I had three years grace given me, just fancy, three years since 1905 without something extra happening. I was beginning to think I was doing fine when one sun shiny day a man came for me to move some furniture for him to the C.N.R. freight sheds. His place was only just across the road from the sheds. I had to go to the back door to get the goods, now the lane leading to the Avenue has a bad run off at the curb, I came off all right with my first load but I did not with my second. I was sat on the front of my load as I had no where else to sit. I had a big load when the front wheels of my dray ran off this sharp curb. It shot me from off my load just behind the horses on the tongue of the dray, I held on to the lines and tried to stop the horses, they did not know what was happening. Then one of them gave a kick, taking my cap off my head, kicked twice again just missing my head with the same margin each time, then I fell off. the tongue under the dray the draw bold catching on my clothing then the front axle caught me, doubled me up, that was not enough, but what the back wheel had to run over my leg scouring the flesh to the bone.
The horses stopped, no damage done only to me. Well it was another trip to the hospital this time they took me to the City Hospital. Well they say a change is as good as a rest but I don't like these kind of changes. It was not much rest for me. I was in the hospital about a week but I was seven weeks before I could go to work again..
Well I thought City Council should be responsible for this because it is poor engineering to make such curbs for wagons to come off them. There had been other accidents before mine. One man I knew was hurt in just the same way as I was and endless of other minor accidents such as breaking furniture.
Well then I got going about on crutches I took out a petition to the mayor and City Council. the petition was signed by the leading merchants of the City to have these back lane curbs leading to the streets or Avenues altered so that they would be safe for teamsters to come over them, that they are a danger to life and limb. I put the petition before the council and also a claim for damages for my loss of time suffering and hospital expenses. I did not employ a lawyer to put my case before the council. I appeared in person. There was the argument between the council and myself, I had seen the Mayor, also the City Clerk, Mr Leslie.
"Well how did your accident happen and where?" Answer "It happened on the first Avenue opposite the nineteenth street subway. I was coming out of the lane with a load of furniture and as my dray dipped off the curb I was thrown down off my load behind teh horses then under the dray, my back hurt,. also my leg very badly bruised."
Question "Was you in the hospital?" Answer "yes". Question "Who was your doctor?" Answer "Doctor D, MacKenzie". Well what makes you think the City is responsible? Answer "Because these curbs leading from the back lanes are dangerous to teamster who have to cross them. They are not made right and you know it". "No, they are not dangerous" he said. Answer "Well if they are not dangerous tell me why the City spent ever so much money altering the lane ways leading onto Second Avenue?" "Oh they was altered because they was dangerous to automobiles". "Oh dangerous to automobiles, but not to teamsters, well that beats all I ever heard" A reddening of face, he saw where he had lost a point.
That ended it with him, we shall have to call the City Solicitor which he did, the same questions asked over again with others added in. He then began to cross question. "Was you sat on the top of the load". "Yes, where do you think I should sit". "Your legs over the front of the dray". "Yes, I had no other place to sit because I had a big load". "Did you have sides to your dray?" "No, nobody has, don't need them except on the front". "Could you not have led your horses across this crossing". "I could have done but cannot say that would have been safe either". "Why?" "Because when coming off such places the tongue switches from side to side and would be liable to hit you in the stomach and lay a man out, then you would have told me I had no business leading my horses over these places when I know what was liable to happen. So it is wrong to sit on your load and it would be wrong to lead them over these places". "Have you come over this place before" "Yes, many times but not with much of a load". "Nothing happened to you before now?" "No I have told you I never had much of a load and I could stand on the dray bottom against the front of the rack". "Could you not have gone the other way that is not so bad instead of coming over this crossing?" "Yes but where I was going with the goods was only across the road and to go the other way would have meant going two blocks East then two blocks back to get where I was going to."
"Look here", I says, "it is no use you trying to beat around the bush to get the best of me because I know that's just what you are trying to do . These crossings are not safe and you know it." "Ah why did you cross when you knew they were not safe?" "Oh you think you have got me, do you? I crossed because they were made for me and others to cross and those that put them in had not much engineering ability or even brains or they would not have ordered or made such crossings."
"Well the City employed what they thought was first class engineers, therefore it is the engineers and not the City that is responsible". "Oh just come now, you know you have no chance of backing out. If I was a tailor and you ordered a suit of clothes from me to make and I hired another tailor to make them and they was not made right, who would you hold responsible? The man I hired or me" so Vice versa"
He decided against me to the council, he told me it was left to the council to decide so I then interviewed the Mayor. "How long have you been a dray man?" "A good number of years. I was draying with oxen before you came here" ."Oh yes, are you licensed dray man?" "Yes". "Well I have to do my best for the rate payers as well as you". "I am not asking you to give me anything that I am not entitled to in this claim, I think I have rightful claim" "Well your case will have to come before the council meeting".
I appeared before the council where my case was gone into. Alderman McConnell who is a solicitor by profession asked me why I held the City responsible. "Because the crossings from the lanes are not made right, they are not safe crossings. Had they been made right in the first place my accident would not have happened". Then there was no more questioning. Then another Alderman, a solicitor by profession, advised the council to let the City Solicitor fight the case in court. "We pay him four thousand dollars a year, let him fight it".
I knew what this meant. They knew how I was fixed financially. I did see a solicitor myself then he told me he could not act in account of finances so I had to suffer another knock down. Oh yes there is one law for everybody, rich and poor alike. The poor man goes under for want of money while the rich in the ninety times out of a hundred, get their demands or gets free through technicality in law and being able to fight it. This is what causes much trouble between the two classes, one suffers injustices, the other gets justice through his money.
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