The Savannah morning news., 1903-04-19
SHOCKED The COURT
SENSATIONAL INVESTIGATION OF
FAMILY DIFFERENCES.
RECORDER MYRICK BLUSHED.
AND YET HE LAUGHED AT SOME
THINGS THAT WE'RE SAID.

RestGting Arrest and Throwing n
Chair at His Wife - Man Made
Grave Charges in Open Court.
Wife Called Him n Liar and
Though There Were Tragic Incl
dents the Hearing Was n Comedy.
Printer, who Went to Mrs. ThOmp-
sons Assistance, a Past Master in
I the Art of Slang.
Threatened tragedy afforded comedy!
This was the result of the investi-
cation by Recorder Myrick in Police
Court yesterday of charges preferred
against Capt" G. F. Thompson by
his wife. The Morning News pre-
dicted that the hearing would be rich,
rare and racy, and it was nothing less.
Capt" and Mrs. Thompson both
proved pretty warm propositions in the
talk line and whenever either had any
thing to say there was blood on the
moon. r. S. Van Pelts, a printer,
boarding in the same house with the
Thompsons, however, was the star wit
ness. He assisted Mrs. Thompson when
the Captain" attacked her, and
handling the Kings English he
had John Henry. Billy Baxter, George
AIDE, and a score of others also-rans,
laid out, and If they had heard him
turn loose they would have felt like
a paved street before the asphalt goes
| down.
Van Pelts had the whole bunch beat
UP and down, and across the board.
He was there with the goods from
start to finish. and the dainty NOR
sells of the real thing that he gave
out were enough to make AIDE feel like
a duckling with a hen for a mother
and a pond of water in sight. Had
| John Henry been given a chance to
hear him tell his story he would have
| gone Back to the woods" for fair,
ard would have felt like writing, TITS
up to, me-" Billy Baxter's Letters
would look like a prayer against what
Van Pelts said, and although the
| investigation cost Thompson $40 in
real money it was worth the price of
admission. He heard things that he
| probably never heard before and GER
tainly things that he will never hear
! Ggain-unless Van Pelts is occupying
| the stage.
Hearing Was Sensational.
The investigation was highly sensa-
tional throughout. There was not a
moment when the interest Jagged, and
it is doubtful If a more racy case was
ever heard in Police Court. Between
| Capt. Thompson and Mrs. Thompson
and Van Pelts, who had only acted the
| part of the gallant, the court and spec
tators were kept amused all of the
| time.
You dare say that and I'll slap your
face said Mrs. Thompson, address,
ing B. c. Yancey, Esq, counsel for
the defendant, at one stage of the game
when he asked her pretty pointed
| question.
Your are a liar" Missed the woman
at another time, when, her husband
made particularly scathing charge.
1t was with difficulty that Mrs
Thompson was restrained from acting
rather than speaking, and several times
it looked as if there would be a fisti-
cuff in the court room.
Husbands Awful Charges.
The arraignment of Mrs. Thompson
and her daughter by the defendant was
| probably the most sensational ever
| heard in the court room. He branded
mis- wife as a divorced woman and
made charges of the worst sort against
| his step-daughter. Thompson did not
mince words, and the language that
he used was of the sort that is not
often listened to in Police Court.
The man declared that his wifes
| daughter had been married twice; that
her first husband had secured a di-
vorce, and that the second one is now
| on the same tack. All of these things
were strenuously denied by mother and
daughter, along with other grave
charges made by the defendant
| Thompson seemed terribly in earnest
in what he had to say, and in making
his statement was exceedingly dra-
| matte
MAY I be stricken stone dead if
every word 1 utter is not the truth"
he declared.
THAT dirty little rascal; How I'd
like to whip him here in court if you'd
only give me the right" he said at
another time, in answering Van Pelts'
charge that he had acted the part OF a
coward.
Slang Artist Talks.
''He turned loose a bunch of Eng
fish navy rot and gave a few high
ball signs when the fun started" said
Van Pelts in relating his side of the
story. II handed him one, and he DUST
ed by. But l got him on the jump
and played seven-up on his collar He
went down the stairs like a cheese
one of these great big American sort
but he was the man that started the
ball rolling, even if 1 did give it a
| push that kept it on the move for an
entire flight"
The manner in which Van Pelts test
flied convulsed the court, the officers
and the spectators. The like had new
er been heard before. The witness i'm
| pressed upon the Recorder the fact
that he had only protected a lady, and
| that he was a gentleman, from 1.-The
green fields of Virginia"
Other witnesses testified and the in
vestigation lasted half an hour. Mrs.
Thompson declared that she had fur
nished the money for a cigar business
on Jefferson street and that her hus-
band had agreed to furnish the brains.
ut was a case in which 1 put up the
money and am waiting for the brains"
she asserted.
Mrs. Thompson's manner and ap-
pearance in Police Court did not help
the prosecution any, but rather OPP
Grated in favor of the defendant 1t
was with the greatest difficulty that
she kept herself partly under control
and while her husband was making
his statement she closed her hands,
screwed her face up, and seemed ready
to spring upon him. All of these
things caused the Recorder to fine
Thompson 81 for resisting arrest The
fine was promptly paid
You cannot set a first-class dinner
|