The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1915-05-07
HOUCK SUIT IS
AGAIN DELAYED
JUDGE REBUKED
Lawyer Tells Court He Does.
MT Want Case Judged
Before Trial.
THINKS NINE MONTHS
OF DELAYS TOO MUCH
Tells Judge He Hopes Suit Will
be Tried Before Old Age
Nabs Him.

The case of Giboney Houck VS.. The
Light & Development Co., a suit for
damages brought to determine the
ownership of the Cape Girardeau
Street Railway, liability for which
under the contract of purchase by the
Light & Development Co., made Feb.
II, 1913, is denied, was called yester-
day morning.
Major Houck announced that he was
ready for trial, and Judge Kelly then
stated from the bench that he had re-
ceived telegram from Mr.. Kelso on
the evening before, saying that he had
to go to jefferson City and could not
be present for the trial.
Major Houck then made the follow
ing statement to the court: 81 am
ready to extend every courtesy to the
attorney on the other side, but l ex-
pect the same treatment from the at
torneys on the other side.
81 had my witnesses subpoened and
the witnesses are here in court, and
l talked to Mr.. Knehans yesterday,
and l thought that the defendants
would be ready to take up the case to-
day, and the first intimation that l
have had from the Light & Develop
ment Company that they would not
be ready to take up the case today, is
the statement made from the bench. 4.
81 want fair treatment in this case,
and / thought, as the court knew the
suit had been filed last July and was
passed over at the instance of the
Light & Development Co. from July
to August, and passed over at the in
stance of the Light & Development
Company from August to November,
and in November when it was set
down for trial the Light & Develop
ment Co. took change of venue from
the Cape Girardeau Court of Com
mon Pleas, and it was set down in
January and passed over by this Court
at the instance of the Light and De-
velopment Co. to the 18th of Febru-
ary; and in February it was passed
again at the instance of the Light &
Development Company to the May
term of this court.
"And another case, filed later than
this, has been given preference for
some reason to the trial of this case,
and the court has now had that case
under advisement for four or five
months"
The Court replied that it might be
that the decision of the other case
would render the trial of this case un-
necessary, to which Major Houck re-
sponded:
Every case should rest upon its
own state of facts, and what want
is an opportunity to present to the
court and to jury, the facts in this
case, and the court could not deter
mine whether or not this case could be
settled 1Jy a determination of the
other case until he hears the facts in
this case, and what l want the court
to do is, to hear the facts, and not pre-
Judge the case.
81 sim young man and all want is
a disposition of some kind of this case.
Ever ybody complains about the dila-
torir less of the courts in this country,
and it is bad enough but not yet as
bafi as in England where lawsuits are
ha nded down as heritages from one
ge neration to another
The Court then stated that he would
telke up the case at this term of court
a nd decide it one way or the other, and
is was set down for the 25th of May.
The defendants in this case repu-
diate their contract of purchase on the |
ground that the street roalroad is not
a street railroad, but was organized
under the general railroad laws of
the State.
The Light & Development Co.
agreed to pay $153,000 for the Cape
Girardeau & Jackson Gnterurban Rail |
way Company, and the measure of
damage is the $153,O00, and in addi-
ton the interest that the builders of
the railroad have had to pay on the
money that it took to construct the |
road, and which they had to borrow.
There remains S123, 900 still outstand-
ing. |