The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-11-26
NEARING THE END.
Testimony For the Plaintiff in Sells
Divorce Case


The case Of the plaintir im the Sells
divorce suit il nearing an end. A
glimpse at the small beginning from
which an immense business was Duilded
was afforded by two of the witnesses in
the Sells divorce case who told what
they knew of the early history, both
personal and in a business way, of Peter
Sells, the millionaire Snowman.
James Anderson, who is now the SUI
perintendent of the Columbus Transfer
company's business, was superintendent
of one of the small INDEPENDENT lines of
street railroad in Cleveland in 1860. The
road depended upon the ordinary shave
tail mule for motor energy, and did not
do a very large or very profitable busi-
ness.
One of the men whom Anderson hired
to work on this line as conductor was
Peter Sells, the plaintiff in the now fam
Gus divorce case. Sells attracted An
derson's attention by fidelity to duty
and energy while employed in this hum
BILE position, and when Sells went to Co
lumbus Anderson kept track of him, and
later on followed him. The friendly
relations with which the two men be-
gan their business life 40 years ago
have been maintained until the present.
John Joyce, the head of an enormous
wholesale dry goods business in Column
bus, met Sells shortly after his removal
from Cleveland to Columbus Peter and
his two brothers had but small capital,
and they proposed to turn it over as
goods auction house, buying most of
their goods of the firm of Green, Joyce
& co. The wholesalers soon learned that
the word of Peter Sells was good, and
trusted him implicitly in business mat
ters. While the relations between the
dry goods man and the circus magnate
are not as close as they once were, they
are still characterized by the same cor
diality which marked them of old.
Even the dry goods auction house was
prefaced by a humber beginning. When
the Sells brothers first began business on
their own hook they could spare none of
their money for rent. So they secured
big wagon. and loading it with all man
ner of goods, from tin jewelry to cloth
ing, they backed it to the corner OF
Fourth and Town streets in this city
every market morning. This wagon laid
the foundation of their fortunes
First they sought permanent quarters
and then having accumulated little
capital went on the road with wagon
show 1t was a poor affair, that first
ssbewildering aggregation" 1t just beat
the constable to the end of the season.
But the boys had learned the game, and
have DroSpered nightly ever since
With the adjournment of court the
second week of the trial ended The
story of the past was repeated the
plaintiff took every trick and added to
the weight Of evidence piled up against
Mrs. Sells. The witnesses called by the
plaintiff did not materially add to the
strength of the case against the defend-
ant, except that they ch1nked up every
lOophole through which a shrewd lawyer
might find an avenue of escape The
testimony merely strengthened that
which had gone before
From a tactical standpoint Mrs. Sells
lost a big trick. So far as may be judg-
ed from the tactics pursued by her law
yers. the defense has depended rather on
blackening Peter Sells reputation than
upon proving the innocence of their eli
ent, in order to prevent the plaintiff Sc
curing a divorce
To this end numerous charges against
Mr.. Sells have been made in the plead
ings, one of which was that he took
Eliza Donahue, the housemaid at the
Sells place, to Chicago with him on
trip she assuming the name and posi-
ton of Mrs. Sells
The charge was knocked galleywest
and crooked. Miss Donahue's testimony
alone Jared the theory severely, and
she was also able to support it with
letters written by Mrs. Sells to her while
on the trip showing that Mrs. Sells
knew all about the trip, and had no
thought that there was anything wrong.
Those who heard Miss Donahue's ex-
PLANTATION and defense believe that what
ever of sympathy Mrs. Sells gained
through her abandonment by Harry
Lyons was lost today by the attack on
a helpless girl.