The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-03-19

on the slde. l subpoena witnesses TOT them"
 them, do you?"
 No, l don't get up damage suits?'
 You don't? Ever do it?'
 Never" responded MT. Smith en- phatically.
 'Never?'' returned defendants lawyer more emphatically.
 MT. smith, he faced the plaintiff square, didn't you testify in court last week that your back was sprained your left hip hurt, and that you received per manent injuries in a wreck on the South ern railroad in August of 1909, and se- cured verdict for s15.OO0 damages?"
 T object,' exclaimed MT. Blank. "Tes- timony not material in this case.''
 Hurt his left hip, then. Right hip now, back still sprained back hurt you now?" Defendants lawyer was driving fast.
 T object. Object"' cried counsel fos' plaintiff
 The judge addressed the plaintiff: "Is your back still hurting you, Mir Smith ?'' he asked.
 Yes, sir" responded Mir. Smith, mot from the last case, though, but from the first one-the wreck on the Southern Franklin Pipe company case not re- sponslble for the back said counsel for defendant. Responsible for the right hip. however, for the hand. for the eye-which eye, by the way?' "Object!'
 MT Smithr' Again defendants lawyer wheeled around. Did you, or did you not, tell MT. Franklin that your doctors bill was $29O?"
 T did not"
 "Objectr
 Did you, or did you not tell hiin that several lawyers were after you to bring suit against his company. but you'd rather settle with him for s500?'
 Object"
 Heres the case. You drove deliberate ly that bridge and tied your wheel around that dray. Then you didn't think of your injuries, nor anything about your horse and buggy You thought about a lawsuit right off, and started for your witnesses. Why didn't you arrest the driver?''
 Cant arrest anyone. Cant arrest anyone-and you're a dep uty sheriff aren't you? You're a deputy sheriff?"
 'Objectr Counsel for plaintiff stood up.
 "Oh, l only wanted to show that he was a deputy sheriff. and to show there are no witnesses on the subpoena docket. You can have him Attorney for plaintiff took him. So the case went on. All day long it was continued. Comparatively few peo- pie were in the court room, but certain of those few were among the most i'm portant and influential men in the city. For the case had it's points-very special points
 At lanoth 0 the arpumantS he tween the two attorneys. MT. Blank $ main effort was to show up the "unreli- ability" of old Alfred. Among many things he said: Went and told you all it was his son, eh-and wasn't his son at all. Said the horse was white and 1t was bay horse. And all the time protesting he was telling the truth. In one of Shakespeare plays there is character-a lady who does protest too much. This old man is like that character He does protest too much. Oh, I'll tell the truth and nothing but the truth he keeps repeating. If he s so anxious to tell the truth, why he wouldn't talk so much about it." and so on and so on. from this chap and the other chap and another chap and so on some more.
 Then came the inning of counsel for de- fendant
 Tt seems" said he. that my friend, MT. Blank. does not want to tell the sim pie facts in this case. He wants to go back into ancient history and quote from the old poets and historians I'm no poet I'm no historian. I'm just dealing with the plain facts. I'm no speaker either not when it comes to Brother Blank. Talk about poetry and imagination! Brother Blank can give it to you. Listen to this." uara ha 1ou of the testimony from the other side testimony that spoke for itself.
 And now here is plain case of facts before you, given in old Alfred's testi- mony ''D' you find anything in Shakes peare or in anybody else, Brother Blank, quoted about this case-or in any way re- lated to it? Yet MT. Blank says old AL freds like the lady in Shakespeare, He does protest too muchn Does jury of southern men know a good old negro man? I'm not talking up for these young smart Aces. But, my friends, here's an old-time negro man, honest and kind and true. Reckon you know him, the same as I know him.
 Do the poets and the historians know these old negro men as we do? Did MT. Shakespeare, away off in England, back in the 18th century, know anything about the negro character as we know 1t today and knew it yesterday?
 Why, men, and the lawyer looked full in the faces of the jurymen, His boy, his boy David-his daughters child-the same as his! 'Aint that the same thing?' he asks. Why don't the good in that old mans face shine out? And yet, my friend Blank says he does protest too much. And he summons the ghost of William Shakespeare to enter into this court room and prove his case. He can summon the ghost of William Shakespeare until he's tired. William Shakespeare cannot prove it. You're a jury of southern men. Here's the old time antebellum negro. Here's his word. Here is an instance where you can count on its truth, men. with absolute safety"
 One more argument in behalf of the plaintiff by counsel for the plaintiff; one more attack on the old negro's testimony the last word-and the case rested with the jury.
 At the first ballot the jury stood seven to five for verdict against plaintiff. But 1t was the old. old story in our courts-testimony of the ''nigger' against the white man, must not, cannot holdi No matter how honest the negro, nor how dishonest or how much a scalawag the white man in question. the word of the white man, aany white man, Is a sacred word.
 The five jurors for the plaintiff ram med this phase in so hard on the other seven that at the second ballot it was all settled. Then besides they wanted to get to go home at any cost, all agreed.
 Plaintiff was awarded O,OOO for injuries sustained A telephone message was sent to the judge at 8:3O that night. He came down, received the verdict and released the Jury.
 Now it wasn't this case that's the issue