The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-09-18
Major Guthrie kotCh i'm
PresactIy kerrect.
WOODED THE COURT?



Either the name If blackwell" ha
some peculiar ana subtle power Of
successful 'hoodoo"-or Major Wi
liam \. Guthrie. of Durham. has a
rabbits foot that was killed with
weeping willow stick, on 4 Frioay
night. the 18th of February, on tn
dark Of the moon, at the left han
corner Of the grave Of a one-eyea
Niger kicked to death by a Whit
mule.
or course if IL a left hind foot. WITH
five toes, The Majors charm Is work
ing over time and creating record
every day.
1t was only recently that III the SUI
against The American Tobacco Com
pany brought by the Majors client.
Blackwell, that Judge Pritchard stis
matted as i~mprovident the attempt
ed remove Of that case by Clerk of
the Court Grant ana sent it back for.
trial in Durham county, where it still
abides.
That WAS enough luck to last q
Woodworking lawyer for a year.
But when yesterday afternoon Major
Guthrie walked into the lobby of the
Marlborough House, smoking q cigar
with q red band around it and con
templatively stroking himself as one
who is satisfied with the world and
his dinner, and remarked that he
had just had two eases which had
been attempted to be removed to the
Federal court remanded to the State
court by Judge Purnell, his brethren
of the bar did not exactly shout. They
~meditated and then said:
'"Wncw,'
When a Federal court turns loose
a case in which q corporation is the
defendant seeking to cuddle on its
manly bosom, and sends the cham
pions Of vested interests back to the
danger of being Invested of something
/ or other in the State courts, it is time
TO say well, Well!' Us one recognizes
that there is something new under
the sun every day it comes up.
But when the Federal court that
does this thing-and does it twice in
one days presided owe by the
Honorable Thomas r. Purnell, United
| States Judge of the Eastern District
of North Carolina, sitting as the Cir
cult court and posing as Napoleon
J resting his rotundity in q swivel chain,
| why
1t is time to swing a round a rosy
for the millennium days,
Major Guthrie breathed hard as he
tried to speak of the incident in q
natural ton of voice, as ecomes a
man whose deeds are big enough to
be their own advertisement, but it's
the rabbit foot for him and no mis-
take.
Just to see that ghost of q grave
! yard rabbit boring down With its eerie
immemorial habit of the court Is.
enough to make every corporation in
the land burst its water pipes
Judge Purnen sitting in a hypnotic
trance and going foolish over a rab-
bits root
Who was that who said that Woo
doc had played out?
The Cases Involved.
The result is the thing in this story
and the details are minor matters. The
two cases which went into the making
Of Il precedent were those Of j. w.
blackwell, of Durham, and Williams,
of Martin county, who respectively
brought suits against the Mutual Re
serve Fund Life Association, of New
York. for the recovery of moneys
paid by them in the way of premiums.
to the use Of said company.
It appears from the Blackwell com
plaint that the plaintiff had paid to
the Insurance company in premiums
the sum of $2,3l4. When the plan
oil assessment followed by such COM
pany was changed II the plaintiff
put into a class in which his assess
ment is alleged to have been raised
in violation of the terms ana condi-
lions Of his policy. The plaintiff
thereupon permitted the policy to
lapse and afterwards started suit fol
the cover of monies paid i'm by
him With interest on the ground that
there had been q violation of the con
] tract. waving of the principal money
ssh so as to bring the amount sued
upon under the mount involved
which is made by statute the meas.
ure to enable a foreign corpora
ton to remove a case. The matter
was litigated on collateral questions
in both the Superior and the Supreme
courts of North Carolina, which in
both instances held with the insur-
ance company, and afterwards Il
transcript of the record was filed in
the Federal court. although Judge
PurneIl did not order the case re-
moved.
The question OF removal having
been heard in the State court and
refused, the plaintiff prepared to
prosecute his action and the insurance.
company came with much confidence
before Judge Purnell asking for an
injunction against Blackwell, restrain
ing him from prosecuting his suit in
tht State courts. Judge Purnell
did not issue a preliminary order, but.
cited the plaintiff Blackwell to appear
and show cause why the injunction
SlOGfd llOl l9SGt dSoiI7I NM, ana II
was upon this question that argu-
ment was had in the two cases yes
terday.
During the course of the argument.
MIR. W. b. Guthrie called particular.
attention TO the conflicting oaths
taken in the case by officers of r1r
insurance company, the president ha~-
ing sworn that the company's assets
in North Carolina exceeded two thous-
and dollars and the secretary having
sworn that it had no property in this
State.
Judge Purnell at the conclusion Of
the argument. which was made by
the Nessrs. Guthrie for Blackwell and
! NeSsrs. IIinsdale and POu for the In
.surance Company, remanded both
cases. one TO be tried in Durham ana
the other in Martin county.
r. Q. Everett, Esq. of