The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1910-05-27

This is the story of neighbor-
hood quarrel-one of those funny
bad things in which nobody wins
and everybody loses.
l. N. McCurdy and Peter Am
brOse, good citizens, are neigh.
bors on Spokane avenue in Me-
Kinley park district. They arc
trying to settle their neighborhood
row i'm police court this after.
noon.
What's it all about?
Well, Ambrose keeps cats. His
cats roamed to McCurdy's place
yowled on his back fence and
chased his chickens. McCurdy
came out with a revolver to dis.
perse the cats, and now there is
a neighborhood row on, with
half a dozen on each side. and
the men, women and children
stirred with bitter thoughts, are
down, with the baby carriage, ant
little tads looking on in big-eyet
wonder at the strange court pro
cedings.
And II is the same old story
Once a week or oftener the c0ur,
is called upon to settle sOmC
neighbOrhOod quarrel. And in
general the cause is as trivial a.
the Ambrose cats. But expenses
are hcaped up for the county to
pay, men are taken from their
work, women are embroiIed in
disputatiOn and wrangling which
continues in future years, and lit.
tie children are dragged around
in the courts to get their little
minds warped and twisted by the
perverted testimony of prejudice
aud jealous animosity.
and what Is the court to do
Judge Arntson would like tc
know.
Last SUNDAY Ambrose called the
officers to arrest McCurdy for
shooting in the city limits. Nc.
Curdy came in Monday, admitted
he had shot. took the officer and
showed where he had plowed uI
the ground, and said ne was sim
ply frightening cats away. 1t did
not look serious. Ambrose did
not appear in court, so the Judge
assessed a nominal, fine, and Nc.
Curdy went home.
Wednesday Ambrose appeared
with his little boy and a neigh.
Dor, all wrought up. He said Nc.
Curdy had come out with a re.
volver and shot at the boy.
And the father voucbed for it
And when he hai demonstrated
with McCurdy about trying to Kill
his boy, then McCurdy had turn.
ed the revolver on him and
threatened to kill both him anj
lthe boy. This was the Ambrose
story, and the neighbor stood by
and looked his eagerness to have
McCurdy punished.
This looked bad for McCurdy
SO the court issued a peace war
rant.
McCurdy heard of it, and came
in. The case was set for today
When he appeared he came with
his attorney, and his family, and
he was carrying a little babe.
The court told him what Am
brose charged. And McCurdy
declared it was just the other
way. That Ambrose had come out
after he shot at the cats and had
two revolvers and was going to
come over the fence and kill him
and his whole family.
And there 1t was.
One neighbor swearing one
thing, another something abso.
lutely different, and yet those
two neighbors could have settled
their little trouble in a friendly
lneighborly way a week ago, an6
now all would be we'll.
But expenses are being piled III
on the county, and loss beint
piled up on the participants. Sucf
a case generally runs into money
Each witness gets 81, and will
20 witnesses there is $50. Their,
is loss of day of work for pos
sibly dozen or more men. Their,
are court costs, and in the enc
nobody gets any good out of it
but a whole neighborhood be