The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1891-01-20
Some Interesting Facts i'm the
History of Ethel TOwne.
Once a BoOkkeeper and Respec'
table Woman in Rich Hill,
No. Her Real Name
Helen White-NOt a
Simon Pure Ad-
yentureSS.


ing a $500 forged check, signed James
IL. Walker & Co of Chicago. There
was a number of women present, and
Miss Phoebe Ellis, the local temper
ance lecturer, was at EthePs side.
Charles Baur, proprietor of the Terre
Haute house. detailed the circum-
stances Of the girl passing the check
on Reuben Butt, one of the clerks,
and of Mr.. Butt turning it over to
him.
The defence objected TO Mr.. Baur's
evidence on the subject of the check,
for the reason of an alleged fatal vari.
ance in the Indictment. The indict-
ment charged the girl with uttering
and publishing forged check on
Baur, when as matter of fact, the
check was passed on Butt. and Baur
got possession of the check through
him. Judge Thayer, however, ruled
to admit the evidence.
1t was argued by the defense that
as Mr. Baur knew at the time the
check was presented to him it was a
forgery, therefore there could be no
fraud, and the essential element of a
forgery was lacking. The court al
10 we'd NJ. Baur's testimony to 60 to
the jury.
Mr.. Baur was asked to identify the
telegram which Miss Towne sent TO
Harry ID. Roberts, care Chicago
Daily News, Chicago, asking that
Mr.. Baur DE telegraphed that the
Walker check was all right There
was vigorous objection to this, as
opening the way to any confession the
prisoner may have made, for the
reason that Mss Towne went to the
telegraph office herself, in company
with Superintendent Davis and Mr..
Baur, and called for copy of this
telegram of hers to Roberts; that this
happened after Mr.. Baur, at the hote'
had told her that Mr.. Walker had
teIegraphed to him, but if she told
who her accomplice was she would be
let 90 and given $50; that she was
at this time under arrest, and that
there was no promise of immunity or
escape that it was not voluntary
admission, and that for that reason it
| was incompetent and could not be
used. The court allowed the telegram
to 90 in as evidence.
w. F. Hosdley of Chicago, who is
connected with the dry goods firm Of
J, II, Walker & Co., was introduced
by the state to prove that the sigma
ture to the $500 check was not Mr..
Walkers, and he so testified.
Ethel Towne, or Helen White,
which she says is her true name, and
who while in Kansas City went IN
der the name of Helen Anthony Rog
ers, passed the greater part of last
winter in Kansas City and is well
known here. She lie just now being
called zone of the most dangerous ad
venturesses the country ever knew.
In the usual sense of the word Miss
White is not an adventures, for she
does not try to gain a living by get
ting men in her house and extortine
money from them. She confines hel
attention to passing bad paper fol
small amounts and has never been
very successful, having never gotter
more than few dollars at time.
| While she was In Kansas City she
was decidedly "on her uppers." She
claimed while here she was getting w
a directory of the disreputsble place;
of the city, but the book never ap
peared. To others she said she wa:
working on morning paper, and tC
others she represented herself as a
representative of the New Yorl
World, She lived for some time a
the home of the Young Womens
Christian association, and used tt
astonish the good women there by The
great stories she would tell. Once
she came home SO much effected by
having seen a man run over at th,
Junction and killed that she was i'll
but there had been no man killed a
the Junction.
! Miss White or Towne or Rogers is
morphine eater. She was few year:
ago book-keeper in general store
at Rich Hill. She was then perfectly
respectable. She is an excellent pen.
man and having become victim o.
the morphine habit, and her craving
for adventure having got the better
of her, she started out to live by he
wits as she had read of men doing
and after touching half dozen cite
landed in the Terra Haute Jail.
az wonder, she said, why am re