Putnam patriot., 1916-05-19
SPITE FENCE
,leced in Writ Served for Ida L. Franklin on MT. and Mrs. uzam
 BennOr
sga; Proceedings Continuation of
 NeighbOrly Differences


 and Jrs. Uzam Bennor, South Main street.. Monday afternoon, leVying on their property to the amount of sl,ooO !. favor of Mrs. Ida l.. Franklin, the ,rointiff named in the writ, who seeks ,o recover S1 900 damages and prays that high board fence maintained by tho defendant on his boundary line, which is also the boundary line of the .1oirtiff. may be removed. The writ ;s returnable to the next term of the s,,erior ,court. Lawyer Howard C. Rtadford is acting for Mrs. Franklin.
 The property of the Bennor's fronts on South Jain street and runs in an psstery direction to the property of inc Franklins The Franklin's prop sr,v fronts on Chapman street and rms westerly to the property of the Rennor's. The two families have been peiphbors for years living peaeeaoly side by side. The differences ot the two neighbors and property owners, 1t is said, began four or five years ago and started with the frequency of the calls on the Franklins made by the Bennor's hens. The Franklins spoke to the Bennors about the repeated trespass of their fowls and politely re- ouested that they be kept on their own side of the boundary line.
 The Bennors were proud of their Httle flock of birds and attended to their every want in painstaking manner. They could see no reason why the Franklins should object to seeing the flock about their yard but made an attempt to keep them at home for awhile.
 Later on the hens found their way back to the Franklin premises and strutted about the lawn and garden all day long. This time the Franklin's re- quest resolved itself into demand that the hens be kept at home. The Bennors, it is said, were not as polite in their reception of their neighbors as might be, and the breach widened.
 Later on the Franklin's dog got over into the Bennoris yard. "lt our hens are unweIcome to the FrankliDs, the Franklins dog is not welcome yisi' tor to our yard" said the Bennors,'and forthwith locked the Franklin dog in the hen coop. To demands made oy the Franklins to have the Bennors give back their dog the Bennors turned deaf ear. Finally the Franklins ap- pesled to pr. F. T. Baldwin, local rep resentative of the Society for the Pre- vention of Cruelty to Animals, that their dog had been locked up by the Bennors and was being underfed and otherwise sabused. The official of the society went to the Bennor's home ana demanded the dogs release. Again the breach widened.
 The Franklins appealed to the pros- eeuting attorney regarding the matter of the trespass of the hens and then gave notice under the statute that re- peated trespass would be followed by prosecution. The Bennors managed thereafter to keep their hens on their own property so far as known, at least they were never arrested.
 Then came the Franklins with the complaint that the growing of the Bennors rooster and the cack ling oi the Bennor's hens disturbed their early morning slumbers. They aP' pealed to the common council to do something. They appealed to the board of health and to the prosecuting attorney. There Is no ordinance against keeping hens in the city and no known rule of flaw to make the boosters and the hens keep their mufn- CTS closed or the soft pedal on so no help was forthcoming and the Frank lins became resigned.
 Then the Bennors became active. An application was made to the common council for permission to build board fence between the Bennor property and the Franklin property. The coun' cil took no action. The Bennors how ever began to build and did build, ac eording to the FrankIlns, using oio, rough, weather beaten boards from an outbuilding. The fence went up ana up until il reached height of some ten feet or more. It was an unsightiy fence, the Franklins say, and was built to spite and injure them and Tor no other reason, that it injures their property and shuts of their view, and that is why the present suit becomes the continuation of several years neighborly differences.
 After the writ had been served Mon- day afternoon Fred E. Franklin hus- band of the plaintiff, was asked II he cared to say anything about the pro ceedings. MT. Franklin said, "Ihe Bennors built .that fence of all of the old, weather. beaten lumber they could ind. Pait of it came from an out house they tore down. They hired Alex Main to build the fence but when he found what was required of him MT. Main came to me and said, T won't build spite fence tor any man. I've stopped work MT. Franklin. That shows what kind of job it was when the carpenter refused to go on with It. But Mir. Bennor finished the fence