The Courant-American. (Cartersville, Ga.) 1889-1901, December 14, 1893, Image 1

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YOL. XIII. A NEW BILL That is Likely to Revolutionize Practice in the Courts. AND PROVE A VAST SAVING la Expenses—Mr. Neel Its Author, Explains its Objects and Purposes in a Clear, Lucid Way. A bill to be entitled an act to regu late the method of pleading in civil actions, commended by pe tition in the courts of this state, and for other purposes. Section 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Georgia, and it is hereby enacted by authority of the same, that from and after the passage of this act, the plaintiff in all civil actions commenced by pe tition in the courts of this state, shall set forth his cause of action in orcerly and distinct paragraphs, numbered consecutively. Section 2. Be it further enacted, that in all such cases where the de fendant desires to make a defense by plea or answer, he shall therein severally and distinctly answer e ch paragraph of plaintiffs petition, and shall not as heretofore prac ticed in this state file a mere gen eral denial commonly known as the plea of general issue. Section 3. Be it further enacted, that it shall be the duty of the pre siding judge, at each regular term of such court, to call all cases on the appearance docket of such term, and hear and decide all objections made to the sufficency of petitions and pleas, and may by order dis miss plaintiffs petition orstrikede fedants plea for non-compliance with this act unless the defect is cured by amendment; and the court may, on good cause shown allow a reasonable time in his discretion, for making and tiling such amend ment. Section 4. Be it further enacted, that any averment distinctly and plainly made in the plaintiffs peti tion which is not denied by the de fendant’s answer shall be taken as nrima facie true, unless the defend ant states in his answer, that he can neither admit nor deny such averment because of the want of such information. Section 5. Be it further enacted, that all laws and parts of laws in conflict with this act be and the same are hereby repealed. The purpose of the above bill is three-fold. Ist. To advance justice by defin /ng the issues at the appearance term so that parlies may the better prepare for trial. 2d. To economize time by elimi nating from jury trials all uncon tested allegations, and confining the evidence to the bona fide contested issues. 3rd. To save parties to suits ex pense by relieving them from pro ducing witnesses to prove matter not really in dispute. Elaborating these three points a little I would say that under our previous procedure not only had it become common for attorneys to tile petitions in a loose and slovenly manner full of repetition and am biguity,but it had become quite com mon for attorneys for defendants to answer suits by simply having their names marked on the docket with out filingany written plea whatever. This practice hand been growing worse for years and had become a nuisance and an obstruction to jus tice. Now by the bill introduced by myself it will be impossible for such practices to obtain. In the first place the plaintiffs attorney must set forth his cause of action in orderly paragraghs. This will tend to prevent repetition and cause law yers to look more to the logical se quence of their averments. The de fendant’s attorney must at the ap pearance term tile a written answer* in which he must make a distinct and separate answer to each para graph in plaintiff’s petition, and must admit or deny each paragraph. So that each party six months be fore the trial of the case, k nows from the pleadings what particular points are in dispute, and can direct his efforts to producing proof upon these points alone. This will pre vent surprise, and wipe out the practice of holding in ambuscade defenses to be first brought out on the trial. In short, under this bill each party has full notice of his ad versary’s position and can fully pre pare for trial. But the chief advantage U> tax payers will be found in the economy CARTERSVILLE, GEORGIA, THURSDAY. DECEMBER 14, 1893. of time on jury trials.|Under our previous procedure a great deal of time was lost in requiring the plain tiff to nrovp nvftn* Sfrnrsn ttrtri ' * • ** v/ *** ***•“ wnvga tian in his complaint, although the defendant really intended to rest his defense on the denial of only a few of such allegations and some times on the denial of only one. For instance if the suit was brought on an account of a dozen items, the defendant under former procedure could by having his lawyer’s name marked on the docket require plain tiff to prove every item by testi mony, although really intended to deny hut one item when put on the stand to testify for himself. The same thing was possible in damage suits, and in suits on policies of in surance. Sometimes a whole day was occupied by plaintiff in making ueh proofs when one hour would have sufficed if the defendant had been compelled in his plea to make specific admission or denial of each item and each paragraph of plain tiff’s complaint I can see no good reason why the parties to a suit should not be compelled to boldly and openly deifine in his pleading the position he takes towards his adversary on every point, nor can I see any sence in running courts at heavy expense for parties to expe riment with each other in testing the ability of an adversary to prove matters which the opposite party knows is true, and will admit when put upon the stand. He ought to be compelled to make such admissions in his plea before the trial and save the time of the court and jury. It is estimated theat our superior courts with jurors cost from $l5O to S2OO perday when in session, which is from $lB to $25 per hour. Certainly time is money here. Now I claim that under this