Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-10-15
INVESTIGATORS" TESTIFY.
Evidence for Defense In Damage Suit
against RailrOnd.


Two more witnesses for the defence
were examined in Chittenden county
court Saturday before adjournment at
| 80 ir the $4,000 negligence case Of
Mrs. Clara Unger of New York city
against the Rutland Railroad company
MRS. Inger claiming ia mage FOR
permanent ear and stomach trouble
alleged to have been the result Of in
)urles received when train on which
she was a passenger was deralled one
sunday In April of 1913 at Brldens Tho
evidence OF the defense Saturday had
to do with the character Of Mrs. Unger
and was also an attempt to show that
she made statements that she was try
ing to deceive the railroad by shaiumine.
John y. LaRock, special investigator
| and claim gent for the New York Cen
trail railroad, who was assigned to the
case of investigating the claim of Mrs
tnger. testified he had employed a Mrs
Carpenter and that the latter had gone
to the Ungcr house in New York to live
and he had learned from her that the
plaintiff was keeping a house of ques-
tionable reputation He went to the
house he said and had bought beer there
which he, Mrs finger and Mrs
him. when he Informed her that he had
once had an accident and recovered
$500 for it, that she had been In an
accident on the Rutland railroad and
| mad fooled the railroad by pretending
deafness. Mrs. Unger, the witness said
was not i'll at the time she said this
and made no complaint of deafness or
stomach trouble. He said he visited her
apartment several times. the last on
September s. On request Of Mr.. LaRock.
Mrs. Cnger presented him with a pic
ture of herself. on the cross-examina-
ton the witness denied that he knew
in advance just how Mrs. Unger claim
ed she was injured. The witness also
objected to being called a detective.
Arthur J. Close, another special in
vestigator for the New York Central
who was on the case. testified that he,
too. went to Mrs. Unger's house one
time with La Rock and they bought beer
Closes hand was bandaged at the time
and when Mrs. Cnger asked him what
1t was he said he had been injured on
a railroad. She asked him why he did
not sue for damages and he told her
he did not think it worth while. She
then said she had an accident on a rail-
road and she intended to get quite a lot
Of money by 1t, She remarked also
that the railroad doctors had examined
her for deafness by holding a watch
next to her ear and she told them she
could not hear II. although she could
hear it better than any one Of them
at the time. Mrs. Tnger told him. Close
testified. that ne ought to carry his
arm in a sling and have his shoulder
strapped up. Close further testified that
he '-ade an appointment with Mrs.
Cnger to meet another woman at her
apartments the next night. This en-
gagement he did not keep. The next
day he called up Mrs. Cnger by phone
and told her he would not come that
night and further informed her that he
had been working in the interest of the
Rutland railroad
on the INSTRUMENTATION by Mr.
Bulla I'd the latter asked the witness If
he intended to keep the appointment he
had made with Mrs, Unger. Mr. Close
said he did not. Mr.. Billiard further
have kept that kind of an appointment
anyway The witness replied he might
have done so Close also admitted that
he did practice deception to the woman
to certain extent hut he was telling
the truth on the witness stand He also
admitted that there was no reason why
she couldn't he injured because she kept
a h Isc Of bad reputation and drank
beer. He also admitted that her word
was as good as his, he supposed. Tn"
REORGANIZATION was quite lively
while IL lasted.