The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1922-12-14
Jury Finds Verdict in Fav-
or of Restaurateur
This Morning.
LEASE NOT CHANGED
Claim Graham Had Changed
Lease Not Substantiated by
Jury Verdict.

a sensational civil suit in which
Miss Jennie Hastings and Mrs. Helen
iTurnbull sought to collect alleged back
rent from Gus Graham, restaurant pro-
prietor at 165 Main street, ended this
morning in the circuit court when the
jury in the case brought in a verdict
Tor Graham. Miss Hastings and Mrs.
Turnbull, doing business under the
name of Hastings and Turnbull, held
that Graham owed them rent from
January /, 1920, over and above the
$125 month which he's paid. They
said this $125 a month was accepted
''on account" and that the premises
could be rented for more than that
and that Graham was under no lease.
Charge Altered Lease.
Hastings and Turnbull through their
attorneys introduced evidence showing
that Graham prior to 1920 had been
paying $100 month. At that time
they said new lease running for seven
years at $125 month was drawn up,
but never properly executed. Their
claim was that Graham was not rent
ing under lease and that the premises
could be rented at more than $125
q month and that while Graham paid
this amount every month, his rent was
received under protest as part pay
ment."
The sensational part Of the claim in
troduced by Hastings and Turnbull was
that charging Graham with having al
tered the lease submitted to him.
Testimony of typewriter expert con-
nected with detective agency in Chi
cago was introduced, showing that the
typewriting on two of the pages Of
the lease submitted to Graham were
different, showing the work of two
Hastings and Turnbull, claimed that
the two disputed pages had been in
troduced by Graham, and that they had
repeatedly refused to consider The
lease, as the one agreed upon verbal
ly in 1920 Calvin Stewart, who rep
resented Graham as counsel, did not
dispute the testimony of the detective
typewriter expert, but maintained that
If the two pages were written on diff
ferent typewriters, it was not Graham
who had substituted the two pages.
The defense held that there was no
adverse action on their part and that
Graham was not in arrears for any
rent, having paid his $125 a month as
the plaintiffs had been willing to lease
for a seven-year period in 1920
Recalls "Old Letter" Case.
On the basis of the grievance which
the Hastings sisters felt towards Ora
ham, whom they believed had substi-
tuted other pages in the lease, they
wrote him an annoying letter This
letter, in which Graham was vaguely
charged with some great offence, work
ed upon him to the extent of engaging
counsel and commencing suit against
Hastings and Turnbull for damages
for charging him falsely with the
commission of some unknown crime.
This suit was thrown out of court
by Judge Belden. as it was held there
were not sufficient grounds for an ac-
tion at law, as the letter was sent pri-
vateIy to Graham and did not broad
cast the charge.
The verdict Of the jury in this last
case leaves the affairs between Hast
ings and Turnbull on the one hand
and Graham on the other, more or less
us amicable as they were in 1920 on
the threshold Of making new lease.
The exception is that as property val
ues have gone up on Main street, the
plaintiffs are the agrieved parties,
The civil suit of Huetten VS.. Hansen
Of the Star Taxi company for damages
arising out of an automobile accident
was commenced in the circuit court
this morning, d.