new law about one fourth of the time of jury trials may be saved. If only ten per cent, is saved, this will amount to at least SIOO,OOO annually saved to tax pay ers of Georgia, as I have no doubt the courts of the 138 counties of this state cost the people over sl,- 000,000 per annum. J. M. Neel. EVANS OR ATKINSON- Steve Clay, Announces He Will Not Run, A Clear Field for Evans and Atkinson. Steve Clay will not make the race for governor. The president of the senate, who has been re garded as a formidable candidate, makes the formal announcement of that fact in a letter published last Sunday. He gives reasons, both personal and party, saying that his private interests demand an attention that he could not give if he entered a campaign. As to party reasons, he says: “Opposition is organized, and the democratic nomination, while as suring an election, does not mean a walk-over, and in order that the party should present a solid front there should be as little division and dissension in party ranks as possible. Personal entanglements and individual differences may prove to be unfortunate, resulting in the embrassment of friends and creating antagonisms that might endanger the success of the party. I cannot afford to be a tactor in bringing about such results for pei sonal gratification.” He concludes rather a lengthy letter by saying positively that he does not make this announcement to injure or advance the claims of any candidate, but solely for the reasons announced. This is taken as leaving the field to Gen. Clement A, Evans, who will run on his war record, and the speaker of the house, Mr. Atkinson, one of the young democracy. The Little Georgia Magnet. Miss Annie Abbott, the “Little Georgia Magnet” will be in Car tersville tomorrow night, 15th insf. She has appeared in a number of Georgia cities since her return from abroad, and her wonderful powers have battled the skill ot all alike She is a Georgia girl, being reared at Milledgeville, but the past few years have been spent abroad, where she created great excitement and was recipient of maay rich and costly gifts, said to aggregate $50,- 000. Mr.l. R- Cain, her manager, is from Americus, Ga., and they are enroute to California, whence they will go to Australia. Cartersville people should not miss this oppoi tunity to see this wonderful little woman. No other sarsaparilla has equaled Hood’s in the relief it sives in severest eases of dyspepsia, sick headach, oil iousness, etc. M. F. Word Druggists, recommend Johnson s Oriental Soap for all skin and scalp diseases. Try it. THAT CAR. Representing the Great Resources of Our Section. A THING OF BEAUTY IT IS- Mr. Land Brings it to Cartersville to Get Bartow’s Specimens and Let the People View it. The car which Mr. J. E. Land has been getting up for a number of weeks past to go north, bearing an exhibit of specimens of agricultural products, minerals, Ac., from this section, reached the city on Thurs day last and remained a day. As it stood on a sidetrack near the \V. & A. depot it was viewed by scores of people. It is in truth a thing of beauty. The car was originally an E. T.V. and G. baggage car, it being turned over to Mr. Land for use by the managers of that sytem. Mr. Land immediately set to work transforming that car into one of the most attractive receptacles that ever an exhibit of any kind went into. The car is painted a white body. On one side is a most realistic scene of a cotton patch with in less than a dozen darkey cotton pickers, men, women and children. It is made from a photograph of an actual scene and one stands and wonders at how perfectly the artist has made the trasfer. On the other side of the car is a picture of an iron mine made from a sketch propared by the artist himself, and is also a most realistic production. The car has also small landscape scenes on the ends and is striped off and trimmed hand somely in aluminum. On each side is the catchy inscription in promi nent and graceful lettering: “North Georgia and Alabama Agricultural and Mineral Exhibit Car.” The interior of the car is fitted up with shelves, stands, &e., for speci mens and having much in place al ready, when ready to leave Car tersville, by the articles added here, contained a showy collection. In the line of minerals we noticed specimens of iron and maganese ore, kaolin, mica, talc, marble, caen and lime stone, baryta, bauxite, ochre, graphite and silver and gold quartz. In agricultural products, there were specimens of corn, wheat, oats, rye, groundpeas, chufas, su gar cane, turnips, potatoes, pump kins and gourds. There is a good collection of the different woods found in this section, some in polished and other in the rough stage. There are also specimens of com mon, fire and vitrified brick. Among those specimens likely to. quickest attract attention, are Bar tow county’s mammoth cotton stalks, loaded with open bolls, the ninety-two pound Bartow county pumpkin, the variegated specimens of pot iron ore from Polk and a beautiful home scene in frame made up of bits of moss and cotton, and resembling at a distance pastel or oil work, the handiwork of a north Alabama lady. The landscape painting on the car is the work of Mr. Ralph Dille, of Rome, an artist, certainly, of no mean pretensions. Mr. Laud left with his car Satur day for Dalton, and thence it will go to Augusta and thence on its great route through the north, out lines of which have heretofore been fully given in these columns. Mr. Land has had associated with him in his work of getting up the car, Mr. George H. Clark, a clever gentleman and thorough going hus tler. Roll of Honor. The following is the roll of honor for the West End Institute for the month of November: DEPORTMENT. Misses Annie and Rosa Carter, Hattie, Lena, Birdie and Ethel Grif fin, Pearl and Irene Stalnaker, Odessa McElreath and