The Penn's Grove record., 1919-04-25
Court Proceedings
John B. Crowley Gets Verdict of
$4,000 From Railroad
Company

In the case of Max Trachtman and
Minnie Trachtman against George
Wolf the jury rendered a verdict no
cause for action.
There were two claims for damages
in this case. Mrs. Trachtman had
been struck and severely injured by
VOLTS automobile while standing at
a point on the road in Carney's Point.
The a vas driven by a seventeen
year old son of Wolf and was also
occupied by the defendant and his
wife. The plaintiff, Max Trachtman,
claimed damages because of the ex-
penses attending the carr OF his wife
while she vas recovering from her in
j%uries. The plaintiffs We're represent
ca by James Mercer Davis, of Can
den, and the defendant was represent
ed by j. Forman Sinnickson.
The cases of John B. Crowley and
Raymond Barber against William G..
McAdoo, Director General of Railroads,
were concluded on Thursday night of
last week. There were two issues but
to V time they were tried as one
Tor both suits were the outcome of one
accident.
The cases We're for pecuniary dam
ages because of an accident at Friend
ship crossing of the railroad when
Barber automobile was struck by a
passenger train on September %,
The automobile was wrecked and
Crowley was so badly injured that he
S plainly a physical wreck. He ap-
peared in court using two canes and
was in a very state, some
times crying out aloud. Barber was
not badly injured. The case was tried
before Judge Carrow. The plaintiffs
were represented by William c.. and
Samuel C. French, while Walter H.
Bacon represents the directors of the
railroads. 1t was claimed that the
railroad men failed to give the statu-
tory signals while the defendant con-
tended that the plaintiffs did not ex-
ercise that care in crossing the rail
road that a prudent person would.
The jury awarded Barber $500 and
Crowley $4,000.
William Baxter, John Peterson and
James E Jackson, all colored, of Piles
grove township, were tried Monday
afternoon for the larceny of thirty
dollars worth of hides from Mr.. Lee
whisky, a cattle dealer, who resides
tlGdI NOOOtSlOMD " -QClCIIQoilIO
were represented by Attorney Davis.
The jury found all guilty of larceny
and of having goods in their possess
sion knowing them to have been
stolen.
On Monday Mamie Maus, colored,
was tried on a charge of keeping a
disorderly house in Penns Grove. The
States gum shoe men undertook to
o,o,-o a. ro,,a co1l +La,,, haor onl
allowed them to shoot crap. Mrs.
Maus, however, put up a pretty
straight alibi. She admitted giving
the men some beer and gin upon their
own solicitation but did not sell them
anything. She said she was in Phila-
delphia on one of the days the men
claimed they bought drinks of her.
On another occasion she was at a
neighbours and they coaXed her to re-
turn home to start a game and get
something to drink. The jury evil
IDENTIFY believed her story for they were
not long in arriving at a verdict of not
guilty.
The case against J. Austin Curriden
and Alex Steward was taken up OF
Wednesday. This is an indictment
brought against the boys for the lar
ceny or attempted larceny of an auto
mobile from a farmer in Oldmans
township. Curriden was represented
by MI. Hilliard and Steward by Mr..
Grier.
Leander S. Loder, the complainant,
told of his experience with the de-
PENDANTS. That he drove them from
his place at the point of a gun while in
the act of taking the tires from his au-
tomobile.
Steward said he was a jitney driver
for MI. Hutchinson, of Penns Grove,
and had been engaged by Curriden to
take him to Auburn. Before they left
Penns Grove Curriden picked Hall up
at one of the pool rooms; that they
went to Auburn and on the return
Curriden told him to drive down the
road so that Hall could get out and
go home; that they had not gone far
when Curriden and Hall got out and
went into Loder's yard but what they
did he couldn't tell for he fell asleep
and never saw Mr.. Loder nor tempered
with his car.
Curriden declared on the stand that
he and Steward and Hall went for a
ride to Auburn but that he never paid
a cent for the trip as he had NO money,
in fact, his sister had given him funds
to buy his supper at n of the Penns
Grove restaurants. On the trip, Cur
riden testified, that one of Stewards
tires went bad and kept striking the
rim so when they reached Loder's
place he volunteered to go in and get
a foot pump to blow it up as there was
no pump in Stewards a On the
way to Loder's shed Curriden declared
he met the farmer and asked him for
the loan of a pump which was de-
MED him. He said that Loder had a
gun but did not attempt to use it nor
did he make any effort to get it away
from him. When Loder refused the
pump, Curriden said he and Hall re-
turned to the car and went on home.
The jury found Curriden guilty as
charged. Steward wa acquitted.
Judge Washington granted a re-
newal of the licenses of William D.
Acton, Pennsville and William H.