One Art ton Concerned Rooster That
Attacked Child 1*1 ay in* in Street
The great American game of “go- j
ing to law” is sometimes productive
of extraordinary results. Court tidal?
may bo tragic dramatic, melodrama
tic, or—as for the most part they
are—profoundly usual. Rut the ele
ment of comedy may bo present. It
often is, savs a writer in the Boston
Herald.
Odil cases, puecr cases, ppcu’rr
cases, downright funny cases, are in
termingled on the record with those
of the customary type. In fact, it i:
thus recurrent possibility that pre
vents jurors, court clerks and juries
from becoming out-andout m snn
thropists. with a rooted and abiding
distrust in the ability of the human
race to direct its own nffa.rs.
Court officials whose memory goes
back through the vears recalls nuni-;
hers of these “freak” rasps and there
are plenty of yellowed old clippings
preserved in scrapbooks, that have
rescued from the limbo of oblivion
the details of su.ts whosp oddities
have aroused jaded public interest
and caused a smile to illuminate the
face of even the dignified justice who
sits upon the bench.
From $300,000,000 to 14 cents ,s» a
big drop yet one may find these
sums set down as damages claimed in
actions in local courts. In the 14
cent case the plaintiff said that 2
cents of this amount was due him for
postage expended in informing the
defendants to the amount of their in
debtedness to him.
On the other hand, the case of the
estate of Olea Bull Vaughan, of
West Lebanon, Me., against the New
Haven road, to recover $300,000,000,
which it was alleged had been miss
spent by the directors, heard in
1924, was the largest ever filed in
Massachusetts.
The 14-eent su.t, spoken of above
was not the smallest on record. Wil
liam F. Donovan, clerk of the civil
division of the Boston municipal
court, told The Herakl man that a
suit of 10 cents had that distinction.
If, was a contract action, said
Mr, Donovan, reminiscently, “filed
about 30 years ago and brought by an
attorney against the Boston and
Maine Railroad. It seems that the
plaintiff had paid a cash fare on the
train and had been given a rebate
slip by the conductor. He waited too
long before attempting to cash the
slip, ar it expired. The company re
fused to honor it. and the man sued
for 10 cents. This is t'-..> smallest
suit ever recorded here.
“That suit is rather ancierft his
tory. In my time the smallest was
filed by a local laundry for a bill
of $1.03. The defendants defaulted
the case and judgiwunt was given for
the amount with cost.
Gloves Shrunk, She Sued
“Another peculiar case I remember
was the spit brought by a young
lady, whose father was a lawyer,
against a local department store for
$1.75, which she claimed she had
paid for a pair of gloves advertised
and guaranteed not to shrink. She
had been assured, she stated, that
the glove* could be washed without
their shrinking, but on washing
them, she claimed, they shrank to
such nn extent that she ”-as un..nie
to get them on."
Because he spelled the word “dau
ghter” incorrectly as "duaghter’ in
cutting it on the headstone for the
grave of his customers child a Bos
ton monument worker lost his suit to
recover $30 as a balance due on the
pr.ee of a stone. The headstone now
stands in a cemetery in Doburn, with
the word “daughter’ misspelled and
a chip broken from one edge. At the
trial the cutter at first denied that
the word had been misspelled, then
admitted that it was, bpWried to as
sure the jury that he could correct
the spelling and make the headstone
“all right” for only $1.80 additional.
The jury apparently did not believe
him.
A *100,000 suit for the loss of a
woman’s eye from the shaft of n de
scending skyrocket on a Fourth of
July, brought aga.nst the town of
Brookline and two fireworks compan
ies, occupied the attention of an au
ditor at the Suffolk county court
house in 1913.
The woman was riding jin an auto
mobile wh.ch swung in by the Cy
press street playground in Brookline
during the evening of July 4, 1908.
The occupants of the car were watch
ing the fireworks display. Through
the darkness the shaft of a rocket
dropped, striking the woman in the
eyes as the sat gaz.ng upward, and
blinding her. The suit was eventual
ly compromised.
