Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-11-20
Decisions

Important Decisions
tine following notes q cass6 aro
from the West Publiahing Company.
FALLS DOWN STAIRWAY.
Defendant maintained scent NOV.
Ing picture thsatsF. on the second door
OF . building on Monroe avenue, u
the city Of Detroit. The theater was
reached by entering the ground noor
Of the building. on Monroe avenue and
then passing to the rear, whore the
stairway was situated. One wednes-
day at about { o'clock p. M. plaintiff
bought Q ticket to the show and went
UP the stairway. reaching her seat
without incident. The performance was
a continuous one, the patrons coming
and going at will. Plaintiff remained
until she had seen all Of the acts and
then started to leave. Tho upstairs Of
the theater was very dark She could
not see the steps, and had to feel her
way down. without being aware OF
its existence she stepped down q single
curved step. lost her balance. and fell
forward aud down a!sht &c eight
steps. For the severe injuries sustained
she brought action on the case to re-
cover damages. The lower court d.
rected verdict in favor Of defendant
on the ground that plaintiff was guilty
Of contributory negligence AZ matter of
law. The supreme court of Michigan
in Branch vs. Klatt. ISL Northwestern
Reporter. lot, in reversing the lower
court judgment, holds that under the
evidence the question was one for the
Jury: that the duty Of q patron Of Q
theater to exercise care for his own
safety while descending stairways OF
theater is lighter than that Of ono
passing along public streets, the pre-
sumption being that the theater owner
has placed his premises In Reasonably
safe condition as to lights and con.
structoin. Where the premises are MAIN
tanned in q darkened condition. the
court holds that one has thereby an
added assurance that they are reason
ably safe.
DYING DECLARATIONS.
Why are they admitted In evidencef
There Is no opportunity given for
cross-examination; no oath admins.
tered The Jury is deprived Of the op-i
portunity to Judge the extent Of de-
ceased's passions or prejudices 70 40 to
determine the accuracy OF his state
ment. Decease6s mind may not have
been sufficiently clear to give an &C.
curate account. tho such were the In
tention: and. finally, the great consti.
tutional provision that an accused shan
be confronted with the Witnesses
against him is directly violated. Il -
because these objections. az recently
said by the criminal court OF appeals
! of Oklahoma, are not sufficient to
counterbalance the importance and
necessity o fthe admission OF such owl
| dence. Public necessity demands II, and
not without reason OF whatever sect
or creed one may be. in his heart he
, recognizes the omnipotence Of su.
perior being. and tho he may not admit.
yet as long as his body breathes there
| is the. hope Of Anal Precipitation ana
peace with his God. which is accentu-
/ ated by the approach Of death. causing
the purity Of truth to rise from the
darkest heart rather than Justification
| in the eyes Of men. Murlkey VS. state.
113 Pacific Reporter. Sac.
STATUS OF A COLLEGE.
A Michigan statute provides that
real estate occupied for education.
al purposes shall be exempt from taxa
ton. To escape taxation one Parsone
1 Incorporated his business college. ana
then filed a bill against the city OF
Kalamazoo and its assessor to have his
property declared exempt. The SUI
preme court Of Michigan In Parsons
| Business College vs.. City Of Kalamazoo
1871 Northwestern Reporter. sos, holds
that the real property IS not exempt
from taxation, and that the business
college is not q general educational IN
stitution, within the meaning OF tne
! statute. but organized and conducted
/ solely for the profit Of the founders and
| stockholders. The court states that II
| is a naseter OF common knowledge that
students Of business college study
| ing the usual len9th Of time obtain bu,
a mere smattering Of knowledge. but
T; acknowledges that business colleges are
useful and very beneficial to larSe
class.
COMMANDS Make RAILROAD LII
ABLE.
i AS train approached switch sta.
ton, the negro porter told a passen.
ger who was to alight there to come
on" reckoning at the same time. When
he reached the door the negro told hin
to hurry up" When he reached tht
step he was urged to jump. He did
For the injuries sustained action Wal
brought against the railroad company
The court OF civil appeals OF Texas II
Galveston, II. & 8. A. Railway Com
pany VS. Krenek, 13s Southwestern Re-
porter, 1854. holds that the porter.i
conduct constituted negligence on tn
part Of the railroad company, and sus.
tanned Judgment for $500. In Texas i
is rot negligence per Sc to alisht from
q moving train.
I,nical than