The New York herald., 1878-12-01
OUR LAUNDERING POLICE.
ARREST AND ATTACHMENT OF A LADY IN A
POLICE COURT on AN UNFoUNDED CHARGE

ARREST AND ARRAIGNMENT OF A LADY IN A
POLICE COURT on Az UNFoUNDED CHARGE
Several times of late public attention has
been drawn to the trouble which inoffensiye
people have suffered and the notoricty into
which they have been forced by the blunders Of
police officials. Another instance of it yesterday
brought to light, when Mrs. Kate Cross was taken to
the Essex Market Police Court by couple
Of Central Ofhce detectives for the pur-
pose of being discharged by magistrate and
exonerated from charge for which she
had suffered nights imprisonment and the worry
and anxiety incident to it. The blunder was pecn-
1t have the plea of mistaken identity to
shield them, but the aggrieved lady de-
clares her purpose Of legally testing whether
supposed resemblance to an offender can justify
her incarceration and the unpleasant publicity into
which she has been driven. Mrs. Cross. on her pro-
duction at the Central Office accredited with
various aliases. which gave her quite a criminal
flavor. and led the evening papers 10 indulge in
various sagacious conjectrcs about the nature OF her
offence, which official prudence had entered the
books under the vague head OF suspicious person.
The truth seems to be that Mrs. Cross has alias
other than "De Kalb.' nom de plume
which she writes for several papers.
Further. this really the name she bore during
the lifetime OF her first husband Prussian officer,
with whom she passed through the peris
OF the Franco-tierman war, and as such 1t
could hardly be construed into alias
to conceal an identity coming under the ban of the
law Mrs. Cross according to her statement came
to this country during the Centennial III the
capacity of London Tunes correspond
ent. and such she has remained
in this city performing like functions for couple OF
Canadian journals. on Friday. it appears lady
named Clark, residing ut the ST. Denis Hotel. retr
ing, hung up couple of silk dresses rack.
1t was close to door which opened into adioin-
ing bed chamber and from it, during the night. the
occupants OF this apartment took the apparel and
went OFF with II in the morning. description of the
pair-.a young man and lady-was given to
Detectives Dunn and Wood and il seemed to
respond in several particulars with Mrs. Cross
and male acquaintance Of hers. who
first singled out for arrest On Friday
ing the detectives went to Mrs. Cross
pla of residence in Nineteenth street, and under
some pretext induced her to accompany them TO the
announcement that she prisoner. She
protested: urged that she could prove she
elsewhere than in the hotel. and mentioned the
names of various citizens who could vouch for her
repute. She locked up. however and passed the
night in one OF the rooms in the Central Office. In
the morning the person who had lost the dress and
the hotel officials were summoned but they agreed in
declaring Mrs. Cross quite unlike the female whose
disappearance from the st Denis contcmporancous
with that OF the silk dresses. AT the Essex Market
Police Court, whittier she brought to
be formally discharged, the Magistrate ex-
pressed himself somewhat strongly on the SUBJ
ect OF such arrests and suggested that official zeal be
tempered in the future with carefulness. Mrs.
Cross when waited on by II HERALD last night
waxed quite indignant the injury done her and
after furnishing the above account OF her experience
ntimated that she might seek redress legally.