The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-08-30
MAGGIE WILL REMAIN
NeGee Girls Parents Cannot
Take Her From the Sisters.
SOME vERysALacious EVIDENCE
character OF Mrs- Lossii. the Mother.
shown Up I'm had Light
Court ssws-Bletter.

The usual thing happened In the Mag
~se yrg5ee habeas corpus case yes
vrday. that l., Mrs. Lowell, the
mother OF the little girl. Was
~ the third time foiied in her at
tenn. % get Maggie out Of the House Of
she Good Shepherd. The frat witness
(. "a be out on the stand when the case was
taken IN yesterday morning was Mrs.
y.xneh. the mother Of little Mabel Lynch,
rho vas on the stand the last thing Mon
dav evening. Mrs. Lynch testified that
.he had visited the house where Mrs.
Eurns. now Mira Lowell, was living about
two years ago. and had found the child
rem living II. utter destitution while their
mother was away on trip 10 California.
The witness was about to remove the
children to her own home when their
aunt appeared and took them In charge.
The witness was not particularly vel I'M
formed as 70 Mrs. Loveli's character. bat
thought IL very bad.
Then came the promised sensational tes-
tgmony. Charles shesbarger, OF Tacoma,
Gas called By the attorneys for the re-
spondsnt and placed upon the witness
stand. Before be had opened bis mourh
notice
court room that some of his testimony
would be unfit for their ears, and that
they would do we'll to leave the room.
Very few accepted the invitation. how
ever. Mr.. shelbarger then gave his testi-
nony, IN course of which he gave extracts
from q conversation betxeen Mrs. Lowell
and daughter Of hers older than Maggie.
which took place in Tacoma in front Of
the Lowell residence. and was overheard
by ehslbargsr. who il a neighbor. This
conversation was so vile that the
witness was unwilling TO dwell
upon II at any length. bat he
gave enough 10 satisfy the most eager
spectators. This evidence was to impeach
the statements made by the Lovells that
they were living as respectable people
should. After this the witness related
the circumstances of the alleged attempt
BY Lowell 10 criminaliy assault his Is
year-old stepdaughter in Tacoma about
six weeks ago. At that time he was az
home and was about TO retire for the night
when he heard screams from the Lowell
house. He rushed out. and just as he was
going up to the door it was slammed in his
face by Mrs. Lowell. All this time the
little girl was screaming and i'm
ploring some one to stop chok-
ing her. In his opinion Lowell was
the person dong the choking. Ii was not
Mrs. Lowell. for she had met him at the
door He could not say what Loyeli was
doing-he may have been only beating the
girl. In the witness opinion he was
trying to assault her criminally; at least
that was the impression lac had formed.
Lowell had been arrested aud fined 500
and given ninety DAYS in Jail on convic-
ton of simple assault. He thought that
Lowell was now out on bonds pending
rehearing. but II might be that he had APP
pealed the case TO the superior court.
8 This testimony caused q great deal of
excitement in the court room. the spec
tators evidently expecting scene. Moth
ing of the kind occurred. however. Lowell
was decidedly nervous when he was being
raked over the Goals in this manner
All tho remaining witnesses testifying
were called by the petitioners in rebuttal.
They were nearly ali women who had
lived near Mrs. Lowell when she lived in
Seattle. Richard wnsor, an attorney,
also testified TO Mrs. Lovell's character.
The women who testified gave rather
undecided testimony in Mrs. Lovells
favor. They were plainly not able to cali
up as many good words for her
as they would have liked. Mr.. Winsor
testified that the house in which Mrs.
Lowell lived was as good as she could af-
ford and was as neat as could be expected.
Both sides then rested. and arguments
were made lasting several hours. When
finally the last attorney had said ell that
could be possibly said in favor OF the
House oil the Good Shepherd and the Sis.
ters of Charity, Judge Langley gave his
decision. He said that Mrs. Lowell had
been clearly proven to be an unfit person
20 have control Of the child. The former
DEGREES of the court showed that that had
been her reputation in former years, aud
this reputation had evidently not been
changed by time. The adoption of little
Maggie by Lowell. as Was done in Tacoma
last spring. was plainly snbterfuge to
gain possession of the child for her mother
and could not be looked upon seriously
by the court. Then Lowell was a man
who up to the time of his marriage TO his
present wife only few months ago, had
been bachelor; he had no experience with
children. and could not be expected to
care for Maggie Ii she should be given TO
him. Then there was that crime. what
ever il was, simple or criminal assault
man who was suspected OF committing
such crime upon young girl whose
mother he had married vas not a man TO
be given the care of a child of ten Ter years.
There was some doubt, the Judge con-
tnaed, that this crime was a criminal as
saalt. vet the punishment Inflicted, 500
enc and ninety days imprisonment. was
the greatest which a justice Of the peace
could intiict. This would seem 90 indi-
cate that the crime had been more than q
simple assault. The court would not al
low man who was yet under bonds TO
answer for such crime to have the GUS
toey Of child which he did not even
know and SO could not love.
The Judge then explained that he Was
very sorry 20 speak go OF q man who
might be innocent. which ID was 10 be
hoped he wss. After this depression he
went on TO say that the writ would be
qaashed and the child would remain at
the House Of the Good Shepherd.
The attorney for tho Lovells moved for
an order allowing the child's parents 20
visit her AZ any reasonable hour on any
day. bat the motion was denied
Mrs. Lowell and her husband were among
the iirst 90 leave the room after this final
move VAS made and the game lost, and
soon the court room was empty. The last
persons TO leave were the two Sisters Of
Charity and little Maggie. IL vas said
that the sisters feared that Ms, Lowell
might waylsy them down i'm one of the
corridors of the courthouse and give
another exhibition of her powers as a
"slngger."