The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1915-06-04
HOUCK LOSES SUIT, :.
JUDGE DECIDES IT
Kelly Takes Street Car Case
Away From Mistake )
Lawyer Says

ment Company, asking damages ag-
gregating more than $4,000, because
the company failed to take over the
Cape Girardeau Street Car Company
as it contracted to do, was thrown out
of court at Jackson yesterday by
Judge Kelly.
The case was tried before a Jury,
but when the evidence had been SUBJ
mitted, the Judge ordered the jury to
find verdict for the company.
This suit has been pending for ten
months, during which time it was con-
tinued by the Court five or six times.
When last continuance was granted
Major Houck became indignant and
rebuked the Judge. He told the Court
that he wanted the case tried before
he became too old to appear and argue
the suit. He recalled the fact that the
judges of Europe had fallen into the
habit of passing a case on and on
until it finally became a heritage and
was handed from one generation to
another. He expressed the hope that
American judges would not follow the
English example.
When asked for a statement over
the telephone last night, concerning
the loss of his suit, Major Houck die
tated the following statement:
"The Judge holds that although by
written contract the Light & Develop
ment Company agree to pay the Street
Railway $153,000, Of which $4,000 is
to be in cash, and SOL, 200 in deferred
payments of $1,000 a year, as soon
as the Water & Light franchise was
renewed and the street car franchise
was renewed; that although every
thing had been done by the stockhold-
ers of the Cape Girardeau & Jackson
Interurban Street Railway that was
agreed to be done, that Houck as a
matter of law could not get judgment
for one-seventh of this amount, repre-
senting the interest of L. S. Joseph, in
the street car company, and which JO-
seph had assigned to the First Ma
tional Bank to pay some of his debts
to that institution, and which when it
was sold, Houck bought in for the ben
eft of the stockholders of the bank.
"On the trial of the case it was
plainly shown that the Light & De-
velopment Company was operating
the Cape Girardeau & Jackson Inter-
urban Railway under some sort of an
agreement with the president of the
street car company, but the Judge held
that because the president of the
street car company had not made de-
pnand of the amount which was due
under the contract that he must in
struct the jury to find for the Light
& Development Company, and so took
the case away from the jury.
"This is some new law. Usually
when man makes a promise to pay
money on a certain day, a suit can be
brought without demand of payment,
because it is supposed that when a
man makes a promise to pay on GER
tain day and fails to pay, the right to
sue is fixed by law.
"But when you deal with the Light
& Development Company the case is
different. 1t seems they can make any
kind of promise to pay but don't have
to pay unless you first come up and
pull of your coat and say: Mr.. Light
& Development Company, please pay
me-
an this case, Mr.. Harrison, presi-
dent of the Cape Girardeau & jackson
Interurban Ry Co., did not go up to
the presidents office and pull off his
little hat and say in pleading tones:
Mr.. Light & Development Co, please
pay the poor Cape Girardeau & Jack
son Interurban Ry. the money you
promised to pay it. And that's where
the learned Circuit Judge found the
hook on which to hang me in my
case.
This suit meant money for the
stockholders of the Cape Girardeau d
Jackson Interurban Railway, but other
stockholders seemed to work in har-
money with the Light & Development
Company and apparently were not
anxious for the money. They wanted
an Equity proceeding that means a
proceeding long drawn out like Jaru-
dyce VS.. Jarudyce, and maybe some of
the lawyers now living expect to turn
this equity case over to their pos
terity."
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