Show AN EGO EGG AND A CHICKEN A question of equity that is dividing the bar at new now york the new york sun lawyers who lave have dropped into judge callahand Cal Call lahana ahans office 23 25 chambers street within the laa last two weeks have bad had a game chicken problem sprung on them that brings up an entirely new point at law and incidentally threatens to sever the tile pleasant relations that have hitherto existed bo be tween two residents of parkville Par kville L I 1 the case at point involves the ownership of a valuable game chi chicken c ken that was batched hatched in parkville Par kville a month age by a very ordinary eort sort of 0 a chicken without any particular pedigree it came about in this way james mccaughn who has his made a fortune as a in new york lives in a handsome banda ome house in wl ashington ashing ten avenue parkville Par kville and amuses himself by breeding game fowls his ilia birds are very valuable and bring frum from 20 to 30 apiece mr McCaughn McCaug hua hen nhen yard in the rear of his bouse house adjoins he the beck yard of jamea james gormleyy Gorm levs leys house aouane mr gormley retired from the truck bhain business ss about four years ao ago and since that time be he has been living at parkville Par kville his ilia house which aich is a as imposing as mr mccaughna McCaug hns faces face poster foster avenue gormley gor m lay however hits been breedi breeding ng a common comman lot of b hardworking hard ard working chickens A picket fence separates separate 8 bis his hennery from that of mccaughna McCaug hns but occasionally I 1 the he chickens would get mixed up this never was a cause of dispute between the two neighbors as it was very easy to distinguish t aln mccaughna McCaug hns highborn high b born orn folva fowls and bring them back to t their heir own coop A month ago one of gormleyy Gorm leys bens b ens batched hatched a brood of chichang chi cheng chens and among them was one that gave evidence of came game blood several days later mccaughn noticed the stranger in gormleyy Gorm leyB leys coop and immediately put in a claim for it on the ground that one of bis his fancy hens must have flown over into gormleyy Gorm leys yard and laid an egg in gormleyy Gorm leys hens nest on this theory be he claimed the chicken there was no lie doubting that the chicken wag basof of the same breed as McCau glins chicken but gromley said be was blessed it if bo he would rive it up he lie admired the chicken ho offered to pay Mc Caugho 1 I 1 for the egg but he be said that McCaug mcgaughnea hns na claim on n the bird was offset by the fact that ono one of 0 bis his bens hens lud ivd worked twenty ono one days to batch the egg would not accept this offer he ile wanted the chicken and he waa was willing to py pay gromley a reasonable price for the services fer vices of his hen in hatching the egg end and for whatever corn and other food the chicken bad had eaten bromley rejected mccaughna McCaug hns hals otter offer and mortis words passed between the neighbors neigh bora after the passage ot the words mccaughn engaged judge callahan to bring suit for the lecove recovery ry of the chicken and gormley has han engaged manhoso lynn to defend bis his came judge callahan said last night 1 I have searched the legal reports in vain to find a parallel case and I 1 am convinced that the point at ibue is new now it seems to mo me that me ma caughn hag has tho the best right to th the 1 chicken it is a thoroughbred and bis bla ben hen undoubtedly laid the egg from which it was hatched hatch eJ he ile is ili willing to compensate Clor gormley tor for his hi trouble and the hens services the casa case will have to be argued on equity 11 J ustice mall ahon on ol 01 park against us as we will appeal the case it is not a question quei tion of the money value of the chlain chi iken but of the light tight of the case mr wanlope lynn has put in hia his answer which is a genera general denial of mccaughna claims if 11 gormle Gorm gormleyy leys ia hen bad had not protected this egg 1 be bays says the chicken in question would never have been hatched then again it if the eggs e go had ben been collects a 1 and cooked tte the came chicken would have been I 1 lost oe t then there is another theory which be asserts t tle 0 appear I 1 V I 1 1 A nce ance of the chicken seem seems to bear out there was nothing to present prevent one of 0 fl roosters from benit be ng the father cf of tho the egg eg A father fa thern ili claim according to law Is paramount an and it if thia this theory is correct then the chicken belongs to gormleyy Gorm leva leys coop mr lynn is alto resolved to appeal the case if the decision ie Is against hini him he ile hag bas submitted the problem to a I 1 number of law lawyers and they are about squally ally divided in their opinions of llie the snit salt cho the an a to the equity lion bourke cockran thinks that mccaughn has the beet best claim to the chicken on tha the ground that one of hio his bens hens iid I 1 id the ess eim rob robert ert H kacey the criminal lawyer warmly and supports aop parts the claims of gormleyy Gorm leva leys hen lien tho the question is being deba debated led on lay grounds in where on account coun t of the prominence of mccaughn i and find gormly it ha has hai i excited a great deal ol 01 interest nearly all of the ladies think that gormley ila the atter claim ti the chicken the suit will coins come up for a hearing before next week friday in the meantime the game chicken Is industriously scratching in go gorm rm leys back yard |