The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-02-26
Drank WHISKY AND
USED VILE LANGUAGE
Mrs. Vail Accused of Shocking
Conduct.
FOUND WITH OTHER MEN
SENSATIONAL TESTIMONY FOR
THE DEFENSE.

The defense in the Vail divorce case
had a field day yesterday ia Judge
Halls court. About dozen witnesses
gave testimony to support the allega-
tons in bIr. Wallis cross complaint OF
plaintiffs bad conduct. Late in the
afternoon the defendant went on the
witness stand, and in reply to ques-
tions from his attorney, Z. B. Critch-
low, denied his wife's charges of cruel
ty and abusive language. Mr.. Vail will
testify further this forenoon, and it is
expected that he viii specify his
charges of infdeIity on the part of
Mrs. Vail.
Yesterday morning Elias A. Smith
and Stephen H. Lynch. as experts in
handwriting, testified that in their
judgment Mrs. Wallis admitted sigma
ture to several letters was in the same
writing that penned letters in endear-
ing terms to Billy" Wilson, a former
well-known bartender in this city. This
Wilson is not the Wilson who is now
connected with the Cliff House bar.
1t was denied by Mrs. Vail that she
had written some of these letters In
which indecent language appeared.
Seen With Peanut Ed"
Policemen Chase and Miner testi-
fed, the former that he had seen Mrs
Vail at a late hour one night last Sep
TENDER in company with Peanut Ed,
coming from her escorts place of
business across from the KnutsfOrd,
and the latter that he and Vail had
located he plaintiff at the Bowlby
house L West Temple street about
midnight I July %, 1899, in company
with WiIsoL, the alleged correspondent.
officer Miner added that Mrs. Lund
was with Mrs. Vail and a man other
than Wilson on this occasion.
Some damaging testimony was given
by James Simpson, young man from
Hooper. He swOre that in the month
of August, 1898, Mrs. Vail and her sis
ter, Mrs. Lulu McLelland, accompanied
him on a trip over to Antelope island,
where they remained several days
while he was harvesting corn. On the
way over in the boat both of the
women, declared the witness, drank
freely from jug of whisky which Mrs
Vail had taken along, and that Mrs.
McLelland became very drunk. He
testified further that the women in the
party were careless in their manner
of dress, and that Mrs. Vail made an
indecent proposal to him. Simpson
added that Gladys, the little daugh-
ter Of the Walls, was along, and that
her mother encouraged the child TO use
bad language. Mrs. Vail also used vile
language, and declared that she had no
use for her husband, the witness testi-
fed.
Noisy and Intoxicated.
Mrs. Sadie Hart testified that when
she lived next door to Mrs. Vail at 23S
North Third West street, the plaintiff
came home from the Lagoon at a late
hour with men and women who were
noisy and intoxicated. This was on
more than occasion, and while Mr.. Vail
was out Of town. The witness said she
had seen Wilson at the house of Mrs.
Vail at unseemly hours. She also de-
clared that the plaintiff used bad Ian
guage, and that she had told her she
would not take little Gladys out with
her because the brat would tell every
thing that its mama, did,
Josephine Bowlby, keeper of the
BOwlby house, which Vail, in his cross
complaint refers to as a place of ques-
tionable repute, testified that Billy
Wilson rOOmed at her house for a time
and that Mrs. Vail came there and en-
gagged room No. 8, near to his. The
witness said she saw a slightly gray,
elderly, heaYy-set man with Mrs. Vail
on one occasion at the house. That
night room was occupied by two
persons.
Mrs Harriet Clark told the court
that she knew Mrs. Vail when she lived
next to her house on Canyon road. She
said that plaintiff used bad language
il the presence of little Gladys
Walter J. Brown swore that Mrs.
Vail and Billy Wilson frequently
came to the Star saloon while he was
bartender there last summer, to drink
beer. The witness added that other
ladies' sometimes accompanied Mrs
Vail.
Ethel A. Back, aged 16 years, testi-
fled that she had seen Mrs. Vail and
/ Billy Wilson at the Salt Palace, and
that when both went home they were
! intoxicated.
Referring to the time when Wilson
was running the refreshment stands at
the Lagoon two summers ago, w. c.
Catrell swore that he saw Mrs. Vail in
| Wilson's company, and that the lady
was drunk on two or three occasions.
Mrs. Parsons, a washwOman, told the
court that Mrs. Vail had related to her
a couple of years ago how she had
made assaults on her husband because