The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1920-06-30
Pingree Dispute
Costs Much Money
Continued From Page y

owed somebody 40 cents and the
pool hall man did not have it com,
ing. On the other hand, If the poo
hall man had 4 0 cents coming from
somebody, and Mr.. Shown was moi
| the man, then that would make a
difference as to what the pool hal
man might properly say to Mr.
! Shown. Then there was another fine
piece of Jurisprudence in determining
what Mr.. Shown would be justified
in saying to the pool hall man if
he had paid all he owed the pool
hall and some other gentleman owed
the pool hall 40 cents and the pool
hall man did not know this other
man.
The court subpoenaed witnesses
who knew more or less of the lore
of the pool hall and it summoned
wise men and true to sit and listen
to all the evidence and render true
verdict according to the law and the
evidence, and the county paid them
all for attending court and exercising
their gray matter The costs for wit
| nesses was $3.50, and for the jury
$3.50, making a total of $50. The
sheriff was not allowed anything for
his service because the prosecution
did not make a case, which, being
interpreted, means that there was
not sufficient proof that the peace
of Pingree was disturbed. The jury
returned a verdict of acquittal be-
couse there was not sufficient proof
that Mr.. Shown disturbed the peace.
They seemed convinced that the
peace was more or less disturbed,
but it all goes back to the question
of that 40 cents and where it be-
longed. If it belonged to the pool
hall man, then Mr.. Shown should
have shown it and turned it over in
stead of disturbing the peace when
spoken to about it. But if it be-
longed to Mr. Shown then the pool
hall man should have shown more
courtesy to his customer, Mr.. Shown,
and withheld any remarks tending to
disturb his, Shown's, peace in Pin
gree.
When Wouter Van Twiller, the
Dutch governor of New York, had
a similar case before him, he put
the first finger of his right hand
against his nose near the end and ex-
ercised his gray matter slowly for
a few moments and then decided that
neither man owed the other cent,
and that the sheriff should pay all
the costs of the suit. And so long
as he was governor they never could
find another time when the sheriff
would serve a summons and conse-
quently there was never any litiga-
ton and nothing for the governor
to do in that line.
In modern litigation it has often
happened that when somebody made
a complaint and had suit brought
and it developed that there was only
a petty squabble at the bottom of it
al, the court has taxed the costs of
the suit against the complaining wit
ness, and that has had a tendency
to decrease litigation.
In the lease at bar" in Bingham
equity, the state VS.. Ira Shown, the
people of Bingham county furnished
an able lawyer to try the case, and
it furnished a very competent judge
to ''try the cause and. somebody
has to foot the bill for all that Look
ing at the case in it's broad, eco
nomic sense economic is a very
fashionable word to use now), it
follows that if the defense, that is,
Mr.. Shown, employed a lawyer, he
must have had to pay him some
thing, and now that freight rates
have goneup, there is no telling how
much that something would be. Be-
fore the war it was usually $25 to
$50 to take a case in the probate
court. bit the cost of living has gone
up, and Litigation is an essential now
and those that go into court must
pay the fiddler.
The people are not so much con-
cerned with what Mr.. Shown had to
pay his lawyer, but they are concern
ed over the matter of paying the
county attorney to pursue the de-
vious questions regarding that 40
cents, and they are concerned over
paying the Judge for exercising juris-
prudence in weighing such matters
and seeing that fair play is dealt
out alike to the just and to the I'M
just.
Each Of these matters will come
before the county commissioners at
the July meeting in the form of ju-
rors certificates, witness certificates
and perhaps some other items, and
the board will pass" upon them and
will undoubtedly order them paid.
They will probably appear as part