The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-07-30
Poor Mans Court In First
 Session, Satisfies Everyone
Experiment Promises To Spread To
 Other Cities Of Country

PHILADELPHIA, Pa, July a. established a court of justice and made quite a reputation as a judge.
 But King Solomon's widely press agented decision had nothing on the snappy, judicious and satisfying rulings handed down last night by President Judge Raymond MacNeille, of munici- pal court, sitting as sole arbiter in Ameriea's first Poor Mans Court"
 In just exactly the one and fifty minutes, seventeen small claims cases were disposed of. They involved per sons whom it would not pay to carry their grievance to a regular court of justice and the sums usually too small to be worth their while were settled in a manner that brought appreciation from plaintiffs, defendants, court attaches, Judge MacNeille himself, Charles H. Grakelow, director of public welfare, and the spectators, who jammed Room $50, city hall.
 1t was the first time in this country the experiment, fostered by Romain c. Hassrick, chief of the bureau of legal aid of the department of public welfare, with Judge MacNeille and Director GrakelOw, has been tried. It proved a revelation.
 There were no lawyers, no long jury deliberations, no tedious technicalities, no crOss-examinatiOns on witness stands and-best of aH-nO costs. It was the most informal little court that formal Philadelphia ever saw.
 Preliminary Work
 Principals in each case first are brought together by officials of the vel fare department Their consent to take the dispute before a court of arbitra- tion, and to abide by its ruling is Ob- tained. When settled, there is no ap- peal of the courts finding under the Pennsylvania, laws. Thus the poor mans court actually is a medium of arbitration.
 The well-knOwn wheels of justice whirled with expedient precision. A few pertinent questions by Judge Mac Nellie, who, with attaches of the regu- lar municipal court, gave his services free to try out the plan, or an occa- sional whispered consultation with Di- rector Grakelow, sitting with him on the "bench," sent cOmplainants and de- away HI n oSC4uy blLCaAas AlUCL of them smiling and satisfied, all of them with a better idea of American justice.
 Promptly at 6 D. m., Samuel Me Quade, chief bailiff, called the court to order. The first case in this movement which may become a national institu- tiOn concerned real estate deal in which the plaintiff thought she had an . a nfTuann ant fsN ernk knv. | she did not like a lot located in Wood bury, N. J. Although she had very little of case, the court won the de fendant's consent to repay her half of her investment and both departed happy.
 Not until William Thomas, colored. Lombard street, near Ninth, told the colorful tale of his two shirts did things Hven up. Then spectators and officials alike leaned back to enjoy the evening, William, 1t appears, took a pair of silk shirts to a laundry and in return got a blue shirt and a part of a white one. Somebody kept the collar of Williams white one. Worse still, William said, neither shirt was his and he didn't fa- vOr blue anyway.
 Despite interchange of conflicting GN4utACCg lM luE 10TH of a bale of laundry slips, the court de- cided the laundry owed William $4, aI- though he claimed his shirts were worth at least $6.9S.
 A pair of shoes which Lucy Hunt, colOred, 2443 Oxford street, put on when she moved to a new neighbOrhOOd, only to find they needed to be stretched, failed to come back from the shop, so she said. The court put regular court investigators on the job to look up the case and see what the regulations of the shoe repair main and Lucy were, so he would better know who has the shoes.
 Had Roof Painted
 Charles Seeley, 216 W. Wishart street, painted the roof under which Mrs. Jane Hawley lives at 263 Erie ave nue, accepted his wages and later de eided he should have received more. So