The Topeka state journal., 1900-05-24
@Jip" Franklin's Just Judgment.
[From the Mexican Herald. ]

From the Mexican Herald.
Texas has always been noted for the
remarkable decisions of some of it's
minor judiciary, which, while often
showing ignorance of the letter of the
law, contained a good deal of rude
equity and appreciation of what was
right between man and man. This is
largely due to the fact that the remun-
Grafton of most of the justices of the
peace in the state is so small that no
lawyer, or even a man of good average
business ability, can afford to spend the
time needed to discharge the duties of
the office. The well known capitalist
Uncle Jerry Galvan when in the height
of his power got himself elected to the
position, that it might not fall into the
hands of man who would OppreSS the
poorer people, and later the present
sheriff, Forto, and a number of others
have taken the position solely to the
same end.
The present justice in Brownsville is
Joseph l. P. Franklin, who off and on
has been justice for past 20 years. He is
a little nervous man, very well VerSed
in the laws of the state, and the deter
mined enemy of all fakirs, snide ma
chine repairers, and all that wandering
gentry that float from town to towr.
preying on the unwary. When one of
these fellows gets into the clutches of
FRANKLIN he always has a very hard
time of it, indeed, and generally goes
across the river to escape his prosecu-
tor.
The judge is generally known as"Jip'
Franklin among the American popula-
ton, and as ''Hosey-JoSey" among the
Mexicans. This queer compound ap-
pellative has stuck to him since, as a
little tot at school, his American teach
er would sometimes address him bV the
Spanish version of his name, Jose,
and sometimes with its English diminu-
tive as '.Josey,'' his school fellows form
ing him nickname by combination
of the two.
Some of Franklin's decisions in the
| past would have done credit to the
Wise Cadi in THE Arabian Nights -
One case l recollect in particular. Two
women came to him one morning both
claiming the ownership of hen, valued
| perhaps at 25 cents. Each had a crowd
| of witnesses, who swOre point blank up
| and down, one lot that the hen was the
| property of one of the women and the
| other gang that it was the property of
| the other. Here was quandary. Frank
| lin thought a while, and then ordered
| that the hen be left with the court, and
| said he would render his decision later.
Just about sunset that afternoon,
| "Jip," accompanied by the constabl
| who carried the hen in soap box, a
! couple of policemen and two or three
/ of the court hangers on, appeared in
| front of the dwellings, of the rival claim
ants, who lived just across the street
from each other. The police and the
| hangers on were ordered to clear the
street and to keep all passersby and
1
| occupants of the residences We're order
| ed to stay within doors
/ Then the constable put the box con-
tanning the hen at a point in the road
| way midway between the two houses,
| and as the setting sun was tingeing the
clouds in the west with it's last rays
| he removed the cover of the box and re-
| tired on tiptoe. "Biddy jumped up on
the edge of the box, shook her feathers,
| hoped into the street, picked in the
dust for moment, and then, calmly
| marching into the yard of one of the
| claimants, proceeded to fly up into a
| tree to go to roost.
Calling the woman of that house to
| the door, Franklin told her that he had
decided that the hen was hers, and
turning to the other, who had come out
said: "And if you give me any more
| trouble about that hen I will assess you
$3.50 for costs" All the neighbors were
we'll satisfied as to the justice of the de-
cision, and Franklin's reputation as g
| judge was much enhanced thereby
among the native population. He hai
very shrewdly thought that If no one
else knew to whom the hen belonged
probably Biddy herself would be the
| most certain witness in the case.