Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1937-03-04

Some years ago in one of the towns of northern
Missouri, a citizen brought a damage suit for 5000
against a neighbor who had killed his dog. Senator
George G. Vest appeared in the case as counsel for
the plaintiff.
Senator Vest made the closing argument to the
jury. He spoke but a few words, and these in a low
voice and with little gesture. He made no reference
to the law. the evidence nor the merits of the case,
but confined his remarks to an eloquent and most re-
markable tribute to the dog. Senator Vest said:
Gentlemen of the Jury: The best human friend
a man has in the world may turn against him and be-
come his enemy. His son or daughter that he has
reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those
who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we
trust with our happiness and our good lame may be-
come traitors to their faith. The money that a man
has he may lose. 1t flies away from him, perhaps,
when he needs it most. A mans reputation may be
sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The
people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us
honor when success is with US may be the first to
throw the stone of malice when failure settles its
cloud upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfsh
friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the
one that never deceives him, the one that never
proves ungrateful and treacherous, is his dog.
"A mans dog stands by him in prosperity and in
poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on
the cold ground where the wintry wind blows and the
snew drifts hercely. if only he may be near his mas
ters side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to
offer. He will lick the wounds and sores that come in
encounter of the dourness of the world. He guards
the sleep of his pauper master as If he were a prince.
When all other friends desert he remains. When rich
es take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as
constant in his love as the sun in its journeys through
the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth an
outcast in the world, f~riendless and homeless, the
faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of ac-
companying to guard against danger, to fight against
his enemies, and when the last scene of all comes,
and when death takes the master in its embrace and
his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter
if all other friends pursue their way, there by the
graveside may the noble dog be found, his head be-
tween his paws, his eyes sad but open in alert watch
fulness, faithful and true even in death"
The jury returned a verdict in favor of the plain
tiff. 1t is said that, although the suit was for only
5000, the verdict Of the jury was for $500, and that
some of the jurors wanted to hang the defendant.
Very few men who find themselves between his
satanical majesty and the deep blue sea are ever
drowned.
No matter how good a buffer a man may be he
has to give in when his money gives out.
xxx
Some politicians, like corkscrews, are more or
less crooked, but they have a strong pull.
xx*
If a pessimist has nothing to worry him, he wor-
ries about that.
Lunattes are the only persons who never do or
say anything they are not ashamed of.