The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-11-09


might add to the over-swelling tide Of
crime. All over the land, in all demo
limitations, there were agencies estab-
lished and maintained simply because
the government proved wholly made
quate to the task Of coping with vice.
Continuing, Gen, Clapp said;
1T is a malignant spirit that turks
back OF this case, spirit that instead
OF lifting up vice to the plane of virtue
would bring virtue down TO the level Of
vice. That's the spirit back of this
persecution, the spirit that has raked
the dens Of infamy in this city, that
this institution might be smirched'
IF 1 could sound note of warn
ing, it would be that no man who loves
woman will degrade her. 1t is a
harsh law that a girl who transgresses
is lost. Society bolts its doors against
her, and there she stands. There are
two doors open to young woman. The
one leads down to the depths of hell
and the other into the hands of pure
womanhood, always ready to receive
and welcome her.
The counsel claimed that Miss Clew-
EFT knew we'll where she was going
when she went to the institution. The
claim that she didn't know that she
would have to work was ridiculous.
Being an object Of charity, she must
be presumed to know that, as one of
the inmates, she must labor to sustain
it; Selma was there a year before she
asked to get out. Then she wanted to
be moved to a quieter place. She was
not restrained against her Will because
she was transferred to the laundry.
The best evidence of the treatment &C
corded the inmates was the fact that
many OF them went out and returned
again Of their own VolitiOn. Selma
told the mother many times she wanted
to become a Magdalene, and, when
she returned after breaking out, she
expressed her sorrow. She didn't want
her folks to know where she was. The
girls were only punished when they
deserved it, He would put the testi-
mOny of Mabel Clarke and Stanislaus
against all the hatred that the dens of
infamy, with their detestatiOn of virtue
could speW into the case.
In conclusion, Gen. Clapp thus ad-
dressed the jury:
In the name of fallen womanhood
in the weakness and hopeIessness of
her despair; in the name of those not
altogether lost; in the name of Mabel
Clarke and Stanislaus; in the name of
these devoted sisters leading lives of
priVation and self-sacrifice, l appeal to
you to let the House of Good Shepherd
stand and let its work be indicated IN
this community. One hundred an for
ty thousand women today are reach
ing out from the jaws of hell fer your
boy and mine. Back of this prOSecu-
ton is a malignant spirit of hate that
would SpeW prostitutes on this cOmmu-
nifty rather than that a Catholic insti-
tuition should flourish. Your honest
verdict, gentlemen, will bring one little
ray of sunshine to the sisters who
will feel some degree Of happiness in
knowing that you, after a full and fair
investigation, have said that the Good
Shepherds are doing a noble work"
MI Butts, for the plaintiff, began
his closing argument at II 80. He want
ed to correct a statement that appear
ed in the press that he had stated that
it was a matter Of little moment
whether or not he had a verdict. That
was a mistake. 1t was an important
case. 1t was not simply a question
Of damages, but whether a private
party could seize an individual and
carry her away to slavery and not be
called to account for it. Who were the
Good Shepherds? 1t was a private
corporation, created by the state, that
could do nothing that individuals could
not do. Were the sisters supreme and
above law? Where did this house fin
ish its process Of reformation. Thou
sands and thousands, he said, had gone
through the sewer blouse of the Good
Shepherd and not an instance given
where one had been found a place to
work. Selma Clewett was a good, hon
est girl. After her engagement, she
was seduced. She never was an out
cast. What right had any person to
take her and shut her up? Where was
Mrs. Root? If Mrs. Root wanted to be
honest, why was she not present to
tell her story? 1t wasn't disputed that
the girls were poorly fed and whipped.
The house was a private prison. The
purpose Of q reformatOry was to build
up character and give the inmates self
esteem. What was this one? The in
mates were worked ten and more hours
a day The desire seemed to be to get
all possible out of the inmates before
setting them loose. The sisters had no
right to retain girl one moment after
she wanted to leave
Mr. Butts spoke for exactly one hour
half an hour before and half an hour
after the noon recess, closing at 2:30
p. m. Ten minutes later, Judge Brill
began his charge
For two hours and half after the jury re-
tired the crowd in the court room waited.
But they waited in vain. The jury did not
return. They might have waited all night
with the same result, for the jury was still
out when the 6 o e went to press.
Judge Brill returned to the court room
shortly after $50 and left instructions with
the baiif for the jury TO return a sealed
verdict If they came to an agreement Court
thereupon adjourned until 10 a. m today.
The jury went to a neighborng hotel for
supper in the custody of Deputy Egan. The
rumors that invariably circulate in the at
mCsrhere adjacent to a jury room were that
one juror, or two or three jurors, were stand
ing ouS against the other eleven ten or zine,
the smaller number being credited to the
plaintiff.
At II 80 p. m. vigorous rappng on the
door of the jury room was answered. BY
Bailifr Egan who informed Sheriff WagenG7
that the jury would like a box of cigars. The
some strong ones to insure the wakefulness
of the twelve good men.
At midnight the curtains of the jury room
and court room were drawn. but through the
sx-inch margin between the window sill and
the bottom Of the curtain the fumes of the
"two-fers' were plainly dstnguishable from
the street at / a. m. At that small hour the
experts in mental telepathy declared that the
jury stood nine to three for the defendant.