If you think courtroom drama is a product of the television era, think again. I found this gem in the Skidmore New Era, and while the paper no longer exists, its fine reporting gives us insight into the world of law and order, northwest Missouri style. The New Era ran for a few years in the early 1900s, and I'm honored to share the same family tree as its editor and publisher.
From the Skidmore (Missouri) New Era, January 19, 1911:
George H. Patterson Charged With Selling Soda Pop on Sunday, January 8
George H. Patterson, a confectioner and restaurant proprietor, was arrested a few days ago, charged with selling soda pop, Sunday January 8, 1911 in violation of the city ordinance, and he was summoned to appear before Squire George D. Fullerton, Tuesday, January 17 to give answer to said charge.
No little trial in Skidmore in years has caused the comment and excitement which this one brought out. The city marshal who, by the way has a game leg, caused by the injury received last fall, hobbled all over town no less than three times before he could find a jury to try the case. Every business man, loafer and retired farmer was actually so very busy that it was utterly impossible for him to get away from his business long enough to set on the jury without great financial loss to himself and business, but hardly had the jury been qualified until the court room was packed like sardines in a box, and it would have been extremely difficult for one to have purchased a ham sandwich or a spool of thread for lack of clerks to wait on him.
The charge was for violation of ordinance No. 22 A., Section 1 and 2, which are as follows:
Sec. 1. Every person who shall expose for sale of any goods wares or merchandise, or shall keep open any ale or porter house, grocery or tippling shop, or shall sell or retail any fermented or distilled liquor on the first day of the week, commonly called Sunday shall on conviction be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not less than one dollar nor more than fifty dollars.
Sec. 2. The last section shall not be construed to prevent the sale of any drugs or medicines, provisions or other articles of immediate necessity.
The lawyers in the case were George Rob Ellison attorney for the city and Cory Cook council for the defendant.
The first witness introduced was Arch Hitchcock, city marshal, who testified that he saw George Patterson sell Sunday, January 8, three bottles of soda pop or what he thought to be soda pop to three young men.
The young men who purchased the drinks were put on the stand. The first, Emmett Littler, said that on Sunday morning he purchased one bottle of raspberry cider of Mr. Patterson; the second witness testified that he purchased from Mr. Patterson Sunday evening one bottle of ginger ale; the third, Jesse Roth, swore that he on Sunday afternoon bought of Mr. Patterson one bottle of lemon soda pop. As the indictment was drawn only for soda pop, the first two articles were dropped.
Skidmore is a dry town with nothing to drink stronger than well water, and the young man who purchased the lemon soda pop seemed to have a long and deep thirst, and testified that this particular well water of the "west side" did not agree with his stomach, and he drank lemon soda pop as a thirst quencher.
The city contended that soda pop did not come under the purview of "any drug, medicine or provision" and that it could not be considered an acceptance, under "articles of immediate necessity," and therefore was in violation of the aforesaid ordinance.
George H. Patterson admitted he sold the articles, but that lemon soda pop was an innocent and uninjurious drink, beneficial to the system and a quencher of thirst.
Mr. Carver, the traveling salesman for the Clarinda Bottling Works, who manufacture the soda pop in question, stated that bottled soda water, or pop, is made from pure well water, charged with pure carbonic acid gas with granulated sugar and the pure lemon juice as a flavoring.
Expert testimony was introduced to prove the good or bad effects of lemon juice, lemon extracts and acids on the human system. The "hypothetical" questions propounded were not quite as long and complicated as some of those in the famous Thaw trial, but they were almost as misunderstandable to a common juror. To get down to plain United States, Dr. Lee did not think much of lemons, particularly lemon extracts and acids, as a throat remedy or a thirst quencher, while Dr. Pierpoint admitted a great many people used the lemon fruit as a slacker of thirst and to relieve hoarseness of the throat.
The attorneys made long and eloquent addresses: Mr. Ellison for the plaintiff, read court reports and discussions from Massachusetts, New York, Missouri and Kansas, and by the time he had finished the last chapter, his jury did not know whether the first records were discussions in a road case or a homicide. Mr. Cook scoffed at the idea of a Kansas judge pretending to say what a Missourian should not drink.
The lawyers finally closed and the room ordered vacated by the spectators, and the jury left in a cold room with but little fire to deliberate on "the law and the evidence."
After the jury all delivered an address, which would have made Cory Cook's speech and Rob Ellison's court discussions look like thirty cents against John D. Rockefeller's billion dollar fortune in comparison, they decided that George H. Patterson hadn't murdered anyone, robbed a bank or run off with some other man's wife, and brought in the following verdict:
"We, the jury, find the defendent not guilty."
[Signed] D. W. McCool, Foreman
Nice to know that justice did, and does, prevail...occasionally.
Posted by: sp | July 22, 2009 at 09:26 AM