The Mena weekly star., 1912-04-25
CHANCE OF VENUE
 IN ARMSTRONG CASE
SiO.0O0 Damage Suit Against Rail- road Goes to SeIier County-sic- Daniels Gets $500 Judgment
 Grand Jury Adjourns.

The big Si0,000 personal damage
 suit of Miss Sue Armstrong against
 the Kansas City Southern Railway
 Company and Engineer ]. c. Hariz-
 Ter, will not be tried at this term
 of court and not in Polk county at
 all. At the request of Attorneys J.
 E. McDonough and Pole McPhetrige
 representing the defendants. the
 case was transferred to Sevier county on account of the prejudice said to exist in this county against the railroad because of the removal | of the division terminals. This pe- tition was strongly resisted by Att torneys Alley and King, who repre- sent the plaintiff, and many promi- nent county officials and other cit izens were brought before the court
 to show that there was no such prejudice existing that would pre-
 vent a fair trial.
 Judge Hon expressed the view
 that there was evidence of such lprejudice that might influence the
 case, and upon agreement of the Iattorneys from both sides, sent the case to Sevier county. It is set for
 trial on the fourth Wednesday in July.
 Miss Armstrong's home is Gran his. She is teaching school in Mena.
 She was injured in the wreck of the
 Arkansas Traveller about year ago.
 Mcdaniel Gets $500.
 The suit of r. k. McDaniels vs.
 the Kansas City Southern railway
 was tried Friday. and resulted in' him being given a judgment for
 S500 Mr. McDaniel is an old man | 69 years of age. He was a passen- ger on the local freight January | 26, 1912, going from Cove to Gran his. As the train stopped at Gran
 his. he was thrown over the plat form railing between the front end
 of the caboose and the next ear, fell to the track, and was more or less seriously injured. The amount of the injury, of course, is one of
 the questions in dispute in the trial.
 The plaintiff is suing for 5000,
 charging permanent injuries, great
 pain and suffering. Attorney ]. l.
 Alley. assisted by Attorney G. w. Johnson of Grannis, represents MT. | McDaniels. Witnesses for the plain | tiff testified that the train pulled into Grannis. stopped, and one passenger got off. MT. McDaniels
 was coming out of the door of the
 caboose onto the platform when there was a sudden jam or backing motion of the train, which threw the old man clear over the railing head first to the track between the
 cars. Parties standing near him on
 the platform pulled him from be-
 tween the cars just as the wheels of the backing train came against his legs, which were across one of the rails. It was claimed he was Unconscious and remained in this
 condition, partially, at least, for some time.
 Witnesses for the railroad con- pany testified that the train stop ped at Grannis in the usual man.
 ner; that there was no backing mo- ton other than that occasion by the rebound of the cars pumping together. E. R. Bryant was the other passenger who left the train ahead of MT. McDaniels. He testi- | field that he left his seat in the ca boose before the train stopped, and thought Mir. McDaniels did also for when the bump came from the stopping of the train he was stand ling on the ear steps and hearing the exclamation, My Godf Look cd back of him and saw the old man falling between the cars. Rel ative to the condition of the plain tiff after the accident, Mir. Bryant stated that he saw him in the de- pot a few minutes afterwards, talk ing and laughing with the train- men and saying he did not think
 he was badly hurt.
 Testimony was given by witness eS for the plaintiff that he was confined in bed at a hotel at Gran his for several days, and that his injuries are of permanent na- ture.
 During the trial there was a great deal of expert testimony from phy- sieians who had examined the plaintiffs physical condition. In one instance this was quite conflicting, even between the defendants ex- perts. One doctor said there was a deformity in the pelyis. which caused one hip to be two inches lower than the other, but believed it had been that way from birth | Another of the experts for the de- fense said that both hips were nor- nal, and one was not lower than the other.
 There was a good deal said about 1 the old mans walk before and 1 since the accident. Some of the witnesses said he had had a kind | of shuttle or limp ever since they | had known him. but that it was worse since the accident. Another | witness described the aged plain | tifTs walk as a turkey trot. and l that f was not different now from l what it had been for the past 30 or i0 years. The case was given | Co ihe jury shortly after dinner | bui Il was after dark before fhe verdict was reached.
 Following the NrDaniei case. there sas & mixed up case. in which |