The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-05-28
CONTRACTORS BECKY JONES.

New York, Ike Salt Lake, is in.
dulging in the uncommon excite
ment OF having woman IN prison
for cont. npt of court in refusing (
answer questions prOpounded tt
her. The New York cnntu Uacious
witness is Mis- Becky 10 es, q
maiden lady of some eixty ummels
and a corresp rndirg lumber OF
winters. For many years she wa
servant IN the II mPrsley houses
hold and was called as a witness be
fore Sur, Ogate Rollins IN the Hoytr
HamarsIey will contest which has
now became famous Becky is .
curiosity ia that she is a woman
who not only knows how
to hold her tongue, but
has firm control of thatGnruly mem
Der, being able to talk when che
wants TO and also able to remain
silent Whenever it pleases her best
to be still. In the WITNESS beX she
prefers silence. and therefore tells
the lawyers and the surrogate that
whatever she knows about the
Hamersleys was learned as their
servant, is not public property, and
cannot be extracted from her By
persuasion or threats. The resulG
OF this stubbornness is that MISS
Jones was ordered to Ludlow Street
Jail, where she remains complete)
master of the situation. She de
clares that she will pass the re-
msinder Of her days in prison rather
than talk to the 'pe.ky" lawyers,
and the latter are coming to believe
that she means what she ,says. She
seems to be an example of
III she will, she will, you may depend
on't,
And if shs won't, she won't, and there's
an end ont.
And the lawyers aad Surrogate are
wondering what they are going to
do about it. Keeping her in prison
until it becomes necessary for SAN
Itary reasons to carry her out feet
would prove manifestEg
cruel and unjust, and turning heE
put before that sorroWful event
would necessarily be humilisting toI
court and bull-doZing attorneys.3
The situation is perpiexing froml
whatever point it is viewed. |
This matter of commitments for
ever has been trOablous
and ever will be. The rule works
well enough when the contuma-l
cious witness is so overcome by the
terrors of the prison as to weaken
and yield to the questioner, but
otherwise it works all wrong. And
when the recslcitrant is a woman
the case becomes much more aggrs-
waiting for the parties concerned. 1t
is a cruel, unnatural sentiment
which accords praise for expressing
q female; there is no credit
in the act, however much merit
there might be in the
demand upon the woman,
or however righteous would be the
in the case of stub
born man. In the Becky Jones case
neither the lawyers nor the Surro- II
gate can feel any manly satisfac-
ton in knowing that the ancient
girl is sleeping behind iron bars. In
the local case, do the judge, prose
cutor and grand jurors feel that they
are deserving Of any praise from
their fellow men for having con-
trived to get the girl Nellie White
into prison IS contumscious wit
ness? If they were to admit the
truth they would, one and all, de.
clare that they think less
Of themselves for what they II
have done, and would gladly be out
Of the scrspe; and the longer the
girl continues contumacious and in
prison the less respect will those
Who put her there feel for them l.
selves. It may be good law to com>
nit a woman to Jail for refusing to /
ak, but there is lots Of good law In t
heory that is exceedingly bad in c
practice. ii