MAY 1, 1908
The Commoner. 7 A'm
i I r III
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Dodges Taxes " ' j r 1
Out on tho southwest side of Chicago lies
the McCormick branch, of the International Har
vester company. Here six thousand human be
ings men, boys and girls shape and arrange
millions of pieces of iron and wood, and make
the harvesters that cut a large share of the
wheat crop of the world.
Suspended above the great rooms of the
factory, powerful electric cranes perform the
work formerly done by hundreds of toilers, lift
ing and transporting heavy pieces of iron.
On July 1, 1907, Walter Merritt, an electric
repair man in the employ of the harvester com
pany, was directed by his superintendent to go
upon one of the electric cranes to inspect its
motors. He climbed up an iron post by the
suspended cage in which the crane operator
works the levers that apply power to the crane.
As he stepped from the top of the cage to the
wheels on which the crane rested, the operator,
a few feet beneath him, suddenly pulled a lever,
applied the power, and Merritt was thrown over
into the gearing. In an instant the merciless
cogs had cut into his flesh, and, before the ma
chinery could be stopped, his right arm was
crushed off at the elbow. He was taken to a
hospital, where blood poisoning set in and ren
dered his other arm almost useless.
At the time of the -accident Merritt was
earning $2.75 per day of ten hours, but by work
ing overtime he managed to draw about $90
per month. After a three weeks' stay in the
hospital, the injured man was taken home.
Weak and discouraged, he discussed the future
with his wife. The comfortable little flat, with
its piano, paintings,, and bric-a-brac, would have
to be given up.
One day, shortly after he came from the
hospital, while he was thinking hard, trying to
solve tho difficult problem of how a man with
, only one arm, and that partially disabled, could
earn a livelihood for himself, his wife, and child,
Merritt had a visitor. It was Mr. Brown, the
claim agent for the Harvester company. Brown's
duty was to settle personal injury .claims as
cheaply as possible. An increase in Brown's
small salary depended upon hi- showing better
results this year than last; in showing at the
end of this corporate year a smaller sum paid
but for damages to the heirs of killed and to
wounded workmen than last year,
Addressing Merritt in a sympathetic tone,
the trained adjuster said:
"Walter, I'm awfully, sorry for you, and I
want to assure you that the company means to
do the right thing by you. We always treat
6ur employes right. I suppose you need a little
money, so I have brought you $50, and I want
,you to sign this receipt."
Not a word of explanation of the formidable
-looking document with its many lines of printed
and typewritten matter!
This was Merritt's first experience with a
claim agent. It was a case of guilelessness and
Inexperience against cold, calculating business.
As Merritt found himself grasping awk
wardly a pretty little fountain pen in his left
hand, he thought it was rather kind of the com
pany to make him a present of the ten crisp
five-dollar bills that he needed so much. Glanc
ing at the paper before him, Lis eyes caught the
words "release and forever discharge." These
were not the words of a rimple receipt. Then
there were many other things peculiar about
this document. So many words and such fine
print! Handing back the 50 to the claim agent
but keeping the paper, Merritt sid:
"Well, Mr. Brown, I never had to sign any
paper before when I got my pay from the com
pany, and I don't quite understand why I should
do so now. I will read this paper over care
fully and let you know in a few days. I don't
quite like to sign it now."
Know all Men by these Presents, That
I, Walter Merritt, of the city of Chicago,
county of Cook, and state of Illinois, for
and in consideration of the sum of fifty
dollars to me in hand paid by the Interna
tional Harvester company, a New Jersey
corporation, the receipt whereof is hereby
acknowledged, do hereby release and forever
discharge, said International Harvester com
pany from all claims and demands and each,
every and all right cause and causes of ac
tion of every name, nature and description
whatsoever, which I now have or which has
accrued in my favor against It, said Interna
tional Harvester company arising or grow
ing out of or by reason of any matter, cause
or thing whatsoever, from the beginning-of
Makes Cripples and
the world to the day of the date hereof.
And, I do further hereby declaro that
said International Harvester company has
not, nor has anyone for it, or in its name, at
any time prior to the execution and delivery
of this release by me, made me any offer of
employment, nor held out to me any in
ducement of future employment in any ca
pacity whatever, as a part consideration for
tho execution of this release, and that I
thoroughly understand the meaning of this
release and know that its execution by mo
is an absolute waiver and bar of all and
every claim and demand I may have against
said company of every name and description,
and that under no circumstances can I sue .
or maintain any action, suit or proceeding
against said company by reason of any
matter or thing whatsoever happening to
me, or arising in my favor against said
company prior to tho executon and delivery
hereof; and I further expressly state that
no fraud or undue influence on the part of
said company, or on the part of anyone rep
resenting it, has In any way entered into
this release or into any of the steps leading
up to it.
Witness my hand and seal this 24th
'day of July, A. D., 1907.
Witnesses:
(SeaD
State of Illinois, County of Cook, ss
I, , a notary public in
and for said county, in the state aforesaid,
do certify that Walter Merritt, who is per-
sonally know to me to be the same person
whose name is subscribed to the foregoing
instrument, appeared before me this day in
person and "acknowledged that he signed,
sealed and delivered the said instrument as
'h. . free and voluntary act for the uses and
' 'purposes therein' set forth.
' Given under my hand and notarial seal
this 24th day of July, A. D., 1907.
Notary Public.
The price of an arm. The paper that an
agent for the International Harvester company
asked Merritt to sign.
