The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-05-17
SENT EXPLANATORY
MATTER TOA LADY
4. ]. Harrison Arrested by U. S. De-
putty Marshall.
MISS JONES OF NASHVILLE
Received Suggestive Postal Cards and
Letters from Him.
SHE HAD SENT HIM MONEY
Was One of the Insinuations He is
From Dallas County, and Lady
Governess in a Prominent
Nashville Family
SHE HAD SENT HIM MONEY

A. ]. Harrison, of Stafford, Dallas county,
Ala, was arrested last night on the charge
of sending defamatory matter through the
United States mails
He was taken before United States Com
missioner Cornish and after being ques-
toned was remanded to the Jefferson
county Jail until tomorrow when there will
be preliminary hearing of the case.
The arrest was made at boarding house
in Eighteenth street, between Fourth and
Fifth avenues, by United States Deputy
Marshal Nick Vaughan at the instance of
Postoffice Inspector j.. w. Bass. The pris-
oner gave no trouble, and admitted that
he wrote the postal cards and letter charged
against him and shown to him by Inspector
Bass.
To Miss Allie Jones
The alleged defamatory writing was to
Miss Allie Jones, a governess in a promi-
nent family in Nashville. Tenn Inspec-
tor Bass acted upon several postal cards
and a letter by Harrison and forwarded
by the inspector in charge of this district
at Chattanooga. Accompanying the cards
and letter was letter from the postmas-
ter of Nashville to the officer at Chatta-
nooga, recting the history of the matter
in SO far as he had been able to ascertain.
The tell-tale missives were placed in the
hands of the Nashville postmaster by a rep
utable citizen of that place.
There are three cards identical in phrase
ology, but sent to SIS Jones at different
addresses in Nashville, with the request to
"please forward" according to Inspector
Bass, "a determined purpose to injure the
character of the young lady" The card
which was sent to what is presumed to be
Miss Jones' real place of abode is ad-
dressed to miss or Mrs. Allie JONES'
Gave Her His Address
The writer informed the lady that he
would be in Birmingham for thirty days
and that his address would be the Metropol-
itan hotel.
The letter is written upon the Metropoli-
tan hotel letter paper and opens with:
"Only $40; you must come again. or words
to that effect, which would appear to indi-
cate that the governess in Nashville had
sent Harrison ten dollars in money. There
is the suggestion that she should try her
people for more.
The antecedents of neither Harrison nor
Miss Jones could be ascertained last night,
and therefore there Is a mystery about
the case that is very tantalizing. Harri-
son remarked to Inspector Bass in refer
ence to the lady that "she isn't what she
is cracked up to be- or words to that eff
feet; and proceeded to say that he was not
aware that he was violating the law in
writing as he d.u. Harrison's handwriting
is excellent, and his photography and syn
tax fully up to the average, showing him
to be man of considerable education. He
is apparently rs or q years old, and at the
time of his arrest wore a two-days growth
of thick beard.
The name of Harrison in Dallas county
is one of the most highly honored in Ala
bama; but whether the prisoner in the
county jail is socially prominent there is
for the moment were merely conjectural
This much is true also of the lady who
is SO unhappily mixed up in these pro-
ceedings of the United States government
The presumption is that she is also from
Dallas. And the Joneses have made his
tory there for these fifty years. Whether
she is connected with the notable families
is not known here. But that she is of con-
sequence socially and by education finds
fairly conclusive proof in the fact that she
is governess in q highly respectable family
in Nashville.
Made Under Section 332
The arrest of Harrison was made under
section 332 of the Postal Laws and ReguIa-
tions, the provisions of whichsprohibit the
sending of defamatory matter through the
mails. and fix the punishment for violating
the law. The minimum of punishment up-
on conviction is six months as to impris-
onment and $500 as to fine; the maximum is
five years as to imprisonment and 5000 as
to fine.
Inspector Bass, one of the most viglant
and capable of all inspectors. had been on
the lookout for Harrison since Monday,
and he finally ascertained that the man
was at the Eighteenth street boarding
house. Accompanied by Deputy Marshal
Vaughan, he proceeded to the place desig-
mated and Harrison was taken into custo-