The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-08-20
Mrs. Haines and Her Baby.

DER, mas given DlrtH W u UdUy 4 LID W.
such remarkable occurrence that re
porter from the Office of the Philadelphi
Times came to Mount Holly on Friday t
write the matter up. He did it to his owl
satisfaction and evidently to the taste o
his employers for it was printed in full il
the Saturday edition That it was I'm
warranted and untruthful in many partic
ulars did not count. The Times seems t
think it an objectionable crime that thu
child was allowed to be born in the prison
and that the mother should have beer
taken to the Burlington County Hospital
Yet the fact remains that the mother is {
prisoner, under a serious charge, and thai
the Sheriff of Burlington county is re-
sponsible for her safe keeping. Had he
taken her to the place suggested-and
right here we may say he did contemplate
such move, but circumstances under the
control of no human being interfered-he
would have been compelled to keep a
guard over the woman.
'.'The Jail authorities admit that she has
not had the care of a nurse, says the
| Times This is evidently lie out of the
solid. Joseph Fleetwood, who saw the
reporter, says the latter never mentioned
the subject of nurse, and even if he had
done so he could not have received the in
! formation he printed as the woman was
given nurse, not from the Jail as the
paper states, but one from the town per
fectly competent for the work. She was
procured by DR.. Melcher, who went per-
sonally after the woman.
The paper then goes on to print state
ment of information received at the Pro
secutors office, and the only occupant of
that office who saw and conversed with
the reporter, says the first he ever had
knowledge of the Information" was
when he saw it in the Times.
Another sample of the brilliant re-
porters efforts No one is permitted to
visit Mrs. Haines with the exception of
her counsel, Eckard P Budd, and her
husband Mr.. Budd is at the seashore.
District Attorney Atkinson is at the sea-
shore Sheriff Fenton is at the seashore.
Deputy Sheriff Doughty is at the sea-
shore" Messrs. Budd and Atkinson have
cottages at the shore, and come up daily
with the exception of the two last days of
the week. DR.. Melcher and Deputy
Doughty had gone for days fishing
This seems to have been heinous offence
The milk in the cocoanut seems to be the
fact that the reporter was not allowed to
roam at will through the Jail and see and
talk with whom he chose.
He says Mount Holly people, it is
said, are divided into factions in regard to
the case" We venture the assertion that
not a dozen of our people have taken any
more than passing notice of the case.
The article in the Times was evidently
meant to bring to discredit the actions of
the Sheriff and to create sentiment in
favor of the woman. If this is the case
it will probably interest the writer to
know that he has signally failed. The
Times, at the head of its columns, has these
words: ''All the. News that's fit to Print.
The sample from Mount Holly was not in
that class Incidentally we might men
tion that there were several persons in
Mount Holly who were of the opinion the
Times reporter had been drinking too
freely.
Commenting ON the article prominent
county official defended Sheriff Fenton
thus: THAT Sheriff Fenton should be so
severely criticised is entirely without
cause The statement that suitable sur
rounding had not been secured for Mrs.
Haines or that efforts were not to be made
for her comfort are both erroneous.
Sheriff Fenton has full and absolute juris-
diction over all prisoners in his charge
and he had made arrangements with a
local hotel proprietor to have Mrs Haines
remain at his hotel. By doing this Sheriff
Fenton would have established preced
ent in this state, besides taking extra
risks Yielding, however, to his own
sympathetic nature, he had decided to
have these arrangements made as above
stated, and the best vacant room in the
hostelry in question had been repapered
and placed in otherwise first class condi
ton in anticipation of her arrival, and she
was to have been taken there early in
September.
Sheriff Fenton had endeavored to Sc
cure her admission to the Burlington
County Hospital but it refused to receive
her, no maternity cases being accepted
there. The birth of the child came
as surprise to the Jail authorities and
Mrs Haines' physician. DR., W. P. Melch
er was summoned at once, however, and
every attention was given to the woman.
She was at that time too weak to be re-
moved to another place. Mrs. Haines has
been allowed every liberty in the Jail, the
authorities being especially kind to her.
She has been allowed visitors at all times
and more attention is bestowed on her
than is usually shown to criminals under
such charge as she is now under. Her
husband visits her almost every day. re-
naming with her as long as he pleases.
This very rarely occurs in similar institu-
lions with prisoners charged with murder.
say all this in justice to the Sheriff and
in REPUTATION of the article referred to. I