Evening star., 1902-02-22

borne n
nrst-rate reputation as a dutiful son. and
his story OF the occurrence was straight
forward and held together In every detail
However. the police. before the boy mad
mad chance to see a lawyer, put on the
screws and subjected him to the third de-
gree with incomprehensible savagery
Three hours after his arrest they solemriy
told him as he sat stupefied with grief i'm
his cell that old woman living across
the street from his home an old woman
with whom he was well acquainted and
whom the sweaters mentioned by name,
had stated that she had seen the boy in
the very act OF carving mp his mother with
a butcher knife. and they went on to state
how she had described the appalling scene
with minute details as she had witnessed
it from her window across the street. They
went so far as to tell the boy that he had
every chance to go scot free III he would
Immediately own mp to having killed his
mother. The lad happened to have been
endowed with pretty firm mind OF his
own. however. and he resolutely declined
10 admit that he was a matricide solely
because this pack of inflictors of the third
degree seemed to be desperately an
xious to have him do so. He stood pat on
the straightforward story he had related
upon his arrest. and his tormentors retired
chagrined.
Case Of Florence Burns.
The other case was that OF Florence
Burns. the nineteen-year-old young wo-
man who was arrested on the charge OF
having shot her sweetheart to death i'm a
west street hotel. This young woman Is
exceedingly attractive in person, that her
obvious refinement Is something far art
away above the conventional veneer often
dehomlnated by that name and that her
connection with such an atrocious crime
as that FOR which she was arrested seems
utterly increditable to those who have seen
her and talked with her
NeNertheleSS. before the LAWYER enga ged
by her father had had time to reach her at
degree" upon the girl. They told her that
several guests at the hotel at which the
Tragedy occurred had seen her hurriediy
depart from the hotel with a smoking pistol
IN her hand. Immediately after they had
heard the firing of the fatal shot and a
whole lot OF other utterly inexcusable and
untrue rubbish OF the sort, and then they
Went ahead to depict the ease with which
She would be able to escape the conse-
quences of the alleged deed IL she would
recite with minute detail her exact connec-
tion with the affair
The young woman was sufficiently, saIf
possesseu TO repeat to them time and
again that she knew absolutely nothing Of
the shooting, and there Is no doubt thar
Wniie certain minor circumstances are a
uife against her. her demeanor of calm
ness and dignity and possession since
her arrest have already weighed n great
deal Tor her In the public mind Persons
VINO nave been put through this sweat
ing-out system have often told the writer
that IT is scarcely conceivable how fend-
ishly the sweaters" play upop the an,o-
tons as Well as the hysterical tendencies
or their victims. and there are actually
numerous cases on record In New York
wherein individuals subjected to this brutal
strain nave confessed to committing crimes
winch they We're af,erward found to have
had absolutely nothing to do with Ii Is
TO the credit of young Mr. Jerome the re-
form district attorney that he has pro-
founced strongly against the third de-
gree" business since It's application to thes.
Ia heaf fS Unin
a determined effort to have the system
done away with.
Fire Loss at Paterson, N. ].
Paterson. N. j., the recent devastation
of which by fire Is now said to have caused
loss easily amounting to SI5.eo9, ,oGo may
reasonably be said to be about as proud a
municipality for its size as there is In the
country. The mayor OF the town as well
as a great many private citizens and bus-
ness men who lost heavily by the fire have
been engaged for more than week past
IN courtenusly returning unsolicited contri-
buttons sent along TO them as relief offer
lngs by generous hearted individuals OF
other cities who felt for the Paterson folks
IN their calamity. The PaterSonites' let
ters. in returning these contributions gen
orally state. In effect that while the money
would undoubtedly come in handy TO the
recipients, the latter prefer 10 depend upon
their own exertions to win them out Of
their difficulties. and that Paterson can
take care Of her own" There is some
thing not generally understood behind this
Independent and perhaps a bit naughty
attitude of the Paterson people. Paterson
folks have had their feelings hurt consd-
erably during the past couple of years.
When the four Patersonites OF education
and social standing, who doing
long terms in Trenton. killed the Bosschie-
ter girl year ago last November, the
press or the country rather unjustfiably
roasted Paterson, some of the papers GO
q - ctaf ia hat pat
about the only city of its size i'm America
in which could be found four men of equal
standing who would combine in the per-
petratton of such an atrocity-which was,
Of course. no less idiotic than unjust.
When President Mckinley was assassi-
mated Paterson came In for a terrible
scorching from the press on account Of its
harboring' so large number Of muir
derous anarchists. This. too. was unjust.
for. far from "harboring' the anarchists.
the authorities of Paterson had done their
level best to stamp out anarchy in their
town. But they couldn't go the length of
closing down the vast number Of silk mills
in which the anarchistic operatives gained
their livelihood.
haps few American communities In which
the rank and file of the citizens more
sober staid. conservative and law-abid-
ing than those of Paterson. n. j.. and
when the town came In for such a blast
ing the citizens despared of ever being
able to square their place. and they
had a tacit UNDERSTANDING that henceforth
they would neither ask nor receive any
thing from any other COMMUNICATIVE
drew themselves into their she'll in a word,
and virtually decided to "go it alone"
Vanderbilt's Social Triumph.
The modish set over here. as we'll as tho
ordinary crowd. are talking a good deal
of the distinct triumphs from the social
point Of view, which has come the way OF
Cornelius Vanderbilt and his wife in be-
ing designated. at the express wish Of
Emperor William. the only private
tertainers of Prince Henry during the lat
ter's stay I'm this country. The modish SCI.
it may be remarked. don't like the desis-
nation a little bit. while the rank and file
OF New Workers are somewhat delighted
over the situation 1t will be remembered.
that young Cornelius Vanderbilt was de-
prived of his rightful position. as eldest
son. as head Of the Vanderbilt house by
his father because he persisted In marry
ing Miss Wilson. young woman quite
number of years older than himself. ard
this deprivation carried with it his nat
ural heirship to the bulk Of the Wander
bilt estate, which fell to the next son. AL
fred. The breach In the Vanderbilt fam
ily owing tO Cornelius marriage has reyar