The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1905-09-01
RIDICULOUS DAMAGE SUIT
Brought Against Railroad Company by
a Woman In North Carolina.

solicit trade in the matter of suing
the company, but that seems to have
done no good. The limit has been
reached, however, if we credit a telo-
graphic news item sent out and bear
ing Charlotte date line Of where a
Woman sues the Southern railway
company because, as a passenger, She
was carried past the Durham station
and taken on to Raleigh. 1t seems
that she Was forced to spend the night
in Raleigh and sets up that she sui
fered mental anguish; that she could
not sleep in that city; that she wor-
RED and her health Is impaired for
life, as she believes, and winds up the
hot air spiel by her lawyer by laying
claims to the modest sum Of $4,000
damages because of all these things,
Il is TO be sincerely hoped that the
day will come when judges will throw
such cases out OF court.
We are willing to admit that we
would not like to stop In either Raj
eigh or Durham over night-but were
we to be delayed on Journey and
such was the only alternative, we
have q half notion that a sum Of
money much smaller than the amount
sued for by the lady who modestly
claims but ten thousand plunEs would
heal our lacerated feelings. The law
yer does not state in the petition fled
in court how much of this likely
wad he expects to get-and it is to
be hoped, for the good name OF the
state, that such case will never be
allowed to go to trial.
1t was only the other day that we
received a letter sent to us from a
neighboring city. The letter contain
ed check for several dollars and
also the change of copy for an adj
vertisement that had to go in the
next issue Of the paper. While we diae
not need the money we did need The
copy, because falling to get It de-
layed our issue, and it was important
that the advertisement be changed be-
cause we had contracted that it would
appear. The letter was belated, and
mad been sent to another postofiee.
The supersoription was plain, plain
as print, and no living expert could
have deciphered anything but Greens
boro, N. c., out Of it-but Just the
ao..a 4Lo 1o+4or ~tau4 m Nfl0OraoviI1o
North Carolina, and stopped over
night there and came along here the
next evening. And the postmaster
marked on it in big black type-a
type made for the business Mis-
sent" In other words, the postof-
fee which started 1t out made a mis-
take. That was what It was, mis-
take pure and simple. MoOresville
called attention to it by stamping the
letter "NIissent." Now, suppose the
case for just q moment. Suppose we
had been a transient and that check
was Of all Importance to us. Sup
pose the delayed letter had caused
us to miss a train and thus cost more
hotel money waiting for 1t, and sup
pose by missing the train we had lost
q big sale CT lost job or lost sew
eral thousand dollars?
Where would there have been any
redress-no matter what damages we
could have proven? There would
have been none. The government
runs the mails - makes a mistake
once in a while and the man who
loses out whistles and let's it 90 at
that. But had such a thing happened
and a railroad had been the cause Of
it-why, bless your life a dozen con
tingent lawyers would have harangu-
ed a jury-let off enough hot air TO
initiate a balloon for Polar expedi-
ton and weeping jury Of "our coun-
trymen" would have given us "a YER
dict for twenty thousand dollars, Not
that we were entitled to red cent,
but because it is popular to sue rail
roads and telephone and street
car companies - put up the
mental anguish squeal and
show wrecked and nervous face, all
caused through worry and wonder
ment as 10 whether the damages
would come, and that is all.sufn-
cient
The particular case of which we
make mention is farther fetched than
anv lately coming under our notice,
unless 1t was the tramp in Asheville
who was trespassing upon the proper
ty Of the company and leaped from
trestle 10 save his precious neck and
sued the company for damages sus-
tanned in alighting-and If a jury is
asked to hear it it will be positively
shameful. The passenger perhaps re-
ceived as much notification as any
one received, because the train boy
and conductor always call the sta
lions, and If she failed to have in.
telligence enough to know what they
were saying, it should not be charged
up to the company. But it is the
way of the world--and the fad to sue
the company remains in favor 49, no
matter about the barratry laws AMI
no matter about common decency and
Justice. - Everything Greensboro