Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-11-28


plaintiff and the defendant.
On that point, the sage and
some Of the worlds leading jur-
lists didn't see eye 10 eye. The
great Judges, lake the position
that il Is not only the right but
the duty Of citizens 10 redress
every just grievance, no matter
how trivial It may seem.
Mrs Henrietta Gunther's hand
crochoted, cream colored bed
spread may sound like small po-
tatoes TO a lot of people but it
was "A serious matter TO her and
90 the 10 b!ack-robcd members
Of the New Jersey Court OF Err
rors and Appeals, the highest tri-
bunal in the State. which ordered
the Morey La Rue Laundry Com
pany Of Elizabeth TO return it 10
her.
For three years Mrs. Gunther
and the laundry battled each
other in the courts OF New Jersey
beginning with the lowest and
ending with the highest The le-
gal cost TO each, of course, far
exceeded the value of the article
they were fighting over. But it
was the principle of the thing
Back in 1910, Mrs. Gunther had
sent the bedspread 20 the laundry
for a dry cleaning When she
got it back, it's texture and col
or were gone and she claimed
that the laundry. instead Of hav-
ing dry cleaned the bedspread,
had washed il.
The laundry took it back for
another try The result, accord
ing TO Mrs. Gunther, was even
worse. She sued for damages
and was awarded SIS. But when
she tried 20 get her handiwork
back the laundry refused on the
ground that the damages covered
the full value Of the bedspread.
Mrs. Gunther went back to
court and got decree ordering
that the bedspread be turned
back 20 her The laundry APP
pealed TO the Supreme Court and
lost and then went 10 the Court
Of Errors and Appeals and took
"A licking there. too. A total OF
some 20 Judges heard the case
before the laundry finally re-
turned the spread.
An equally militant fighter for
her rights was pretty Rose O'Gor-
man who. one lovely June morn
ing, went for a stroll on tho
streets of Yonkers, New York.
clad in yellow shorts, white san
dals, no stockings, a colored hal
ter and a yellow jacket.
She had just begun TO enjoy
her walk when policeman
stepped up and informed her that
her attire violated a city ordi-
nance which declared that people
over rs must not be seea-en- the
streets except in Ordinary at
tire"
Rose was arrested, tried and
found guilty OF exposing more Of
her shapely self than the ordi-
nance allowed. But the Judge
gave her a suspended sentence,
and a warning
Infatuated. Rose hired some
topnotch counsel and ran through
all the courts Of the state, finally
landing in the Court Of Appeals,
losing every inch Of the way
until the seven Justices OF that
august tribunal had their say.
When they got through, any
citizen of Yonkers could walk
the streets in any costume he or
she pleased
Chief Justice Crane. writing
for the entire bench, said that he
didn't know what Ordinary at
tire" meant. That the term was
too vague and indefinite and
quite meaningless. and besides,
there could be no law telling peo-
pie what they must wear. Pro-
vided. the court said, a person
wasn't naked, he or she had tho
right to be Oh the streets clad
according 10 his or her own
Whims.
Not only was Poee'e convection
Knocked out OUT the ordinance
itself was held 10 be invalid IL
legal and unconstitutional
Among the great fighters for
a principle regardless of cost was
William Morningstar, who got
into a dispute with the Lafayette
Hotel in Buffalo over a charge Of
81 90 and carried his case right
up TO the Court Of Appeals
William, a guest Of the hotel.
wearied of its menu and went
out, bought some sparcrihs and
gave them 60 the chef 10 be-
cooked. The chef did SO but the
hotel charged William one buck
for service. William refused to
d. 4,