Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1916-11-17
The Ell<l Of a
Lawsuit
A Lawyer Daved the
Way; a Woman Did
the kest
By F. A. mitchell

hands of Turner & Swift ever since my
dad died, and they have got them into
a frightful snarl They now tell mt
that I'm likely to lose everything. I've
concluded to take the management oil
the estate out of their hands and put
1t in yours
This seemed to ME like doctor cal
ed in to save patient that had been
Jernegan and l had long been chums
and l couldn't refuse him. 4 tin box
<ull of papers arrived at my Office, the
box being marked in gilt letters "Es-
tate Of james r. Jernegan," Jim's ia
Their. and I proceeded TO an investiga
ton.
The deceased had made d fortune by
u land speculation In which he had had
a partner named Hausman. The two
had Quarrelcd, each claiming the lions
share Of the property. This had start
ed a lawsuit which had been inherited
with the property l,y the heirs. The
value Of the land hrd increased, but the
costs Of the suit bad increased proper
tionately. Hausn}an before his death
had transferred bis interest to a man
named Starkweather, and Starkweath
err had died, leaving it to his only
child, a daughter.
found my client absolutely ignorant
Of the condition of his interests in the
property. Don't talk to me about it"
he said. ~ know nothing of law.
That's what hire you for" So was
obliged to work out the puzzle unaid-
ed. found that there were just two
interests in the prOperty-Jim's and
Starkweathers daughters. The law
yers had been playing these two inter
ests off the one against the other to
make business for themselves. would
have brought about settlement, but
the rascals had got the matter so tan
gled that this was impossible. There
was but one way to effect such a result,
and that was by union of the two op-
posing interests. Since one of the par
ties was man and the other woman
this might be effected by marriage.
But l saw no hope in such a solution.
The woman might be old; she might be
hOmely; she might be virago. And
even though she were young aud at
tractive knew that Jim would never
marry. When twenty-five or twenty
three years old he had been Tilted by o
girl he loved, and this had made him a
confirmed woman hater. He was now
thirty, frequented clubs and had no
home. l think that he would have
liked home, but could not have one
without a wife, and he had 40 CON
fdence in any woman.
However, / determined to have a
look at the person who was fighting
Jim for the estate and ask her if she
would accede to something Of no real
Importance as an excuse to cali upon
her. found a woman of about TWEEN
ty-seven, handsome and apparently
otherwise attractive, except that her
did not seem especially
amiable. But whether this was natu-
raj to her or had been engendered by
her fight for aff1uence in lieu Of pow
erty or some other cause ] was igno.
rant Beyond this defect, which was
obliged to admit was serious, there was
no reason why she should not make &
husband happy.
I determined to breach my plan to
her. beginning with a statement of
how her lawyer had played off her in
terests against those Of her opponent
| entered into a detailed explanation
Of the tangle into which the two inter
ests had been brought and finally end
ed by saying:
There is but one way in which the
property can be saved. The two inter
ests should be united in one person."
'How can that be?' she asked In
WOnderment.
by marriage"
"Then all have to say is that the
property will be sunk"
l made no rejOinder, but. gathering up
some papers l had brought with me,
took my leave. Any attempt to bring
two such persons together would be
futile. The lady was as
much in the hands of her lawyers as
Jim had been in the hands Of his. She
knew nothing about the condition of
affairs until l made my statement to
her. She did not even know who was
her opponent. Until l informed her
she had no idea how she had been
used by her lawyers or that she was
In danger Of poverty, for they had
kept her supplied with an income
taken from the principal.
was not surprised, then, when In
few weeks received a call from her
at my Office.
would legal marriage" she asked,
with this man who is endeavoring to
cheat me out of my property. without
my living with him, bring about a set,
Element Of this suit?'
After some thought / told her that it
would help matters very much. l told
her this not because | would approve
such marriage, for would not and
felt sure that it would bring about add
ed difficulties, but l hoped by fostering
tho i6na IIniOyo Of boo uA, -