The herald., 1897-10-10
Justice Wells and Attorney
Conkling Tell About
THE COURT ROOM WEDDING
WELLS DIDN'T KNOW THE
THING WAS LOADED
or He Would Have Fought Shy.
Conkling Admits All Save the
Purpose Of the Trick
(From a proof slip furnished The Herald
by Justice T. H. Wells Of Santa Monica)

(From a proof slip furnished The Herald
by Justice T. H. Wells of Santa Monica)
Judge Wells is very indignant over the
manner in which the entire press OF tnc
country criticised his action in solemn
izing the marriage of Doc Crardall and
Amanda Frowiss, and he gives the fol-
lowing exhaustive explanation Of his
position:
THE MARRIAGE OF CRANDALL
To Whom 1t May Concern: California,
and especially the southern portion, has
been advised by numerous and repeated
newspaper articles in the Los Angeles
and Santa Monica dailies that almost
Immediately after the close of DOC"
Crandall's preliminary examination
Oct. 6, 1897, presided over by Justice :
Guidinger in my court room-town nal.
Il joined in marriage said DOC
Crandall and Miss Frowise.
AS the facts in relation to that mar
riags. so far as they affect me, have not
appeared in any of the free advertis-
ing" given me respecting it, viii now
furnish those facts to the public.
First-Crandall and 1 had little
trouble some three years ago about
bill he owed me in this place, and had
not spoken together since until he cana
into court that day with Deputy Sheriff
Clement, when he said, Good morning,
Judge" and I responded, Good morn
ing Crandall." next spoke to him when
l performed the marriage ceremony, and
not since Under these circumstances
does anyone outside of'a lunatic asylum
suppose that I would conspire with en-
tire strangers-Messrs. Shinn and
Conkling, and Miss Frowiss-none of
whom to this moment have been intro
duced to me, to shield any criminal.
much less one accused Of murder?
econdly-Neither Crandall nor his
aff1anced said a word to me about their
marriage until entered my court room
to solemnize it; hence, 1 did not, as one
of my iibelers says, Invade the court
room of another justice" for that pur-
pose No one but Mr.. Shinn. spoke to me
to marry them, and he did so in an attor-
ney's office just across the hallway from
my court room-the town hall-ard he
handed me the county clerks license
authorizing their marriage. Mr.. Shinn
said that Crandall wanted to be married
to one Of the ladies in the court room,
but did not mention her name. When.
he handed me the license I thought
from Sam Kutz's peculiar writing-that
the name was "Frorris," and. so thought
unit! filling out my certificate, when Mr.
Hemingway said he thought it was
"Frowiss" I then went to the court
room, saw her, and she said it is
"Frowiss"
Mr.. Shinn came to me first in said law
office, while Mr.. Conkling was making the
closing argument of the Crandall case.
Mr.. Conkling did not speak to me at all.
Mr.. Shinn paid me the marriage fee Of
81. He never intimated to me that the
bride was witness in the Crandall case
or that she was Crandall's woman" nor
did I have any suspicion of there being
"a job" Of any kind in the affair, until
casually heard some one remark, very
lew minutes after the ceremony, that
he supposed "Crandall had. married his
woman to keep her from testifying
against him" Then, for the first time
"smelt mice" Mr.. Shinn told me his
own name on meeting me as above
stated, after saying he thought 1 was
Judge Wells. I never even saw him, Mr.
Conkling or Miss Frowiss until the day
above stated. While talking, at frs:
meeting, about the matter, Mr.. Shinn
said they had intended to have been
married at the Jail in Los Angeles, and
would, had not Mr.. Burr objected.
I never, that I can call TO mind met
Mr.. Clement the deputy sheriff in
charge Of Crandall, until he asked me,
very soon after the ceremony, of 1 had
married that couple" when 1 replied,
"yes, sir; have" or Il did"
Thirdly-Neither Mr.. James nor Mr.
Clement told me they had any suspicious
of a conspiracy to get witness disqual-
flied by marriage to Crandall to testify
against him. Had they done so. would
have kept away from the building until
Crandall had been sent to Jail. am very
sorry they did not.
Again: I am censured, vilified. for
not thinking what might happen, when
l had no starting point given me from
which to begin thinking that Crandall
and woman did not know had never
spoken to, or been spoken to by. or ha i
pointed out or described. to me, or told
she had been or would be witness in
the case against Crandall, and yet I am
branded-most falsely and, I believe
mallciously-'as conspirator agains.
pubic justice in a murder cass--petty
treason at the common law, because I
did not in about ten minutes, think out
and act upon something l wasabsolutely
ignorant Of Mr.. Clement and MIR.
James, who knew ali about IT, and said
nothing, are excused. ] do not in tend
by this to reflect upon Mr.. James. for I
believe him honest and just, and tha,
he did not happen to think at the righ
time.
Finally-If Mr.. James really had seri-
Gus fears of losing Miss Frowiss as a
witness, by reason of her marriage. why
did he not have her testimony taken
when he legally could and then. If yalu
able and needed, use 1t in the trial court
Yet, dc not reflect, by any means. upon
Mr.. James; only wish he had done so
for IT would have saved me from being
unmercifully and fiendfshly bounded by
Tray, Blanche and Sweetheart, without
the common decency of being asked for
an explanation.
In the chivalric days when Rome was
noble. grand. just. it was her boast and
glory that no accused should be tried un-
heard. Not SO in these later and more
corrupt days of the American republic
when newspapers toy with the priceless
boon of "a good name, which is better
than riches" and try men on the curb.
stone and upon the tripod; and character
may be crushed before accused ii