Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-06-21
DAILY STORK
HIS FIRST CASE IN COURT.

| of his native village to go to college
! with 4 view to becoming lawyer.
How he was to pay his way no one
| knew. for he had not a cent in the
| world. Moreover. there was love
| match between him and his school
| mate, Maggie Pixley, the beginning OF
| which neither could remember The
affair first began to look serious when
| George went TO college At least, it
was then that Maggie's father first
| took notice of it and showed his oppo-
| sition. He reminded his daughter that
| she was at a maria gea BILE age, while
| her lover had four years at college
| three at law school and no one could
! tell how many more in getting prac
| tice at his profession. But all this de-
pended on his getting the money to
pay his expenses. Maggie made up her
mind to wait for George Crawford.
| George at his entrance to college won
| a scholarship that by dint of rigid
| economy helped him through his first
! year After that he did odd jobs,
| taught, won prizes, thus scraping to-
| gether enough to put him through col
| lege. When it came to studying law,
| be found position in a school requir
| ing but few hours of each day. This
| gave him what he needed to complete
his legal educa ton.
George was advised by most of his
| professors to plant himself in large
| city, but one of them, differing from
| the rest, recommended the country,
where if the field was smaller, the
competition was less. George chose the
country and settled in his native vii
lage
When one finds himself on the wrong
side of question the more the case
goes against him the closer he is tempt
ed to cling to it. Maggle's father was
the notary of the village, and, having
once studied little law in country
office, now found his daughters suitor,
whom he had opposed, looking down on
him from comparatively high legal
pinnacle. His opposition to the match
was more obstinate than it had been
seven years before
Judge Pixley, as he had come to be
called by his fellow citizens who knew
his weakness in respect to legal lore,
was the recipient of many small trusts.
One day four men came together to
his office and after asking If he were
Judge Pixley, laying stress on the
Judge" asked him to take charge of
some $4,000 till they should call for
it again, offering him large fee. The
notary. without stopping to inquire
whence the men came, accepted the
trust and at their request drew up Il
receipt, ending with an agreement to
pay over the money when called for
to each and every one of those who
had left it with him and to none OF
them separately. This done, they de-
parted
In few minutes the spokesman of
the party, who had fiattered the no
tary. returned and said that he wished
to count the money. Pixley put him
at a table with the bills and during the
counting was called for Il moment into
another room. When he returned both
the man and the money had vanished.
This was the severest blow the no
tary had ever received. The only prop
erty he possessed was his dwelling,
and he had been years paying off q
mortgage upon it. To replace the lost
money would require the sacrifice of
the house and something besides. The
old man was in an agony. He spent
what ready money he had going to the
city and consulting lawyers. all of
whom told him that the theft of one of
the depositors did not absolve his in
debtedness to the others.
He was not kept long in suspense.
In Il few days the men, excepting the
thief, returned and claimed their prop
erty. Not receiving it. they entered
suit against Pixley, and as there was
but little business before the court the
case was soon called for trial. There
was no lawyer in the place except
George Crawford. and Pixley had no
money with which to pay a lawyer.
Maggie begged George to do something
for her father, and the old man was
obliged to intrust his case to the per
son he so bitterly opposed
On the day of the trial excellent |
counsel appeared on behalf of the
claimants, who made speeches setting
forth 1.-The villainy of the rascal who
had sought to defraud these honest |
men of their dues" Crawford sat |
without a protest to these charges. the |
gaping villagers setting him down for !
a very poor lawyer for not hurting |
them back in the attorneys teeth. The |
Judge and jury were not averse to Pix |
ley, but they did not see how they |
could obey the law and not find YER
dict for the plaintiff.
When the case against the defendant |
had been stated and George arose it |
was hoped that at last he would make |
fiery speech accusing the claimants
of collision besides other crimes and |
set forth the high standing the defend
ant had held in the community. In
stead he called for a reading of the re-
ceipt. When the reader came to the
words "shall pay to the said (the names
here followed together and not sepa
rately" George called halt and said:
your honor, 1 ask for a dismissal
of the case against my client on the
ground that the instrument expressly
forbids my client to pay it except to
the four men together"
"CaSe dismissed said the indpe