The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-02-02
BETRAYED BY THEIR VOICES.
LIARS UNABLE TO DECEIVE THE
sTENOGRAPHER'S EAR.

In Not Telling inc
which the Theory was Proved 10 ne
True-The Trained Sense OF Hearing
sInv shorthand man who has been doing
,ourt reporting for a long time can ten
almost infalli1ly by his sense OF hearing
-he,ber a prisoner or a witness Is tening
a.. ruth . said a court stenographer who
has grown gray In making and TRANSCRIPT
t. nothooks In civil and criminal cases.
81, oome. from experience combined with
A.. ahnormal develo pment OF the sense
=, hearing which all first rate court ana
nentary stenographers possess
I've know how abnormally the remain
-..n.as NJ blind folks are developed.
.as,icnlariv their sense OF hearing. Well.
~. Tho same way with the court shorthand
- of,er he's hammered away at that
-, work for n good many years.
ri. ears become az sensitive to the
.u,h,es, infections and intonations OF
,hs human voice as a phonograph roller.
,hers's a certain tremulous quaver In the
con. 81 a man or woman who's lying In
court that the s~tenographer catches when
the shrewdest Judge, lawyers or jurors
ouite fail to catch it.
sWhen he's got his head bent over his
no.ebook he feels the Earring false note
N the voice Of tho liar every time. no mat
Tar how plausible and convincing the testi-
nonv La Itself may sound. So frequently
have I tested this idea in the past fifteen
vnsrs or 30 that l ave come to accept
K A. oertain, when that almoet indistinguish-
.bls false tremolo is absent from the tone
n vitpess's voice, that the witness Is
falling the truth. ,
a few wears ago I reported the trial
Al a Young Harlem chap who was accused
~ having s~andclubbed a Third avenue jew
ALTAR In bis store, and Of looting the estab-
rshment. The young fellow was good
iookns. Intelligent, with q face as frank
A an eieht-day clock and an easy. candid.
winning manner.
u looked the young chap over before
he trial began. and ! decided that the 40
r,sation against him was outrageous.
When the witnesses testified that they'd
ssen him coming out OF the store ! strained
nv ears TO catch the false ~tntonation In
their tones, but Il wasn't there,
when the defence opened. the young
man was permitted to 60 on the stand In
Si. own behalf. | was astonished TO find
that his voice had the lying quaver In II
nxht from the beginning OF his statement.
Ills words vastly impressed the jury
and as vastly chagrinned the prosecution.
but i Knew tnhl 10 was i1hlb h.'Ni
He undertook to prove an alibi for himself.
an o~orroboratlon OF this, the married
sister testified that her brother had been
Al her apartment from 3 O'Clock In tho
afternoon until 10 o'clock at night, taking
dinner with her and keeping her company
IN the absence Of her husband. Well,
she was lying, too. She had that tell-tale
false ring In her voice that convinced me
Of this, despite her fine. frank ace and
her obvious responsibility,
sTu -..Hf aIanNrnad for HInOhAOn NJ tina
end of her testimony. took luncheon with
the attorney for the prosecution.
well, what do you think OF this oasef
he asked me when we sat down i guess
we don't land him, h
was lying, and so was his sister
The attorney for the prosecution looked
me over out Of the Sits OF his eyes, but !
didn't saw any more. When court recon.
vened he asked for an adjournment untu
neyt dny, and the Judge granted IT,.
"On the following morning he had IN
court the ianitor Of the apartment house
IN which the prisoners sister lived. The
ianitor testified that the prisoner = SISTER
had not been In her fiat from noon until late
at night on the day Of the sa~ndciubblng
while the janitor was on the stand a
detective walked into the courtroom with
the loot from the Jewelry shop. lie had
found IL In a search Of the prisoners sister :
apartment that morning.
THAT settled the On 80, Of course. The
prisoners sister broke down and confessed
that she had been endeAyofing 10 shield
her brother.
.Over ten years ago In Chicago ! re-
ported the trial Of an actress, who was
accused Of having shot her husband. who
was also her manager. hhe Nas an obscure
star and scintIlsted with a one-night-
stand road Of the Ten Nights
10 a Barroom' variety.
sShe wac indicted Tor assaul with intent
% kill. Her husband told his story. He
had no Witnesses. but ! knew that the man
was telling the truth, as took the notes,
despite the fact that he had a sllity eye
and q hAng-dog air about him. hls voice
bad the on-ths-leyel ring
The woman vac su ikinRly hhndsome
and . mighty smooth proposition. ] never
cav h1 act, but shs must have been pfeity
good at that xOrk. "a Judge from haF acting
o. the stand.
.shs got them ell going right away fom
The minute clio oIened her mouth hhe
told Of h0w che had stood fof long yeafs
~ abuse on the Iart - hei husband ahg
lott Of them. during this part ~ h"r naura-
tive. Tho lmurs, muut ~ th"m 'dn.
men, SLaf@d yrnaefulls 81 hu husband
snd he attorney 90 IA" prosecution looked
.LadlnF up o. tis day ~ No shooting
Oil al E1fts ~ fsiIf4l ltus LyTp.aYa and
oonsfafu1 dahulrF a. boz hhr pos Sih a
Nadl~d 80 ibHr llwf H" u"
sri@d lHv fIF lHf rItffrl liH hnln fTiin
sftsI o. ua4 hus irf husband had l4inl--i
~ fYt4 tlf HHHI nu riIUh D. Naa NHuf
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