After a round of questioning, Hobart concluded, "Everyone heard it, didn't you? There were no Safe Production reminders whatsoever in Arnold's factory. Even a few phrases painted on the workshop walls would have been something.
"As for what the Defendant Lawyer said about Arnold not participating in management, Arnold was the legal representative of this factory. He bore an inescapable responsibility for every accident that occurred there!"
After his concluding statement, Hobart called the witnesses he had found. After swearing oaths to their respective deities, the five witnesses testified one after another that Arnold's factory had no Safe Production reminders.
Hugo began questioning the witnesses. He asked only one question: "Do you know how to write the phrase 'Safe Production'? If you do, please write it."
Only one worker managed to write the crooked words "Safe Production." The other four wrote phrases with both grammatical and spelling errors.
That was already quite good, because they were workers and knew some letters and phrases.
Hugo spread his hands. "See? How many people can even understand a notice like 'Safe Production'? What practical use could such a slogan possibly have?"
That concluding remark drew laughter from Gusata and the others, sounding much like mockery.
"I know it, sir," one witness suddenly said. "I may not be able to write it, but if I saw it, I'd recognize it."
Hugo froze.
The other three witnesses followed suit. "I recognize it too!"
"I'd recognize the phrase if I saw it too."
Hugo immediately changed directions with his questioning. For example, "Did you receive any property from the Plaintiff Lawyer for coming here to testify?"
The witness answered, "I did, but that was compensation for lost work."
The further Hugo questioned them, the more he found their answers flawless. He even suspected that Hobart had