The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-05-23
BUTTE News.
DIDN'T THE TURTLE"
Tale of Indecency Was Grossly
Exaggerated.
NOT WRITTEN FOR GIRLS
"A Streak of Delicate Suggestiveness
Runs Through the Playa Com
nittee Called Upon Judge
Lindsay.
NOT WRITTEN FOR GIRLS

"Did YOU see The Turtle?" A thou
sand people asked the question of
thousand others yesterday and in tell
ing what they saw at the Grand on
Sunday night or what someone else
saw they enlarged very much on what
might be termed the delicate sugges-
tiveness of the play. In going the
rounds the descriptions increased in
vividness and before the day was many
hours old the town was talking about
1.-THE Turtle" A committee consisting
of Adiutant Hay of the Salvation
army, Rev. J. L. Alhritton of the Noun
tatin View Methodist church and Rev.
"A. +. Goodfriend of the Emmanuel
Presbyterian church made "a call on
Judge Lindsay of the district court to
ask him to stop the play. The judge
could not be seen at that time, how
ever and the reverend gentlemen had
a talk with his clerk. Mr. Leonard on
the ungodly who had witnessed THE
Turtle" performance, and he jollied
them by telling them the play was pos
itively the most indecent he had ever
seen and that the half had never been
told
The committee returned to the court
house at $3.50 o'clock in the afternoon
and found Judge Lindsay in his cham
Der and had a consultation with him
about the law applicable to indecent
performances which they desired to
have enforced against The Turtle
Judge Lindsay informed that there was
plenty of law against such exhibitions,
but that he had no knowledge of any
thing indecent going on at the opera
house. and the reverend committeeman
also admitted that they knew nothing
about it, but that they had seen some
thing in one of the Butte papers and
had heard some people talk about it.
Judge Lindsay said that if there was
any cause for complaint the matter
came under the criminal section of the
code, and that all criminal matters
were attended to by the county attor-
ney and the other department of the
court. He thought if he should take a
hand in the matter it would look like
an encroachment on the affairs of the
other department of the district court.
A The committee next called on the
county attorney and had a talk with
Chief Deputy Kelley They asked him
# there was any law against such ex-
hibitions as 1.-The Turtle" but as the
chief deputy did not know what THE
Turtle" was like, he could not say
However, he read the law applicable
to indecent performances, but suggest
ed that it would be well to be sure be-
fore going ahead with a prosecution of
the kind contemplated. and also spoke
of the damage that might be done if the
complaint could not be made to stick
Mr.. Kelley told the ministers that the
county attorney was always ready to
cooperate with them for the suppress
sion of vice and the enforcement of the
law, and incidentally called their at
tention to the indecent performances
that were being given in certain con-
cert halls, or alleged variety theaters,
every night in the year, against which
neither the ministers nor public senti-
ment had yet raised a protest The
ministers then dropped The Turtle
and talked about the violations of the
gambling law. and finally withdrew.
having concluded that it would be in
advisable to stop the performance at
the opera house.
When Manager Mcfarland of the
opera house and Manager Elmer of
THE Turtle learned of the fuss that
was being raised, they invited the
county attorneys officers, the sheriff,
judges and other county officials to at
tend, as their guests, performance of
The Turtle" and pass Judgment on ii
and stop it if they thought it was in
decent. Sheriff Regain and every one of
his deputies, several representatives
from the county attorneys office,
County Commissioners Clark and
Matthews and nearly every man in the
offices of the clerk of the courts, coun-
ty clerk and auditor accepted the invi-
tation and occupied boxes at the opera
house last night and enioyed the show
but some of them came away disgust