A rooster’s peck was appraised at
$500, in the Worcester Superior
court a few days ago. The little vic
tim of the rooster, a boy of 5, never
received any benef.t from the money
as he was killed by failing from a
piazza at him home after the suit
was instituted.
His father claimed that the rooster
a bird of fighting breed, attacked
the boy on the street in Worcester,
one day in August. 1912, and pecked
him in the right eye, inflictmg such
Injuries t***t the eye had to be re
moved. He sued in his behalf, and
also for the boy; the jury brought in
a verdict of $240 for the estate of
of the victim, and $260 fc" the fatti
er. The record is silent as to what
became of the rooster. The fowl ha
undoubtedly expiated his crime to the
Shot in Church Flay
A very unusual case was tried in
the Suffolk Superior Court in March
192'!. when a woman brought su.t
against a Roxburv church for $20.
000 on the grounds of the “conscious
suffering anil death” of her daughter
caused, it was alleged by the negli
gence of the defendant.
On the night of December 5, pre
viously, the victim a girl of 15. was
.Vo j?i tb" breast during rehears
al of “Jack and the Beanstalk,” as
Christmas entertainment, and died
soon afterward in a hospital. The
shot was fired by a young man, a
performer in the play, who hod been
allotted a part which called for the
use of a revolver. The girl was seat
ed at a piano and the young man was
exam.ning th° nistol, which was dis
charged, the bullet striking the pian
ist.
The actor was exonerated by the
grand jury and a finding of “neith
er party was entered in the damage
suit.
A Boston man told Judge Sheednn,
in the Munic.pal Court one day in
January, 1924. that his interior works
had been seriously damaged by a
piece of glass while lie was eating
baked beans in a Washington street
restaurant some t.mo previously. He
said the glass was in the beans ara
he whs not aware that he had swal
lowedeit until it began to get in its
fine work upon the l'ning of his stom
pch. He sought $900 damages frofn
the restaurant pronr.etor. The case
was settled for a $5 bill.
The proprietor of a Somerville
bake-shop brought suit in the Middle
sex Superior Court in 1917 against
h's landlord because the latter had
painted a huge “To Let" s.gn across
the window of hia shop.
The baker declared that the land
lord came into his place of business
and painted the objectionable words,
with the legend ’“possession given m
24 hours’ on the glass. A big crowd
collected and os the result of the dis
turbance the plaintiff said his credit
had been injured to the extent of
$10,000,
me landlord repi e<! that a pre
v'ous tenant hail transferred stock
and fixtures to the plaintiff without
his knowledge and consent and. fur
thermore. that the baker had failed
to pay him anv rent and had disre
garded five notices to vacate. There
fore he had taken heroic measures.
Eventually the back rent was paid
and the offending sign painted out.
In the superior court at Worcester,
not long ago, a farmer demanded re
compense for the alleged killing of a
horse by a neighbors cow. He de
clared that he had put his horse,
valued at $102, in a pasture along
with the cow. The usually placid and
gentle bossy apparently objected to
the introduction of the horse and
used her horns. The ensuing scene
| resembled that which takes place in
i the hull ring in Spain when the
steeds of the mounted picadors are
attacked by the bull. The horse, se
verely punctured by the cow’s sharp
horns gave up the ghost, and the ag
grieved owner Went to law.
The collapse of a folding bed while
the occupant* were asleep in it was
the cause of a $10,000 damage suit in
Springfield a year or so since. A man
and his wife sued the owners of the
furnished apartments they had rent
ed. They sa.d that while peacefully
slumbering in it the treacherous bed
suddenly and without warning fold
ed itself, up inflicting personal in
juries and still more seriously hurt
ing their pride and dignity, as all the
human resources of the lodging house'
were required to extricate them from
their predicament.
Several years ago a man alleged
,that a Boston druggists had caused
his wife to contract the morphine ha
1 hit, and sued the druggist for $5,000
I damages.
The woman sent her little daughter
to the drugstore for a “cramp” cure
1 and the child returned with a bottle
j of medicine alleged to have contain
ed a large percentage of morphine.
