Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1897-12-04

most actively in the unsavory case, is now
ON trial herself, charged with completely
in forgery, in connection with her rela-
tons with {. millionaire who has since
been adiudgcd insane by the courts.
The trial OF Carlyle Harris for the MUIR
der of his girl wife was one which appealed
especially to morbid young womanhood,
and more women, and respectable young
women, tried to gain admission than at
any ether recent trial One morning three
pretty and well dressed girls presented
themselves at the courtroom door and de-
mandcd that the doorman let them enter,
because. as they said, they attended the
boarding school of which Harris girl VIC
tim was pupil. They got i'm and listened
with open mouths to some part of the
story of the killing of their schoolnate
Such instances, however are the excep-
ton.
Harris attitude at the trial with regard
to the women who attended it illustrated
wildly the colossal vanity which was the
handspring OF his make up. He paid but
little attention TO the grief stricken mother
who sat near him each day, and was for
ever on the lookout for an opportunity to
pose before the women in the courtroom,
who strained their eyes to watch him.
Many womcn attended the trial of Mary
Alice Livingston Fleming on the charge
Of poisoning her mother, but they were
not of the young girl class which tlocked
To the Harris trial. As n matter of fact,
ninC-tenths of the women who attend
murder trials are past middle age. They
almost invariably wear rusty black dresses
| and assume n funereal air that must be
distressing to the prisoner on trial for his
| life. Once in awhile n young woman will
appear in gorgeous raiment and dazzle the
eyes of the court policemen. 1t will usual
| ~ TO found that she is soubrette, look
ing for a chance TO get her name in the
newspapers. A conspicuous case of this
| kind was furnished by woman who
| fioated airily into the courtroom when DR.
Buchanan was On trial for poisoning his
wife she hadn't been there five minutes
before her press agent was going around
among the reporters telling each of them
confldcntially the stcry Of her life and adj
ventures.
| New York women have manifested an
extraordinary interest in the Martin Thorn
murder trial at Long Island City. as is
shown lIy the following report in q sensa-
tional New York newspaper:
| sheriff Don't received over coo appli-
cations yesterday from persons anxious to
attend the trial of Martin Thorn. The
larger number OF these applicants were
women. Quite number OF women came
ia carriages from New York About 10
got passes.
| some of these women were very young
One or two were old enough to be Grand
mothers. One brought pretty little boy
with her and put him in front seat in
the center gallery. A woman who sat
near him. wearing a green dress and
large .iar,i felt nat trimmed with green
feathers, was in court all day Monday
When court adjourned that day, she rush
cd down stairs TO see Thorn led out of the
courtroom and would have followed h;m
to the ground floor and the iail had she
not been stepped. At noon recess this
woman, whom the officers call the wum-
an in green, and two other women, styl-
ishly dressed, kept their seats for fear they
would not he permitted to re-enter the
courtroom. Two of them had brought
lunch Evidently they had followed the
murder story in all its details, for they
appeared to be familiar with every point
OF the ease.
"On the other side Of the gallery were
probably Is women. A short woman,
dressed in black, about % years old, never
took her eyes off Thorn. When the oil
cloth and the paper used in wrapping por-
tons of Guiaensuppe's body were shown
in court, the women craned their necks to
get "a better look at the ghastly stuff The
woman in black wiped tears from her
cheeks Thorn looked at her and smiled
The woman nodded, and Thorn smiled
back at her. Sheriff Don't says he watched
the woman in black nearly an hour and
that she cried almost all the time.
Thorn seemed to take particular inter-
est in the woman in green. He watched
her out of the corners Of his eyes The
woman stared at him, but never smiled -