The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-12-24
sYRENs IN THE COURT.
An Interesting Case About q Dress and y
Pair of Shoes

An Interesting Case About q Dress and q
Pair of Shoes.
Two women, one neatly attired in black
dress of heavy material, seal plush coat,
and natty little bonnet: the other wearing
a somewhat faded cashmere, short cloth
coat and hat on the Alpine order, glared
at each other for some hours from opposite
| sides of the table in Justice Woodman's
court yesterday afternoon. The we'll
dressed woman Was Jennie Carroll, So
called, of Wood street, the complaining
witness in q case of alleged larceny. The
one whose apparel denoted that she had
been less fortunate in their calling than
her frall sister, was Cora Code, also So
called, for awhile resident Of the same
house as the Carroll woman, but now,
through the agency of back window, liv.
ing at a rival establishment next door.
It was all over dress that six jurors were
called together and tho services of County
Attorney Nolan enlisted for the prosecution
and those of Lawyer Thomas D. Penny t or
the defense. incidentally pair of shoes
were involved. Appearances indicate that
Cinderella would have had no trouble put
ting on the shoes of either women, il the
pair in question fitted both. Al for the
dress, it WAS a little too small for Carroll
and trifle too long for Code. And there
by hangs a tale.
Cora Code and Jessie Perry came to
Helena short time ago and went to live at
the house kept by Maggie Mitchell on Wood
street. Jessie's lines seem to have fallen
into as pleasant places az those of Jennie
Carroll. 1t is unnecessary to say that
Solomon in all his glory was not ar
rayed like one of these, because Solomon
is not supposed to have worn those kind Of
clothes. Still they were fine, and evidenced
great prosperity. With Cora it was differ
ent. While her condition may have been
exaggerated by Maggie Mitchell when she
said that Cora looked dirty" yet the fact
remains that she needed fine raiment and
had not the money to purchase it. Jennie
Carroll had mahogany plush dress which
she thought with little taking up in the
skirts would make suitable house or
street garment for Cora. A bargain was
struck and Cora was to have the dress, the
Mitchell woman agreeing to p.y the $40
for it and depend on the girl to make the
amount good. The shoes were to be trans
ferred. too, not as gift. as Jennie thought
that bad luck, but for any trifle Cora saw
fit to give. On Monday night Cora and an
other girl, Hazel Fulton, with two young
men, left the house. Cora had on the ma
hogany plush and the shoes. AN examina-
ton of the rooms of the two girls devel
Oped the fact that their wardrobe had pre-
ceded them by way of window opening
into the back alley Further investigation
showed that they had gone next door to
live.
It was commended on the part of the pros
ecution that the dress had been returned to
the Carroll woman and taken from her
room by the prisoner at the time the latter
left the Mitchell house. hence the charge of
larceny. On the other hand the claim was
made that Cora Code had kept the dress in
accordance with the understanding that it
had never been out of her possession since
it was turned over to her. and that instead
of being case of larceny it was only a mat
ter of debt. in which an effort was being
made to collect by . criminal pr Q ceedings
what it would be hard to get by civil pro-
cess. On the question of tho shoes, Cora
herself admitted keeping them, but said
she did SO because she was not in the least
superstitious about them bringing bad LUCK
unless paid for. The taking of the clothes
out the back window was explained by the
fact that there was balance due the
Mitchell woman for board.
The jury took the same view of the mat
ter rs the defense. They hesitated some
time a. to whether they should assess the
costs to the prosecuting witness, but finally
concluded that tho county was better able
to pay. They found Cora Code not guilty.