The medicine worked effectively and
the woman sent for another bottle,
j and another, ami according to her
j husband, became a confirmed addict
I in consequence. The jury gave the
druggist the benefit of the doubt on
the testimony of a physician that he
could not swear it was the cramp
medicine which was to blame.
A study of China just' makes you
wonder how a Chinaman can tell
when he turns Bolshevik.
Tiger woman: Any scared girl
whose lack of sense made her the
plaything of some sneak thief.
Perhaps it would help to use few
er pictures of the crimnal's victims
and more pictures of the hanging.
It is probable, however, that where
people know least about evolution
there is more of it going on.
The swan song of a French Cabi
net begins w.th the words: “Now as
to paying Uncle Sam.”
As to baing good to enemies, the
class that hates Wall Street most
provides the most lambs for it.
realTestate for
sale at Cleveland
Springs. 62 1-2 feet ad
joining the log cabin.
Write J. F. Hull. Logan,
W. Va. 3t-14c
Radio And Science
Turn* Over Things
li radio follows its. present prom.,
isc it presages no less than the com
plete revolution of the thinning of the
world. It threatens to make ibai
thinking scientific. It is obvious—-and
dep'orable—that the world’s thinking
i« not scientific now. “Scientific” is
not easy to define, but one approxi
mates a definition by saying that it
implies facing the facts and judging
by them alone. Very few of us do this
either in our own affairs or in for
mulating our opinions of public mat
ters.
One of the best ways to learn to
think scientifically—probably the only
way—is to practice it. It is not true,
ihirk scientifically, but their average
is high. There is something about
continual contact with facts that teai it
e.- respect for them. The radio experi
menter, fitting tubes and condensers
'and wires together in his attic room,
soon learns that these devices will not
1 eh a ve as he wishes them to, merely
because he greatly desires it. No man
can practice scoerce, as he might
portly practice politics, and ignore the
truth.
The fine and hopeful thing about
radi? is that it is inducing so many
thousands of people, young and old, to
practice science. Atoms and electrons
; and , ether waves are now household
words in- America; a generation ago
not even all the scientists knew
them. Furthermore, an appreciation
of the real basis of all science, a habit
of relentlessly facing facts, is grow
ing simultaneously. It may easily be
that the beginning of broadcasting
will mark for future generations a
turning point of history, the point at
which the habit of thinking began tc
; [’read among mankind.—-E E. Free,1
in the Knrum.
It will pay this year to use good
seed and heavily fertilize a small
acreage of cotton to make the best
yields per acre. Only in this way can
the cost of production be held to
where a profit can be made.
This age will be remembered as
one that kept on debating questions
after they were settled.
The only department of govern
ment that seems actually to do any
thing for the farmer is the weather
bureau.
ADMINISTRATOR'S NOTICE.
Having this dav qualified as ad
ministrators of the estate of I. J.
Green, deceased, late of Cleveland
county, N. C., notice is hereby giv
en to all persons indebted to said
estate to make immediate payment
to the undersigned, and all persons
having claims against said estate are
hereby notified to present them to us
| properly proven for payment .on or
i before April 13ih 1927, or this notice
! will be pleaded in bar of their recov
1 cry. This April 13th, 1926.
GEORGE W GREEN,
JACOB GREEN. A dminislra•
i tors of I. J. Green, deceased.
! R.vburtt & Hoey, Attys.
MONEY IS SAVED!
Illustration describes how easily it’s done with
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MBIT FACTS
IT SIMPLY requires 3 quarts
of Linseed Oil to be stirred
into each gallon to thereby
make 1 % gallons of
BEST-PURE-PAINT
Ready for use
For $3.00per Ga,,on
It is Pure White Lead with Costly White Zinc added
to make the paint wear for 10 to 12 years.
