Norwich bulletin., 1912-12-06
ISLANDER SUIT. ENDED,
 sPoTTsWooD TRIAL ON.


 sA Verdict for $500 for Plaintiff in Abel
 vs. PowsII-TriaI Begun for Spotts-
 wood Claim of s1o,ooo Against Con-
 nsctieut Company.
 Half an hour after noon Thursday in the superior court here the jury returned a verdict in the islander suit of Elmer Abel, Jr vs Andrew Powell for Abel to recover $500 damages. The court accepted the verdict, which was one-tenth of what Mir. Abel had sued for.
 In resuming his final argument for the plaintiff in the trial of the case Thursday morning; Attorney Charles w. Comstock occupied 34 minutes at the opening of court and Judge Shum- way made the charge to the jury i'm mediately afterwards, occupying 16 minutes. The jury's verdict was re- turned at 12.35 after an hour and 40 minutes of deliberaticn in the jury room and gave $300 o-mages to the piatntfn, Elmer AbCl.
 When court Came in after dinner the trial cl inc suit against the Con- nectica. company for s1o,000 dam ages, the statutory sum, for the death or Car Starter Maurice J. Spottswood in New London from an electric shock was begun. It is brought by his widow, Margaret A. Spottswood, who is administratrix of his estate. Start CT Spottswood was about to use the trolley telephone at the corner of State street on the Parade, New Lon- don, about 7.30 o'clock on the morn ing of November Is. 1911. He was instantly killed when he took hold of the receiver. and the plaintiff cIalms that improper construction of the tel ephone line and lack of safeguards were responsible for allowing the light wire in Shipping street, this city to enter the telephone circuit The jury chosen In the Spottswoo6 | case is the following: Edwin F. Ben l tamin, Henry Johnson, William Crary Preston; John R. Backus, Colchester; Andrew J. Tinker, Griswold; Edward A. Stiles, Lebanon; William P. Bab. cock. North Stonington; Leroy Lath. rop, Bozrah: Luther Holton, Franklin Moses Genard. Herbert c. Watson Sprague; Charles Smith, Lisbon. Waller, Waller, Avery & Gallup ar, the attorneys for the plaintiff, witt Attorney Avery conducting the case For the defendant company appears Attorney J. F. Berry of New Haven who is assisted by c. B. Whittlese! of New London. and Michael Keneal! | of Stamford.
 The plaintiffs case was begun b1 l putting on as a witness Supt. Pete Ashe of the Connecticut company line in New LcHdon. He was followed b, other trolley men, Lewis Cunningham and Warren A. Lewis. They testifiet | to circumstances in connection wit the death of MT. Spottswood. Dr Harry M. Lee followed, describing tn indications of electrical current show on MT. Spottswoods body. | Dr. Lee closed his testimony b. tsaying that from his examination 0 Spottswood's body he concluded tha his death had been caused by an cleo tric shock.
 | He was followed by William J. Ma lone, line foreman for the Connect icut company, who testified he was i charge of the wiring from Montvill south. He testified to the way tn telephone was strung on the pole from Montville to New London an of the wiring at the telephone bo at the State street corner. On thre telephones of the Connecticut compan he said there were fuses at the i'm of the fatal accident to Starte Spottswood, but not on the box 6 State street. The telephones provide with fuses were at the power hous the car barn and at the corner ( Tilley street. Nor was there any dc vice that he knew for arresting th current between Montville and tn State street box. He said the phor was taken down in the afternoon, fo , lowing the accident.
 | Tho al ho L. ated by common dry cell batter generating about 25 to 30 volts H saw a telegraph wire burned off ( l a pole at Division street, New LOT ) don, and the pole was burned in or l place, this telephone being a part l the same circuit on which was u State street telephone. The insuls : tor to the feed wire on the pole W; } also burned, but he could not ss 7 whether there was any evidence l the feed wire having touched the te ephone wire. Shortly after o'cloC
 that morning the telephone in his oW 5 house, which was on the trolley liI 3 circuit, started ringing, indicatir trouble. He took down the receiv,
 and heard roaring noise which W,
 an indication that the line was |
 against another current of high vol
 
 {. was not the combination kind whiC
 Spottswood used.
 | Attorney Berry picked up one poi
 on cross examination asking if u
 fuses on Malone's own telephone al !, the one at the barn blew out. IT } witness said they did not The fu I at his house was a Southern Ne Q England Telephone fuse and he VI K standing on a piece of perfectly d r floor when he took up the receiver 6 his own house. The pavement whe l Starter Spottswood was sanding W f wet.
 t Mrs. Spottswood occupied a seat = court during the trial, and in the spe
 tators' benches were a number of ra = road men and also some of the loC = telephone men. AS Mrs Spottswo n has begun suit for $10,000 against q city of Norwich on account of the ei q electric light wire from which it Is ; r legged the high potential current car 2 which killed her husband, Corporati Q Counsel Joseph T. Tanning and 4 if torney Donald G. Perkins were in COL r. taking notes on the testimony, wi e Supt. W. R. Rogue of the city elect - light plant by their side, and in co d sultation with them at times.
 On the short calendar this morni n are a number of motions to be argu
 and five uncontested divorce cases.
 At this point the trial was a
 foIl1 Rad fill next TueSdav morning