The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-11-20
STEPHEN D. ELY Is A FIGHTER.
Runs 4 GRIST MILL WHICH MS
NEIGHRORS TABOO.
Writes Poems for the Country Papers. One
OF Which 10 Oncnds His Brother That
lie Begins Suit for Defamation Of
Character. Claiming a ID. 900 Dana ses


OF Which No Onends His Brother That
lie Begins Suit for Defamation or
Character. Claiming $40 900 Damases
A week seldom goes by without the ap-
pearance In one Of the papers in Middle
sex county, y. j.. Of some Of the painful
poetry Of Stephen D. Ely. the miller Of
Cranbury. The poetic miller is not be-
loved by his fellow townsmen and his
poems are a. rigidly excluded from the
Crdnbury Weekly Press az the mill on Gram
bury Pond is stunned by the local grangers
Old Steve" finds other outlets for his
verse and he doesn't let the village editor
discourage his efforts any more then local
enmity can bridge him from his mill.
There are other reasons given for the
feeling against the miller besides his
poems, and he. on his part. erinds out
a long complaint against the good people
OF Cranbury, but his verse Is closely as
sociated with his crahhedness in the village
mind Nothing, therefore, could have
brought deeper satisfaction to the town
than the news from Trenton that Steve +
brother, D. Addison Ely. Of Perrineville, ;:
had brought $4,000 suit against him for
defamation Of character, which he alleges
he suffered by one Of Steve's poems,
The Fox and Crow published in the
Princeton Signal Enterprise of March 20
last
The poem il headed by On introduction
which announces that the bird referred
to In the verse has no connection with
fsop's crow. II is long screed, telling
how the fox fattered the crow to get his
cheese. j. Addison Ely charges that the
description Of the cunning fox was intended
IA personal allusion to himself. The
poem winds up with the following stanza:
MY father, who pitied his sons unbalanced
Was more generous TO mo than was some Of
- his kind
His daughters and resemble our ancestors
line.
But nature is odd with her freaks sometimes
The miller and h.s brother are sol.s of a
lawyer who was prominent in Middlesex
county In Civil War times, ard who is re-
meinberrd as local historian and poet OF
some prominence in the county press
The two boys were partners in a gr.st mill
at Hightstown and got along Gmieablv
till their fathers death six years ago Since
then the brothers have been eli ged in
lawsuit over the division of the estate
Early IN the dispute Stephen left Nights
town for Cranberry, where he has bought
the local grist mill under foreclosure The
legal controversy dragged along until II
had passed out OF the village gossip except
for occasional references to the law in old
Steve's verses
Recently this poem entitled -Cranburys
New Years Present" appeared II con-
tainedt the miller's estimate Of the jldiciar
The Judge. with power often possessed,
Doth Brighten the witness almost to death
The truth Of which h" wants to tell.
That part the judge wants to uuel
Such Judges will surely have their He'll
The honest Iud 90 that doth not do.
II" wants the witness To say whats true
That justice he NAV mete out even,
Such Judges will surely go to Heaven
with what artncc tho courts doth bring bout
The assorted evidence to make n case out
M Mhcn the defendant Is entitled to III. doubt
N destroys much good and encourages the
devil.
Such law as this tho statu,. does not give.
But nin., v-nnc criminals better escape
That one innocent man may live
In my first attempt az poetry gave lawyers
1t Is no mors than justice to give the Judges
One Judge in this poetry have made select
No escape from punishment that he may
direct
IMPRESSED with many poet cal lines
| will quote the following from Watts:
hid YOU forget or ncver know.
That Cod would nudge tho Jud sea too
Then He bcholds and with n frown
Cast 10 the dust their honor down"
II Steve fly's legal controversies had
been confined 10 the family perhaps he
would no, now be disliked But " hen he
got the mill he brought suit against his
neighbor, }. :. Silver, III. president Of the
local bank, for part II his lawn, which he
claimed a. belonging TO the mill land. When
the suit was decided against him Steve
went to the bank and withdrew $4,000
he had on deposit there.
Then the time-honored privilege of
cutting ice on the pond was forbidden by
the miller. and the small boys of the villa ge
spots at the dam.
with their grain to the mill at Hightstown.
Soon II was rare thing 10 hear the rumble
Of Stoves millstones. Then one fine morn
ing the village woke up To fnd the mile
lcrgth Of Cranbury Pond a sea Of mud
The miller had opened the dam gates and
let Of the water, His deed gives him the
flowing rights to the sheet, and il is his
right to empty the pond.
For many months the gates STAYED UP
and Steve enjoyed his first triumph. He
had plenty, he said, and didn't want their
money. II would be a cold day when he
couldn't live without the mill. But there
was something Steve didn't reckon on
The Village Trustees declared the empty
pond menace to the community's health
and compelled him TO fll it again
This was bitter defeat for the old man.
Since then his pen has been his only weapon
in the village fight,