talked for three quarters of an hour, ad-
| dressing himself largely to a discussion
of the principles of law involved in the
| decision of the case. He paid also some
attention to the evidence and contended
to the jury that the facts showed that
Martin Jeffords had acted throughout in
entire good faith and had made no effort
| to conceal from the representatives of
| the insurance company any known facts
as to his condition. Mr.. Stephens con-
tended further that the facts in evidence
showed that there had been no deception,
! whether made consciously or unconscious
! ly, by Martin Jeffords, and that he had
not contracted the disease until after the
policy of life insurance was taken out
Mr.. Barrow made the only argument for
the defendant. He reviewed the law and
/ the evidence in clear and clean-cut SEN
/ fences, and, as his argument was draw
ing to a close charged Thomas C. Jeffords
with fraudulently conspiring with his
dead brother and others to obtain the
policy, with a view to his own profit.
ut is for you 20 say, gentlemen of the
jury" said Mr.. Barrow. whether or not
these plaintiffs shall go from this court
! room with verdict in their favor 1t is
for me to say that if your verdict gives
! this sum of SO, GOO to Thomas C. Jeffords
it will never do him any good. He may
buy with il the finest house in his part
| of the country; he may ornament his
walls with rare and beautiful pictures and
load his table with the most delicate and
tempting viands. But the walls of his
mansion Will no4 serve to keep out the
grim spectre of the brother in whose
blood he has traded, the pictures will
turn to grinning skeletons, in the phan-
tom likeness of him whose death paid for
them the viands on his table will turn
to ashes when they touch his lips. No
good can spring from money for which he
bartered a brothers life
Mr.. duBignon's closing argument was
| shortened perforce by his i'll health, which
has been noticeable throughout the trial.
He consumed but little more than half
of the hour and quarter that remained
of the time allowed for the argument of
the plaintiffs case. In that time he man.
aged, however, to review briefly the sail
ent points in the evidence.
Mr.. duBignon made an effective plea
on behalf of his client, Thomas C. JEFF
fords, saying that the whole scheme and
fabric of the defense was founded on the
theory that there had been gigantic con-
spiracy TO defraud the insurance COM
pany in which Thomas c. Jeffords was
the master hand. And yet. said Mr. du-
Bignon. though it had been shown in evil
,lence that he had lived all of his life
in the section of the country in w+ich he
lived at the time the policy of insurance
was taken out and where he lived to-day.
there had been no effort to show that his
life was not unsmirched by any act of
meanness or wrong. On the contrary,
it had been shown affrmatively that he
bore the best of regulations.
Mr.. duBignon criticized the action of the
company in receiving the premiums upon
the policy for nineteen months without q
/ protest or ar objection, never raising the
cry of fraud until after the death of the
! insured. Though the company now
claimed said counsel, that the contract
| of insurance was fraudulent in its incep-
ton, and void from the time it was made.
1t had nevertheless made no tender of
the premiums and kept these safely in its
pocket. THE policy was good enough as
long as the company was receiving money
1t only became bad when there wes a
question of its paying money out. Upon
! my word" ID counsel, Il believe that
some of these insurance companies want
man who takes out policy to guar
antee among other things, that he will
not die"
Counsel made a tender and graceful
appeal on behalf of the widow and the
child of Martin Jeffords Thomas C.
Jefords had stated on the witness stand
that should he receive the $4,000, to which
he claimed to be entitled under the pol
icy, he would hold it in trust for his