The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1915-01-15
OBTAINED SMALL FORTUNE UN.
DER THE GUISE OF LAW.

these cases coming under our obserVa-
ton, the man suing got well remark
ably fast after getting a firm hold upon
the Railroad C%Ompany's money.
The general public knows very little
Of the raids that are made upon the
treasures Of railroads by designing and
u~nScrupuIus persons. If the public had
intimate knowledge Of even some Of
these things, railroads would have few
er enemies and more supporters in their
multiplicity Of troubles, which have be-
come SO complex that it ia difficult for
them TO operate, notwithstanding the
fact that they are the real barometers
of prosperity, and that when they suf-
fer, the public suffers along with
them.
One Of the most popular schemes for
rhldIng the TREASURES Of railways Is
the fejgnIng Of personal injuries in
tltct"d at time and place which would
render the railroad company liable in
damages.
Whenever there is a collision or a
deraiIment Of a train on which passen-
gers are carried, land these things will
happen occasionally as long as railroads
operate t)ralns), invariably one Or more
persons are uncovered who attempt to
take advantage Of the situation.
A notable Ease of this kind was that
Of a Veterinary Surgeon who formerly
resided here in Greenwood. He was a
passenger on a Y. & M. V. train, which
was in a collision with an extra freight
train some years ago. The collision
was not severe. yet the impact was
sufficient to slightly injure a number Of
passengers on the train. At the time
of the accident, DR.. PieW, the Veter-
marian, was sitting in the smoking car
in Il seat with Mr.. W. A. Washington,
Manager Of the Valley Log Loading
Company, of Memphis, Tennessee, and
a gentleman of unimpeachable reputa-
ton. After the accident occurred, DR..
Plew and Mr.. Washington conversed
PLEASANTLY about it and congratulated
each other on having escaped without
injury. except that DR.. plew claimed
he sustained a very slight sprain of his
thumb, caused by jamming it into the
upholstered cushion in front of him.
A number of doctors were called, as is
customary in such cases, to look after
the injured, among them Doctors Hall,
Hawkins and Denman. All three of
these doctors approached DR.. Plew and
quired if he had sustained an injury
aud he laughingIy replied that he had
not. However. about thirty minutes
later, he was seen to have his arm in a
sling. Later on the arm injury devel-
oped into a spinal trouble and DR.. Plew's
powers of locomotion, so he claimed,
were diminished to such an extent that
he could not walk except with the
greatest difficulty. The case became
a serious one for the Railway, and eff
forts were made to have DR.. Plew ex-
amined by reputable and dis%interested
Surgeons, but each time he declined.
However, on one occasion, while he
was supposed to be unable to get
around. DR.. Plew was found on a plat
form behind a barn attempting to ram
medicine down a mules throat. In
about three months after the accident
Occurred, he filed suit in the Circuit
Court of Coahoma county, at Clarks-
dale. against the Y. & M. V. Co. for
$40, 900 damages.
In the following September, Dr..
Plew wa on the alert for testimony,
looking for doctors who would testify
that he was seriously and permanently
injured. With this in view, he STUN
bled into the office of DR.. Frank A.
Jones. Of Memphis, one of the most
distinguished diagnosticians in the
South. Referring to this examination,
DR.. Jones said, in a written statement:
"Dr. Plew's chief complaint at the
time I saw him was periodic headache,
together with pain along spine. He
walked with a walking stick and had
a brace around his body. He was
stripped and examined in the presence
of Mr.. L. M. Holmes and DR.. Casa
Collier, Heart and lungs normal. Some
pain on pressure along spine and down
thigh. | was not able to find evidence
of material injury to spine. Gave him
several tests, such as bending forward
and picking up objects from floor. On
him upon table, his limbs could !
be manipulated without much pain.
There we're no contraction. He stated
that he had been having chills, but
that his blood had never been exam
ined for malarial. An examination Of
blood was made by DR.. Collier. Ma.
larial parasites were found. advised
ten grains Of quinine, together with ,
YARN baths before retiring for several ,
and to report for further ex- :
animation. He never returned" ,
When asked his opinion of the case, I
Jones stated he thought DR.. Plew {
would get well as soon as his suit was 4
Of. !
The case was tried at Clarksdale,
Mississippi, in January, 1911. A large