The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1905-10-25
"TEAT MENACING VERDICT"

CHAT MENACING VERDICT
We print in this issue an ar.
icle from Captain W. G. Davis,
which is intended as a reply tc
ne s:specious arguments" in the
Times of 11th inst, wherein we
criticized a verdict of 5000 dam
ages against the North Western
Railroad, in the case where Mr..
E. G. Stukes, the depot agent at
Davis station, struck Thomas h.
Fielder, a negro, in the face for
calling him liar.
Captain Davis. attorney for
this negro, is mistaken if he
thinks that it will be hard for US
s.or Captain Wilson to convince
any intelligent man in this coun-
ty thata negro would ever get a
verdict against white man, un-
less he showed a clean pair Of
heels ano had absolute justice on
his side. For his information,
we will state, there are many
intelligent men,, aud some too,
Of Captain Davis profession, who
think that verdicts are some
times obtained by other influences
than ssa clean pair of heels" and
absolute Justice p Onr conten-
ton is, such a verdict is danger
Gus, and is, if held to be founded
upon sound law. a menace to
3 TO every industrial enterprise,
and it vii, also add to further
complicate our labor system, al
ready in such problematic
Stage, that farms are being
abandoned for lack of labor; it
viii cripple all industries where
labor is employed because the
operators of these industries will
be in constant dread of such oc-
currences as the Stukes-Felder
trouble, which may end in the
employer having to respond to
: yerdicts for damages.
We said nothing about ;'wllfull
s. torts ofits agents, but we do say
that we do not believe it is law
for a corporation Or an individual
to be held responsible for the
act of an employee, when that
employee resents the ;'damn lie''
from a negro, -or white man
either, even if the ofense is
given about the employers busi-
. ness, and so far as 1.-The railroads
of this country are represented
on all occasions by able lawyers
is concerned, we will not be en-
trapped into a discussion of that
. phase of the question, but we
viii say, however, there are
times when the ablest lawyers
are misled in their confidence
IN a jury being able to see the
preposterousness OF certain de-
: mands.
What our friend says about the
responsibility for the acts OF
servants is conceded. If an cen
gineer, seeing a man approach
ing with a .mettlesome horse,
commences to blow his whistle
and lets off steam with
a view of further frighten-
ing the horse, and the
horse runs away and throws
the mans wife out and INJURIES
her for life, 1--WE concede, in such
a case the engineers employers
viii be, and should be, held re-
sponsible, but if that Woman's
husband was sent to work in the
engineers cab, and while there:
. the engineer was to tell him he
was not doing the work proper
srly, and the man retorts by call
ing the engineer "a damn liar
and the engineer smashes the
woman's husbands nose, we dc
not believe it is sound law, com.
mon sense, or justice for the
engineers employers to be
mulct in damages. The 'swhis,
tie" case is not parallel to the
Fielder case, but the NOSE
smashing" case is.
AS a layman. we make no pre-
tense Of knowing the law, but
we think we have common sense,
and from what we have learned
we do not believe that Captain
Davis can find a single decision
which will fit the circumstances
in the Fielder VS.. Northwestern
Railroad case. He may search
the law of England and America
and not a case will he find that
will show a decision where a
verdict for damages was upheld
against an employer where the
employee resented a personal
insult from a negro, and it is
because of our faith in their being
no such law, that the Manning
Times" discovers "a great source
of danger in recognizing such a
verdict" as "the law Of the land
when applied to a personal
friend" or whetherit should hap.
pen to apply to any one else.
farmer. merchant, saw mill op,
orator or any one employing
labor.
Captain Davis writes himself
narrow when ne intimates that
our interest in this case is at.
tributed to our solicitude for our
personal friend Captain Thom-
as Wilson, president of the
Northwestern Railroad: we are