A gallon of L & M Paint will paint considerably
more surface than a gallon of hand made White
Lead Paint
Proved by 52 years of utmost satisfactory use.
tUMMMMTMK — Uoo a gallon oat of any you buy. and if not por
footfy oatufaetory tho romaindor can bo rotumod without paymont
boing mad* far tho on* gallon mod.
roe male «* ' i
PAUL WEBB & SON
KEETER HARDWARE CO
J. D. BLANTON INC.
rhyne Hardware co.
Shelby.
Rutherfordton.
Marion.
Newton.
TO OUR DEPOSITORS
AND OTHER FRIENDS:
# Simple friendliness and interest in your
prosperity are two dominating traits of
this bank.
I ■ ' V. * ‘ ‘
We sincerely desire to have and to keep
your friendship and to see you grow more
prosperous with each passing year. As the
money we deal in is a medium by which the
fruits of your industry and interprise may
be conserved, we feel that as a bank and
as your friend, we can frequently be of
real service to you.
Great things may be brought about for
our section and individuals in it if we all
work together. We are sure that teamplay
in our relations will result in more gener
al efficiency and eventually in that abun
dant prosperity to which our natural ad
vantages entitle us.
We want you to feel that a warm wel
come waits when you call, that we are al
ways delighted to see you, and that we
will be glad to help in the solution of any
problem that may arise.
Yours very truly,
CLEVELAND BANK & TRUST CO.
SHELBY, N. S.
Piedmont Telephone
& Telegraph Co.
Shelby, N. C,, May 1, 192fi.
NOTICE
TO ALL. OUR SUBSCRIBERS:—
This is to respectfully notify our subscribers connected with
the Shelby, N. C., exchange that beginning May l, 1926, the rates
for telephone service as approved by the Mayor, City Clerk and
Councilmen of the City of Shelby will be effective and are quoted
below.
-RATES AND THEIR APPLICATION —
A. Within the Base Rate Area, i. e„ the corporate limits of the city of Shelby as
of this date which embraces Greater Shelby, flat rates are quoted as follows:
Rate Per Month
Business Individual Line —-----:-$4.00
Business Duplex (2-party) Line --— --- ---$3.50
Business Harmonic (4-party) Line --$3.00
Residence Individual Line _— --- —-—-$2.50
Residence Duplex (2-party) Line -—----- ---$2.00
Residence Harmonic (4-partv) Line —-----$1.75
B. Outside the area indicated in “A” and within the territory served by the
special classes of service, tnere will be an additional rate for extra distance beyond the
city limits of 42 cents per month per one-fourth mile or fraction thereof for individual
line service and to be pro-rated equally between two party and four-party line stations.
C. There will be no enange in the rates for farmer line rural service at this
time.
We take this opportunity of thanking you for your patronage
in the past, and trust that our service in the future will be even
more valuable to you.
Respectfully yours,
PIEDMONT TELEPHONE & TELEGRAPH CO.
PARAGON
FUNERAL DIRECTORS,
EMBALMERS
SHELBY, N. C.
For 8 years our establishment has been known to be Shelby's leading undertakers. Our
Undertaking Dept, is fully equipped in every detail. Large stocks of caskets, coffins,
burial suits, dresses, flowers, steel vaults, etc. on display floors. No funeral too large,
none too small for our establishment. We are equipped to handle one and all. Our prices
will suit all pocketbooks. Caskets carried in stock from $7.50 to $1,000.00.
When you come to us for a bural outfit you may adjust the amount you wish to in
vest according to your own wishes and you can get just what you want here.
We go to homes and prepare bodies for burial without charge. We go anywhere
in town or country, day or night, every detail is attended to buy us. Every job in
trusted to us receives most careful and considerate attention.
For the comfort amt convenience of those who may become sick or injured and must
bf taken to the hospital or elsewhere, we have added to our equipment an exclusive am
bulance ami it is at the public service day o.- niBht-only exclusive ambulance in the
county.
M. A. Spangler - Ro.coe E. Lutz . P. L. Hennessa
IN CHARGE
The Paragon Furniture
SHELBY’S LEADING UNDERTAKERS
FURNITURE DEALERS and EMBALMERS”
“ON THE JOB DAY AND NIQHTW