Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-10-22
A Case In Point.

house.
Scott Wilson was a well-known white
man, who farmed in the Walnut Grove
section. He was somewhat addicted to
drink and usually "got full' when he
came to Spartanburg.
One night last March he was picked
up on one of the streets Of the city IN
an apparently intoxicated state. He
was carried to the station house and
locked up in cell, along with other
| violators of the law.
The next morning at police court,
when he was summoned to answer to
| the charge Of drunkenness. the officer
| who went to the cell to inform him.
stood aghast to discover that the man
was lying on his bed dead. During
the night, which was very cold one,
he died, and his relatives claim that 1t
was due to neglect and not receiving
proper NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Herald.
The statement of facts in the fore
going paragraph is quite interesting
from several points Of view; but the
most important point just now is the
responsibility Of the city Of Spartan
burg to the widow and children Of Mr..
Wilson-whether the city Of Spartan
burg is responsible at all in the first
place, and if responsible at all, in what
amount.
We are told that Mr.. Wilson was a
man somewhat addicted to drink V
and that he usually got full when he
went to Spartanburg." One night he
was picked up on one Of the streets in
an apparently intoxicated condition,
and upon being placed in the station
house, with other violators Of the law,
he died during the night.
According to the usual procedure
under such circumstances, when the
case comes for trial, the plaintiffs will
say to the defendant: You found this
husband and father in a drunken con-
dition on your streets. and instead OF
leaving him to the possible ministra-
tions of good Samaritans, you put him
into prison and allowed him to die of
neglect. It is true that he may have
died in the streets; but since you un-
dertook to look after him, you should
have gone on with your whole duty,
heated the prison room to proper de-
gree of comfort, wrapped him in blank
cts and taken such other steps as
seemed necessary to save his life. Be-
cause Of your failure to do this, you
are responsible to us for his DEATH"
The defense Of the city, in the light
Of the facts stated, will be that the man
was found helplessly intoxicated; that
there was no reason to think that his
case did not come under the common
rule; that there appeared to be nothing
better to do than to take him to the
shelter of the station house where it
was expected that he would sleep on
his drunken stupor and return to his
normal condition. 1t will be further
claimed that, to the surprise Of the de-
fendant, subsequent developments prov
ed that the mans constitution had been
wrecked by previous dissipation and
debauchery, and that he really died
from too much whisky. The defend
ant will also hold that If the man had
been left on the street, he would have
died anyway, and that instead Of being
held responsible for his death, 1t was
entitled to credit for having tried to
save his life.
To the complaint outlined above, the
answer Of the defendant, would seem
to entitle it to a verdict, and although
it may not change the result, the plain
tiff might do we'll to begin with differ
ent case, in which event their COM
plant will be something like this:
"You, the city of Spartanburg, sold to
this husband and father intoxicating
liquors, which intoxicating liquors
were deadly poison. and during a num-
ber of years you steadily and surely
broke down his constitution until this
night in March you killed him. You
had all the while been been profiting
by the debauchery in which you have
| involved him, and for which you were
responsible and now that you have
robbed him of his life, and us Of his
company and of his assistance in gain
ing a livelihood, solely for your profit,
we demand that you pay us such sum
as will make good, so far as lies in the
power Of money to make good, the dam
age you have inflicted upon u.s."
AS to whether the widow and orphans
of Mr. Wilson will get anything out of
their suit, Of course cannot be surely
predicted. AS guess, we would be in
clined to venture that they will get
| nothing. Public sentiment-th way
people have taught themselves. and
| been taught to think-has all to do
with cases of this kind, and as all the
people of South Carolina are defend
ants, morally, at least, in this case, it
is not reasonable to assume that there
will be a great deal of public sentiment
on the side of the plaintiffs.