The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-05-26
He DENIES THE CHARGE
Jean Schoenmeister Gives His
Side of the Story.
PAULINE LEMAJEUR CASE
Says the Girl Came With Him Willingly
Didn't Have to Use Force to
Make Her Occupy His
Stateroom

Jean Schoenmeister, the fellow who
is charged with having brought the
Belgian girl Pauline Lemajeur, to
Butte from the old country for immoral
purposes, is in Spokane, where he has
given out cold blooded story in an eff
fort to defend himself against the &C.
cusations made by his victim in Butte.
1t appears that Schoenmeister, who is
employed in a wood yard in Spokane,
is known in that city as Pierre Demeis
ter, but he made a statement to a Spo-
kane paper that he was the man who
had been written up by the Butte pa
pers under the name of Barrie Jean
SchoenmeiSter. He denied the charge
that he had brought Pauline LENA ieur
to this country for the purpose of pros
titution and said that he wanted to tell
his side of the story,
He admitted bringing the girl to
Butte, but says he did so with her con-
sent and that of her parents. His story
of the affair is about as follows:
THE story as told by the Butte pa
pers that 1 induced the girl to come to
this country to put her into house of
prostitution is false | first met Pauline
about two years ago, when / was on
the way back ito the old country on a
visit. She and her parents had spent
several months in this country and
were on their way back home. They
went over in the same boat that l did,
and we became acquainted on the way.
Afterward I visited them frequently at
their home, and the girl and l became
intimate.
.She 10 Ioc
to the United States, and wanted me TO
bring her with me. | told her that
was not prepared to get married at that
time, but If she wanted to come we
would be married later and she con-
scented to this arrangement. 1t Is true
that we occupied the same stateroom
on the boat coming over but it is not
true that l forced her to do so. The
fact is that she was perfectly willing,
and that she and ] had occupied the
same room at her own home, and had
done so with the knowledge and con-
sent of her mother. After we arrived
in Butte she said nothing more about
getting married, but seemed perfectly
contented with her life.
Il did not put her into a house of
prostitution as charged, but supported
her myself by working / intended to
marry the girl later and would have
done so had she proved true to me.
But she was not satisfied to behave her
self, and during the time we were liv-
ing together she was all the time run
ming after other men.
About six or seven months ago I had
to go to the old country again to settle
up the estate of my mother, and when
| returned I found the girl was living
with another man named Franklin.
This was more than I could stand after
all | had done for her in providing her
with home for more than a year, and
l refused ITO have anything more to do
with her. AS to the statement that she
is but young girl of 16 or II years. it
is false, as I have the certificate of her
birth which shows that she is nearly
%. Her mother has known where she
was all the time and has been in con-
slant correspondence with her, and I
have number of her letters written
to her while we were in Butte.
Il did not bring any girl with me
when I came to Spokane, and was not
arrested on this charge, as was claimed
by the Butte papers. I was arrested
once since coming here, but it was for
getting drunk, and I paid fine of 81
and COSTS