Brown could not ask for the return of the
paper without arousing Merritt's suspicions, so
he violated one of his own rules by. leaving tho
document with the injured man.
His parting words were spoken confiden
tially: "Now, Walter, you know we don't want any
trouble about this. When you get well, I'll see
what I can do for you. Don't go to any lawyer,
for if you do I may not be able to help you at
all, for you know it wasn't our fault that you
got hurt, and we could beat you in a lawsuit.
We always win our cases. I'm telling you this
as a friend."
The intuition of the unfortunate man's good
little wife told her that in this serious matter It
wasn't quite safe to rely on Mr. Brown's advice.
So next day Merritt went to a lawyer's office and
showed him the paper that Mr. Brown wanted
him to sign.
The lawyer told him it was a form of re
lease, which, if signed by the injured man would
forever bar him from collecting damages. Mer
ritt stated the facts as to the circumstances of
the accident. The lawyer said:
"The International Harvester company Is a
New Jersey corporation. If you sue the com
pany for more than $2,000 it will transfer tho
case to the federal court, because it claims to
be a citizen of New Jersey and you are a citizen
of Illinois. The federal courts will probably de
cide that you and the craneman were fellow ser
vants, and you would lose your case there. But
you might sue in the state courts for $2,000,
and the company could not transfer the caso
to the federal court, because that court will not
consider any case unless the amount sued for is
more than $2,000. In cases like yours the law
of Illinois is much more favorable to the plain
tiff than that of the United States courts, and
you could probably win in the state courts. The
company will appeal if a jury decides in your
favor. The calendars of the court are crowded
with thousands of cases like yours against cor
porations, and it would take at least three years
to collect your damages."
Merritt was surprised to find that the law
put such cheap value on human limbs. He
would talk It over with his wife; She advised
him to see Mr. Brown and settle his caso for
$1,000 rather than face tho uncertainties and
dolays of a lawsuit.
Brown was very sorry, but his hands woro
tied by his superior. The company was not
liablo, and ho was instructed to pay Morrit $50
and to say that after a whilo they might givo
him a job as night watchman, where ho could
earn about $12 per week.
"But remember," said Brown, " wo can't
make any agreement in writing about giving
you a job. You will havo to tako my word
for it."
Tho unfortunate man had no alternative
but to fight the International Harvester com
pany and to devise some new way of earning a
livelihood. He had ono relative, an uncle, who,
although poor, had managed to save a few hun
dred dollars. From him Merritt borrowed $200
and rented a little store near ono of Chicago's
crowded public schools. Ho laid in a small
stock of candies and school books. His little
capital was not enough to provide all of tho
articles that (ho children called for, and his
profits from tho sales, paid mostly In pennlos
and nickles by tho children, amountod to about
seventy-fivo cents per day.
. Merritt returned to tho lawyer's office, and
suit was brought against tho International Har
vester company for $2,000.
An overworked and underpaid omployo in
tho offico of tho harvester company ono whoso
duty it is to attend to the routine details of
damage suits up to the time of trial neglected
to file in court tho proper papers answering
Merritt's claim for damages in tho time fixed
by law, and Merritt's lawyer took a default
against the company, and a judge entered Judg
ment for $2,000 in his favor.
A few days afterwards tho lawyers for
the company appeared In court and asked to
havo the judgment set aside. They oxplaiued
that the young law clerk in tho office of tho
company had forgotten about tho caso and that
tho company had a good defonse. Tho judge
ordered the company to produce its witnesses,
so that Merritt's lawyer mhjht crogs-examino
them.
If tho company showed that it had a good
defense, then the judge would sot aside tho de
fault and submit the case to a jury, where both
sides might havo their witnesses heard. If the
company failed to show that it had a good de
fense the judge would order the judgment to
stand, and Merritt could then collect tho 2,0QQ
quickly.
On the day set for tho inquiry Into tho-'
facts, an Important witness, a former omployo
of tho company, was not brought to court by tho
company.
PUTTING A WITNESS OUT OP REACH
Merritt's lawyer had procured a written
statement from tho witness showing tho com
pany's negligence. If called to court, the witness
would havo told the judge that the man who
pulled the levers on tho crane and cut off Mer
ritt's arm was an incompetent man; that ho
was an. Ignorant workman, chosen from the com
mon laboring gang only a short tlmo before
the accident, and that the witness, who was
an expert crane man had notified tho superin
tendent of the company before the accident that
the man was incompetent and careless.
This witness was taken out of the state by
Mr. Brown the day before the hearing, and ho
was paid $25 for his time spent in keeping away
from court.
As the hearing was not an actual trial, Mer
ritt was not allowed to testify; or produce wit
nesses, and ho found that the iaw does not favor
defaults.
The judgment was set aside, but only on
conditions that were quite favorable to Merritt.
The judge directed that tho company pay Mer
ritt $100 at once; that he bo given leave to
sue for $7,500 instead of $2,000, and that tho
company should not remove the caso to tho
Federal court. In order to escape tho payment
of the Judgment for $2,000, the company ac
cepted these conditions.
And Merritt felt half-glad over the decision.
He might bo defeated and get nothing for his
arm, but his fight was now worth while. He
had secured a chance of collecting $7,500 from
the harvester company for the loss of his arm.
The suit came on for trial March 16 and
lasted until March 23. Tho defendant corpora
tion contested the case bitterly, and called over
fifty witnesses. The verdict was in favor oi
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