Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 123, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 October 1903 — The Circuit Court. [ARTICLE]

The Circuit Court.

A Big Judgment Against the Pan Handle Railroad. ; The case of Reed, Adininsittator of the^estate of John Reed Sr., vs the P. C. O. &St L. R. R. company, began trial Tuesday and muled Wednesday. afternoon. The case grew out of the John Reed Sr., who was killed by the oars in Remington the 21st of last January. When he was killed a freight train was doing some switching, and he was on the street crossing where there was a side track branching out from the main track, with the branching place right at the sidewalk. A cat of cars came along, to gc on the side track, and he was run down and killed, The administrator of the estate sued the railroad for $5,000. It seems that none of the witnesses were right dose to the spot. It was sought to be proved that the old man had oanght his foot betweep a gnard rail and one of the other rails, and that he oenld not extricate it in time to save himself. Also that the railroad was to blame because there was a piece of planking gone from belween the converging rails, on the side-walk, thus leaving a dangerous opening where a person’s foot might be oanght. Moreover it was shown that the out of aars was sent down the track and upon the switch at high speed, and without any brakesman in oharge, until one jumped on jast before the old man was hit, but not soon enough to oontrol the oars.

On the part of the rati road it sought to be proved that Reed’s death was due only to his own negligenoe, and that he was uot caught, bat was simply so engrossed in watching the cars on the side track that he paid no attention to his own safety and stood and let the cars on the main track run tim down

Another p >iat at issue. and on which the evidence differed widely, was as to the old man’s age when he was killed. This paint was material as establishing the probable time he would have lived, and the consequent injury to his death. It appeared that he did not know his own age nor did his children know it. It was given in the trial all the way from 64 t a 84 years Oa his assessments sheets it was shown that one year he gave his age at 64 years and the next year at 76 In a case he had in court in Oct. 1900. he testified that he was 80 in 1899, which proved have made him about 94 when killed.

The jury evidently took the view that the railroad company was to blame for the old man’s death, whatever his age might have been and after being out about an hour they brought in a for the plaintiff, and fixing the amount of the judgment at $ 2,500.

We have heard so muoh about free trade Great Britain that a great many people have oome to take it for granted that Great Britain always bad free tr<vde and that there are no proteotionists in the country. Reoent developments have opened the eyes of a great many that apparently supposed this. There are not only powerful men in that oountry that believe in protection, but the next campaign for members of parliament is likely to renew the old discussion of the tarrifT question. Of oourse it is not likely that so conservative a people will decide for a reversal of the tariff policy in so short a time, but there are a good many reasons to believe that a reaction has set in and that it wilt continue until the free trade policy is greatly modified if not reversed.