Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1917-09-27
GUARDIAN NOT NEEDED.
Jury So Finds in Case Of Charlotte
Woman.

A case of appeal from the appointment
of a guardian came up for trial in Chit
tenden county court Monday afternoon.
This is the case of Emma T. Thorpe. Apt,
VS.. Frank 3. Smith, petitioner. A. l..
Sherman appears for Mr.. Smith, while NJ.
G. Leary is the attorney for the guardian.
The petitioner introduced four witnesses
Monday afternoon, Ernest Rivers. c. NJ.
Byington. DIR. Frank r. Falby and w. H.
Boardman, all of Charlotte. The burden
of testimony given by these men was to
the effect that, in their opinion. Emma
T. Thorpe was not sufficiently capable
to handl 5000 or $1,000. The cr~oss-examina-
ton. conducted by Mr.. Leary. centered
upon the worth of their testimony, taking
into consideration all the circumstances
Of the case.
Things moved along rapidly in Chit
tenden county court Tuesday. At nine
o'clock in the morning, the case Of Emma
r. Thorpe, Apt, VS.. Frank B. Smith.
petitioner, an appeal from probate court
on the appointment Of a guardian, was
taken up from the day before. After
calling one witness in the person Of STAN
ton Williams. storekeeper in the town of
Charlotte. the petitioner rested his case
and the attorney for the petitionee called
five witnesses to the stand, the most i'm
portant of whom was the petitionee her
self. The evidence was concluded about
eleven o'clock and n half hour was taken
for the attorneys pleas and the charge
to the jury by the judge. The jury was
out only a little more han a quarter Of
an hour, when a verdict was brought in
for the p%etitionee. stating that, according
to the evidence. the jury had found the
petitionee mot mentally incapable OF
taking care of her W property" there
fore not in need of a guardian. NJ. G..
Leary appeared for Mrs. Thorpe in this
case. while A. L.. Sherman represented
the petitioner.
Among the witnesses called for Mrs.
Thorpe Tuesday morning were P. o.
Sinclair of Charlotte, whose testimony was
very brief; DIR. w. Fl. H.. Varney of Char
lotte, who testified from the standpoint
of In old family physician as to the man.
aging abilities of Mrs. Thorpe; the petit
tionee herself; Malcolm NJ. Thorpe. son
Of the petitionee. who is employed in the
Woolworth store in this city; and Charles
Shortsleeves Of Charlotte. who was well
acquainted with the family and had at
one time employed Mrs. Thorpe's young
est son, Howard.
Another case was taken up Tuesday
afternoon, that of Ida M. Noyes VS.. Glenn
Rowell. tort. in which the plaintiff seeks
to recover damages for injuries received
In an automobile accident Which occurred
while she was riding in the defendants
car in August, 1916. The accident happened
about two miles from the village of South
Itoyalton on the road towards Tunbridge.
In this case the plaintiff is represented by
r. Il. Brown and T. Il. Hopkins. and the
defense is being conducted by ". A.
Billiard.
The first witness introduced by the plain
tiff Tuesday afternoon was Mr.. Crandall,
an engineer. who testified in regard to a
map which he had made Of the place
whore the automobile left the road and
went over the ank into the river. The
second witness was DIR. T.. j. Fish of South
Royalton, whose testimony centered about
the extent of the injuries sustained by the
plaintiff at the time of the accident. The
last witness called yesterday afternoon
was f. w. Doyle. n surveyor. of South
Royalton, who testified concerning the
condition of the o at the point where
the accident took place.