Exhibitors Herald (1927)

December 24, 1927 EXHIBITORS HERALD 33 accident happened. If so, the employer may be liable, but if an injury occurs while a workman is “in the service of his employer,” but is not “acting within the scope of his employment” the employer is not liable for the resultant damages. This phase of the law was thoroughly discussed in the recent case of City of Huntington v. Thomas, 158 N. E. 254. The facts of this case are that Harley Fisher was employed as night operator of a motion picture machine, as janitor of the theatre building, and to assist “in looking after anything that needed fixing.” A part of his duties as janitor was to keep clean the sidewalk in front of the building. While Fisher was assisting another employe in repairing the roof of the theatre building his feet slipped, and in an attempt to balance himself he caught hold of an old telephone wire that was stretched above the roof, and thereby caused the wire to break and to fall upon the sidewalk near the front entrance of the building. When the roof repairs were completed and, as he left the theatre building to go home he came upon the telephone wire which a short time before he had caused to be broken and thrown upon the sidewalk. Seeing the wire, Fisher lifted it from the walk and proceeded to wind it up. While so doing, the wire came in contact with another wire which was carrying a high voltage of electricity, as a result of which he was instantly killed. The theatre proprietor contended that he was not liable for the injury because the accident happened after the employe had finished work for the day and further, that in picking up the wire he was not fulfilling any duty of the employment. However, the court held the employer liable, and said: “The question presented is whether, under the facts which were established by the evidence, the accident which resulted in the death of Fisher arose out of and in the course of his employment. Under his contract of employment, it was his duty to keep the sidewalk clean and free from obstructions. When he was leaving the premises, he saw the wire upon the walk and in fulfillment of his duty, without orders, as a faithful employe would do, he proceeded to remove the wire from the walk, so that it would no longer be an obstruction to pedestrians passing that way for the purpose of entering the theatre or otherwise.” * * * Buyer of Equipment Entitled To Recover Purchase Price In the case of Hunt v. Dillon, 253 Pa. 90, it was disclosed that a man named Hunt rented a theatre building agreeing with the owner to install $2,534 worth of new equipment in the theatre as part payment for the rent of the building. Later after the equipment had been installed, Hunt sold the equipment, without knowledge of the theatre owner, to a man named Dillon. Dillon was prevented from removing it from the building by the owner. Dillon then sued Hunt for the value of the equipment. The court held Dillon entitled to recover the full purchase price from Hunt, and in holding that the equipment belonged to the owner of the theatre building, and said: “We think it a well-established rule of law . . . that where property is sold under a warranty, the purchaser has two remedies at his election; he may keep the property and recover in damages the difference between the price agreed to be paid and the actual value of the property, or he may promptly return the property and recover the consideration paid.” GALLAGHER MUSIC STANDS Whatever your needs in music stands for stage or pit use, there is one in the Gallagher line to exactly fit your requirements. Special stands for most unusual conditions. Dignified or Snappy — Service and Jazz — write your needs. Estimates free. THE NEW NOVELTY MUSIC STAND Have you the new catalog? Send for it GALLAGHER Orchestra Equipment Company 616 Elm St. CHICAGO organ troubles! THESE are days of danger to the delicate mechanisms of an organ. Winter cold and dampness play havoc with them, impairing their service and efficiency. The PROMETHEUS Electric Heater was especially developed to prevent such troubles. It insures perfect organ service the whole year round by keeping chambers warm and dry, and at even temperature— always. Its automatic thermostat maintains any predetermined degree of heat and requires absolutely no attention. It is made of cast iron throughout, in aluminum finish, and occupies only 14j/4x4 inches of floor space. Mail the coupon for further details. I PROMETHEUS ELECTRIC CORP. 354 West 13th Street, New York , Send further details about the ELECTRIC HEATERS PROMETHEUS Heater. j Name Address