Lizzie Up shaw. CLASS STANDING. Miss Annie Carter first honor, general average 100. Pearl Stalna ker, Len.x Griffin, Hattie Griffin, Birdie Griffin, Ethel Griffin, Mary Hudgins, Odessa McElreath, Lizzie Upshaw, Anna Toney, Berta Hazle wood, Pauline Collins, Ella Collins, Julia and Octavia Smith, Mary Lewis, Nellie Deweese, Lillian Tumlin, Irene Stalnaker, Flora Fite, Annie Masliburn, Susie Wal- lace, Annie Milner, Irene Alley, Pearl ami Fannie Goodwin, Reese Marshal, Charlie Stover, Jnq, Cal noun, Milton Cannier, Frank Har ris, Annie Satterfield, Flonnie Mil ner, Eva Mashhurn, Lela Durham, Anniel&enfroe, Ella Wallace,Willie Bolt. l*i> he on the roll of honor a pupil must have general average exceeding 95. HIGH COMPLIMENTS- Bartow's Representatives Recieve High Praise in Their Legislative Work. Last Sunday’s Constitution contained the two follow ing complimentary notices of our senator and representative which the Courant American takes pleas ure in reproducing: “That was a very pretty compli ment which Senator Persons paid to Mr. Veach, of Bartow, in his ar gument in favor of the passage of the state bank hill. It was a com pliment well deserved and from a source which *gave it additional value. “In openiyg his remarks on this bill Mr. Persons said: “When an important measure is to be considered the first thougiitof a thinking man is: Where did the measure originate? “In the house of representatives —across the way—there is a quiet, unassuming man. He seldom arl dresses Mr. Speaker, and he never makes a speech. In him we find a happy illustration of something that is often discovered by observ ing men, and that is: The wisest man among many men may be one whe talks the least. A practical business man, eminently successful as a financier; thoughtful and pru dent hs a legislator; honest and up right as a citizen—this man in his old age, uow past ids Ihree score and ten, performs what may be come a great and important ser vice to the people of Georgia. He is Mr. Veach, of the county of Bar tow; and he it was who furnished to your joint committee the princi ple, system and method upon which was constructed the hank bill which i before you today. This bill is, in truth, the Veach bill, and it an swers in its several sections every objection that may be urged against it.” “The passage of the Veach bill by the senate—which leaves it now lacking oidy the governor’s signa ture before being a law—is a tri umph for the special joint commit tee which proposed the bill, and of which Senator Oorput is chairman “Senator Corput gave the matter his untiring attention and his speech in the senate yesterday morning showed that he is certainly well posted on the theory—if not the practice—of banking. “The senator from the Rome dis trict is unquestionably one of the leading men of the present general assembly and one of the powers of the senate. As chairman of the committee on finance, he holds one of the most important positions in the legislature; and in committi e room and on the floor of the senate he always expresses with vigor any course which he deems right.” Rev. J. H. Mashburn. This popular divine, with his family, will leave the city on next Tuesday, for Elberton, his new ap pointment. Mr. Mashburn has served the Methodist church here for the past two years, and during that time has done a splendid work for his church, leaving it, pos sibly in the best condition in every way it has been in for years. Un der singularly trying circumstances he has proven himself a man of wonderful personal integrity and of self-sacrificing, steady and un swerving Christian character. He departs carrying with him the love and esteem of an extended circle of warm friends in the community, whose best wishes and constant prayers will be with him and his family. He preached his last sermon at the church last Sunday, which was an effort evoking universal praise from his congregation for its depth of thought and impressiveness, and vhen his closing passages, full of rich eloquence,were being delivered, the emotion of his hearers mani fested by tears told only too plainly of the esteem in which he was held. A resolution was adopted by a rising vote, expressive of the love and confidence and best wishes of his church. E. Nultv of St. Paul, Minn., writes: ‘•Was confined to bed for 3 weeks, doc tors coufd do iiie#no good; Japanese Pile Cure entirely eij,ed me.” Sold by M. F. Word. PORTER l VAuGEAN Headquarters for Holiday Goods. Thousands of Useful and Ornamental Xmas Goods at Popular Prices. VISIT OUR STOKE FOR PANGY^GOOBS, DRESStGOODS, Clothing, Cloaks & Shoes. All our lines of Fancy Willow Ware, Work Bas kets, hasels, Fancy Baskets, Hand-painted Pin Cush ions, Jewelry Trays, Toilet Sets, Brushes, Combs, Pho tograph Frames, Mirrors, Purses, Bag's, Silk Handker chiefs, Silk Throws. Linen Scarfs, Fancy Linens of every descriptions, Perfumery, Toilet Soaps, Sachet Powders, Fancy Stationery, Silverware, Bon Bon Boxes, Jewelry Cases, and Thousands of other beauti ful and artistic Christmas Goods. n Our Prices are the Lowest in North Georgia. CLOTHING DEPARTMENT. We are making great cuts In this line to close out all winter goods. Suits, Overcoats ana Pants for men, boys and children at prices far below value. GLOAKS! CLOAKS. We have about 75 Cloaks left, including Ladies’ and Misses Garments. They must be closed out as we will not carry them over; you can take them at prices that will please. DRESSGOODS We are using the same knife in Dress Goods, and the prices are being caived to pieces. Tremendous Bargains in all grades and styles. Our Shoe Department * Is growing beautifully less. The prices are doing the work. We shall cuntinue to use the knife by slicing down prices on Ladies’, Gent’s and Children’s Shoes below aH competition. Visit our Store for Genuine Bargains. PORTER & VAUGHAN NO. 23.