A. F. Law, secretary of the Temple Iron Company, a subsidiary company of the Reading Coal and Iron Company, called before the government investigation of the alleged combination of coal carrying roads, testified today in the Federal building that four roads had contributed $488,000 to make up the deficit of the Temple company during three years of coal strikes.—New York Sun.
The name of a well-known company often makes a good beginning:
The Standard Oil Company sent a sweeping broadside into the Government's case yesterday at the hearing in the suit seeking to dissolve the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey under the Sherman anti-trust law, when witnesses began to tell of the character of a number of men the Government had placed upon the witness stand.—New York Times.
The name of the judge himself may be used in the first line:
Judge Mulqueen of General Sessions explained today why he had sentenced two prisoners to "go home and serve time with the families." This punishment was imposed yesterday when both men pleaded drunkenness as their excuse for trivial offenses.—New York Evening Post.
2. Continued Case Beginning.—Many court reports begin with the name of the case when the case has been running for some time and is well known. Each individual story on such a case is just a continuation of a sort of serial story that has been running for some time and in the lead each day the reporter tries to summarize the progress that has been made in the case during the day's hearing. However each story, like a follow-up story, is written in such a way that a knowledge of previous stories is not necessary to a clear understanding:
The hearing yesterday in the Government's suit to dissolve the Standard Oil Company ended with a dramatic incident. Mr. Kellogg sought to show that the Standard compelled a widow, Mrs. Jones, of Mobile, Ala., to sell out her little oil business at a ruinous sacrifice.—New York World.
In some cases this sort of a lead begins with the mere mention of the continuing of the trial:
At the opening of the defence today in the sugar trials before Judge Martin of the United States Circuit Court, James F. Bendernagal took the witness chair in his own behalf, etc.—New York Evening Post.
3. Summary Beginning.—The lead of a court report often begins with a brief summary of the result of the trial or of the day's hearing: