The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1904-01-29

VS.. N. ]. ICE co.
A Wide Difference Of Opinion
Between President Truesdale
and Lawyer Pitney.
FRAUD. OR ERROR. WHICH,

The Delaware. Lackawsnna dwsstern
Railrosd Company BHings sufs
| A@ainst the New Jersey Toe Company
forsArrreas OF Payment ON Ice Trans-
portetion Contract. Jnry Renders
verdict. ..Eo C'Ause OF Actisn.''
I One. Of the most interesting cases
that has ever been tried 10 the Norris
County Courts has been in progress
lsdpring the week and in which q jury
has rendered . verdict OF no cause
Of action. 1t was case brought by
the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western
Railroad Company against the North
Jersey Ice Company, on contract, to
recover. ey,589.27, money which the
railroad company claimed was due
them for freight in carting Ice. The
case has been at issue for nearly three
years Prominent in the suit was the
president of the Lackawanna road,
William III. Truesdale, who was on
the witness stand all Tuesday after
noon, and withstood the acrid cross
fire of John o. Fl. Pitney, counsel for
the Ice Company, without the slight
est evidence Of uneasiness. In his
testimony, Mr.. Truesdale made a
startling statement. 1t was in ref
erence to paper writing that pur-
ported to be copy of contract
fixing the rate for the shipment Of ice
from Tobyhanna to Hoboken at Al
cents and from Lake Hopatcong to
Hoboken at 81 cents. When asked
about the contract the president said
that he knew nothing about it.
"But you speak of it," said Mr..
Pitney.
"Yes, but l believe it was manu-
factured and put in files of my Office,
for no one connected with the rail-
road company has any recollection Of
ever seeing the original which it
purports to be copy Of" replied Mr..
| TrueSdaie.
rs that yonr beliefa" retorted
lawyer Pitney.
"That is my firm belief, = came the
answer.
/ Reference was then made to a
lcharge which the ice company officials
said Mr.. TrHeSdale had made of
crooked business on the part of the
lice company. This the. president
explained by saying that he showed to
Monroe Howell, the manager of the
ice company, certain papers he had in
his desk of ssunder billing of ice In
shipments down to Long Branch and
Asbury Park.
=, Mr, Howell was called to the stand
and testified that he had had a num-
ber of interviews with Mr.. Truesdale
and that the president had said ON
several occasions he proposed to
Ignore the contract for 81 cent rate,
and would compel the company to pay
a 60 cent rate. Witness said that the
railroad official insinuated crooked
ness, but he thought Mr.. Truesdale
was hasty; that he didn't know as
much about the ice business as he
learned afterward; and that he told
him the ''under billing" referred to
was aegal charge for shrinkage
which was allowed by the Pennsyl-
vania and under the Interstate
commence act.
In smmming up the case, former
Senator Edwards, of Jersey City, who
is one of the shrewdest lawyers in
the State, addressed the jury in
behalf of the railroad corporation.
Mr. Edwards started out by telling
about the alleged contract. The
paper, he said, purported to be copy
of contract, but that no original
had ever been seen by any one, and
Furthermore, that in the copy one of
the railroad officials named therein,
was dead at the time the contract
was supposed to have been executed.
The lawyer did not charge direct
fraud, but excused the matter in say
ing that he believed some clerk for
convenience had prepared the paper
and left it among the files in the
presidents office.
Mr. Pitney did not offer any apollo
gies or make any excuses. He hit
from the shoulder throughout his
entire argument to the jury. Now
and anon the jurist would wave his
hand high in air and with flow OF
words denounce the railroad company
and it's president He said that on
the first day of March, 1899, William
II. Truesdale became president and
in ten days he served notice upon
the ice company that the ice rate
would be increased "This western
management" said Mr.. Pitney "come
in to whoop things up. And they
did. 1t was like an earthquake.
Everybody felt the JAR" The statute
of frauds under which the railroad
company pleaded received Mr.. Pitney's
attention for time. This statute,
the lawyer said, was called the ''baby
act" 1t was enacted years ago under
the old English law and looked upon
every man as a liar. 1t took fol
granted that If man had any cause
for action he would lie about it.
The suit is based on book account
which ran from April, 1899, to Septem-
ber of the same year for ice shipped
over the Lackawanna. The amount
charged during that time was $1I2,.
$50. Part of this amount was paid
leaving alleged balance of S16, ,507. 63:
but the ice company claimed that
only $9,009.36 was the balance and this