Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1918-07-04
LAWYERS TOUCHED
BY SMOOTH CLIENT
Man in Overalls Tells Them Thrill.
ing Story Of Cruelty Of "Stand-
ard Oil Manager"
BIG DAMAGES ARE WANTED
Promises to Retain Attorneys In -Four
Suits, Borrows 30 Cents and
Disappears.
4" he Continup


Suits, sorrows 30 Cents and
Disappears.
New York-Several more or less
well known Brooklyn attorneys were
comparing notes at one Of the down.
town clubs, during the luncheon hour,
with ABOUT the same number of mem.
bers OF the profession practicing in
Manhattan, over a clever game Of
touch" that, seemingly, has been
worked during the week with lawyers
only as victims.
"How the scheme was worked was
outlined by one Of the attorneys who
admitted giving up 50-cent piece
IN the hope Of coralling four $4,000
damage suits against the Standard OIL
Company Of 26 Broadway, Manhattan.
The attorney was sitting in his Of
fee when an understood man, dressed
in overalls, and with the roll and flavor
OF the sea about him, walked in. He
was about so years of age, and looked
every bit what he claimed to be-a
chief engineer of a steamship.
you see, sir, it's just this way, sir,
/ am looking for lawyer to take my
case, sir, and the cases of three of nv
mates. It's against the Standard Oil
Company, sir, which owns the steam.
ship Delaware"
my name, sir, is William Francis
Grant. have been with the Standard
Oil Company for seven years, sir.
am now stopping at the American Sea-
mems Mission in West street, sir.
signed articles for three years as chief
engineer of the Delaware, sir. l was
discharged from the hospital yester.
day, sir, but my mates are now in the
Marine Hospital on Staten Island, sir
They are George Watson, second
assistant engineer; James Welch, third
assistant engineer, and William Kelly.
fourth assistant engineer, sir. l had
two ribs broken and my teeth knocked
out. Watson lost his right hand,
Welch had both legs and rib broken.
and Kelly lost his right leg at the
knee, it was an amputation, sir.
How did the accident happen" the
attorney asked, briefly.
"You see, sir, our ship, the Delaware,
was at the dock at Point Breeze, Phil.
adelphia, where the Standard Oil Com
pany has its docks, when the company
manager, j. R. Smith, came aboard
and directed me to lift up the low pres.
sure cylinder cover, sir. I told him,
sir, that we didn't have sufficient gear
to lift up the cover, which weighs $50
pounds. He persisted in me doing so.
l told him we were not going to do 1t
until I had witnesses. / called two
custom house officers; they were
George Davis. surveyor, and William
Phillips, a searcher, who happened to
be on the dock, and asked them to
come aboard and take look at the
gear. AS soon as Davis took look at
the gear he said: "That gear has
been condemned; didn't you know
that?' 1 said didn't, as I had had
no occasion to use it. In spite of this,
sir, which Mr.. Smith heard, he ordered
me to rig the gear. Well, sir, we pro-
ceeded to lift the cylinder head and
had 1t about six feet above its place
when the tackle broke and the cover
fell over on its side and broke through
the platform on which Watson, Welch,
Kelly and myself were working. We
fell seventeen feet and were all knock
ed senseless by the broken cover.
well. sir, we were all taken to the
Marine Hospital in an ambulance, and
were there until the other day, when
the Delaware, CT : return trip, brought |
us to New York. The Delaware Is
now at Bayonne, but they took the
other three men to the hospital on
stretchers. I was over to Staten |
Island to gee them today You see, sir,
the company has it's agents trying to |
settle with us for $1,000 each, but we |
won't settle until we have seen a law |
yer. We think we ought to get good |
deal more than that, sir"
Visions of four perfectly good dam.
age suits against the Standard Oil
Company had long before this made
the eagerly listening attorneys mouth
water particularly es the smooth-talk.
Ing Grant had casually illustrated how
the accident had happened by use Of
the iDkwells and their covers on the
desk before him. and expressed him
self as quite willing to sign a retainer
and get his friends to do the same
when he visited them on the morrow.
He readily signed 1t and pocketed
blank retainers for his mates to sign
Then came the "touch," but done SO
ertietically that It showed the master