Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-03-19
GAVE DOG DRUG
BROKE PHARMACY
ACT, LAWYER SAYS
Supreme Court Fight Over
ChlorOforming of Alleged
Mad Canine.

"A high bred female Boston bulldog"
as the staid legal documents put it, and
a dead dog at that, was the subject OF
nearly an hours controversy before
Chief Justice Gummere in the Supreme
Court circuit today, in which John j..
Huhbell, counsel for the owner of the
dog; Leo Stein, counsel for the alleged
slayer of the dog, ana the chief justice
himself figured.
1t was long after the dog days, some
time last November. when this high
bred female Boston bulldog owned by
William Wagner, a barber of 81 Bank
/, street, and valued at $50, got into the
trouble that led first to his death, then
to a postmortem examination and
finally to the suit, a phase of which
reached the very fountain head of Jer-
sew justice today.
The owner of the dog, at least so runs
the story, as told by Samuel Schwarz, a
druggist of 901 Broad street, and Mr..
STEMS client, was having a hot time
with him in front of his place. He, the
dog, was frothing at the mouth, a great
crowd had gathered and there were
shouts of mad dog" The druggist
was appealed to, still, according to his
story, to send the aforesaid ~highbred
female Boston bulldog" to a deserved
death, Ito wit, with chloroform.' The
druggist said that he did as he was
directed, the dog died and now he is the
defendant in a suit for $500 in the Su-
preme Court circuit to recover the value
| of the canine.
The phase of the suit that was up to-
day was a motion by Mr.. Hubbell to
strike out certain demurrers to the dec
laration set up by Mr.. Stein. Mr.. Hub
bell. after a long skirmish, in which the
| dead dog was treated with some levity,
gained some points and lost others.
THE pharmacy act" Mr.. Hubbell
pointed out to the court. does not al
low the administration of chloroform
without a physicians prescription
ITO a dog?' asked the court.
Il don't know admitted Mr.. Hub
bell. but l do think it refers to man
and beast"
you 6on't suppos it refers to rats
or mice ?" the chief justice wanted to
know as his eyes twinkled.
Mr.. Hubbell repeated what he thought
the act referred to. and then Mr.. Stein
came in with a definition of chloroform.
well" commented the court, chic
reform may be all you say 1t is and 1t
may be useful sometimes for a lawyer,
for instance"
When the laugh at this was over the
court, turning to Mr.. Hubbell, asked:
DO you think that if the mar took
ch~loroform cut of the bottle without
permission of the dog he, the man,
would be ~an:enable?'
Not exactly, SIR returned Mr.. Hub
bell.
"Well,'' said the chief justice, "the
act prohibits the sale and giving away
of chloroform without a physicians
prescription. but it certainly does not
limit a druggist to putting a mad dog
out of existence only by means Of a
pistol"
But, your hoEor,' persisted Mr.. Hub
bell, this dog was not mad. / had a
post-mortem made and found that he
was not"
Then there was some more legal See
saving Involving "the aforesaid high
rred female Boston bulldog" the our
signed the papers covering the decision
On the demurrers and the lawyers went
their way.