The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-12-17
The EVENING STORY
Befogging the Issue.
(By Lawrence Alfred Clay

| The announcement at the age OF
| 10 of Miss May Bennett that she pro-
posed to study law and graduate and
| practice it as a profession did not
startle the family nor provoke much
outside comment. Miss May was
! known as a conservative girl. That is,
while she had her fair share of good
looks and intelligence, she had no
beaux and did not discuss marriage
from any point of view.
Her friends got in the habit of
thinking of her and referring to her
| as an old maid almost before she was
| out of short dresses. and it was be-
| ing said every day that she would
| never marry. After a bit the world
went right on without a care of
whether she became a lawyer or a
| wife, and in due time Miss May
Bennett graduated and was ad-
| mitted to the bar.
There are certain things to be re-
| membered about law" said Judge
Williams as he called at the house
one day to congratulate the only
woman lawyer in the county.
First, win your case with your wit
ness, If you can.
'If you can't, then try to win the
other lawyers witnesses.
IF you lack proofs try and befog
| the case.
"a juryman that can be made to
doubt is as good as won over.
eff you have a slim case try and
make out that your opponent has
worse one.
IF a witness on the other side ap-
pears too certain, bring out his past
| life At least, ask if he has ever been
| indicted for perjury.
1.-THE fact that your client has JUS
tice and equity on his side won't help
to win
about one-half the cases in law
are decided without regard to justice
| or facts.
Two jurymen who were in a
| often carried the other ten with
them in rendering an unjust YER
dict"
A lawyer without an Office is
| nett's parents lived two miles out of
the village of GordonvilIe, and she
| was to have an office in the town.
There were just two places to rent
that would make lawyers offices and
the young attorney secured one of
them and sat down to wait for the ex-
pected rush of business. She had
| waited several weeks and it hadn't
come, when she heard that a young
man had rented the other place and
was to make his debut as a lawyer.
| She had no questions to ask concern
ing him. She had been told that the
more lawyers there were in the town
the more lawsuits there would be. and
| the new young man would make the
number seven.
Mr.. Egbert Fisk had graduated in
law and gone hunting for field in
which to establish himself. Fate led
him to Gordonville, and he took the
! other Office and hung out his single.
He was told of the woman attorney,
but he made no inquiries, and was not
at all interested when he set out one
a n TnilaS
into the country in his auto. Like
Miss Bennett, he was waiting for the
rush that did not rush.
A young doctor waiting for his
first patient, or a young attorney wait
ing for his first case, has a heap of
thinking to do, and naturally passes
spotted COW or bob-tailed dog in an
distracted way. Miss May Bennett
was thinking deeply as she drove into
town. Mr.. Fisk was doing the same
as he drove out. A COW belonging to
Farmer Davis, and standing in the
middle of the highway, was also
thinking.
There comes a young man in an
auto" said Miss Bennett to herself
and without the slightest interest.
There comes a woman of some
Sort said Mr.. Fisk to himself when
she was yet a quarter of a mile away,
but he didn't care two cents whether
she had pale blue eyes or swapping
black ones.
Auto from one Qlr0CllOn anu a
pony cart from the other" remarked
the COW, as she squinted around.
"Well, let 'em come. They haven't
got anything on me. Plenty of room
to pass either side"
So there was. but the COW figured
on the auto turning out for her and
the auto figured that no COW would be
fool enough to stand in the middle of
the road and take chances against a
forty horse power when 1t was so easy
to jump the fence.
OF a sudden the man, the girl and
the COW woke up to the peril of the
present The man swore. The girl
screamed. The cow went down with
a broken neck, and from the potato
hills over the fence, where the cow
owner was at Work with ms noe, came
the exclamation:
"Gosh. all hemlock, but the Teller
has killed my cow!
The automobile climbed over the
dead body and bucked the fence and |
came to a halt.
Miss Bennett slowly advanced and
kindly inquired if Mr.. Fisk had suffer
ed any injury.
Mr. Fisk didn't raise his hat, be-
cause it was on the ground instead of
on his head, but he replied that as
far as he could tell without taking a |
straw vote he had no broken bones.
The farmer threw down his hoe and |
came over the fence like a young |
tornado to jump on his hat and swing |
his arms about and shout:
you'll pay for this-you bet you'n |
pay n. rss,,
sBut, by the living coons, being sor-
nv won't help you'll You have killed |
$40 cow and you must pay for her!"
ct am ready to-
But 1 object to your paying any |
such sum-" quietly remarked Miss
Bennett.