The Savannah morning news., 1902-09-06
SKIRT DAY IN COURT
JUDGE NORWOOD IMPOSED THE
LIMIT OF PENALTY.
MANIA FOR STEALING SKIRTS
SEEMS TO HAVE STRUCK THE COL
oRED POPULATION.

Jacob Reed Got n 500 Fine, Accom-
panied by Lecture, For RObbinE
His EmpIOyer-RObert Williams
lenses and Was Given a Six
Months Sentence-A Full Bunch of
Migrants, and Miscreants of Va
riOus Sorts Disposed of.
Yesterday was skirt day in The
City Court 1t would seem that
mania for stealing that particular ar
ticle of dress had infected the negro
population, for of the sixteen culprits
who faced Judge Norwood seven were
arraigned on charges of stealing skirts
Twelve months was the popular pen
atty, and most of the miscreants got
the limit.
Bing Carter, q husky looking negro,
was fined 500 for stealing three skirts
from NJ. Blumberg. He could not
pay the fine, and an alternative of
twelve months Imprisonment was i'm
posed. The sister of the convicted
man figured that twelve months was
long time to work for 500, and set to
work at once to make good the amount
Late in the the afternoon she came
to the clerks office with the amount.
She had raked it up, and big part
of it consisted in nickles and dimes.
On separate warrants seven negroes
were arraigned al various times dur
ing the session for the theft of skirts.
vail, Henry Harries. Billy Gadsden,
Joseph Brown, I3ing Carter and Emma
Gould. The men were each given
twelve months, with the exception of
Joseph Brown. who was released, and
the woman was given sentence of
six months.
Robert Williams. the colored Foxy
CUTLER, obtained $1.95 worth of goods
from A. Ranzin, by representing that
a brass cheque was worth SO, whereas,
as a matter of fact, it was worthless.
Six months work was assigned to
him.
Joe Hicks has been getting rich fast
by stealing lead pipe whenever he got
chance. Several thefts had been re-
ported, and it took Detective Stark
but a short while to land the thief. He
was arraigned yesterday on two
charges. The fact that he plead
guilty did not mitigate the sentence,
for Judge Norwood gave him the limit
OF one year in each case. Willie
Greene's desire for buggy whip got
him in trouble, and yesterday he was
sentenced to twelve months at hard
labor on the .chaingang for his Of
Tense.
Six shabbily attired members of the
Loafers' Society We're made to answer
for having no, visible means of sup
port. Three of these told stories that
were a go With the judge. but the
others, Lizzie Floyd, Rebecca London
and Lottie Allen, were given a place
to sleep and eat, and, incidentally
work, for the ensuing twelve months
Daniel Reilly was sentenced to
twelve months for carrying concealed
weapons. Owen Rouse, another negro,
charged with the same offense, did not
fare so well, for he was given the
limit of the law.
A number of others told plausible
stories, or brought evidence to bear
that proved that they were innocent
of the charge against them, and We're
released forthwith. The docket was
heavy. but the court disposed of the
cases with dispatch
Hundred-dollar fines are few and far
between in the City Court, but the
payment of that amount was named
as the alternative to one years i'm
prisonment in the case of Jacob Reed
The judge took occasion to hand the
prisoner down a lecture in passing
sentence. The fact that he had rob-
bed his employer, not once but many
times, was assigned as the reason for
the heaviness of the fine. Reed stole
rocking chairs, rugs and other articles
of furniture from the store of j. B..