The sea coast echo., 1908-05-02
oath Means Noshin6 MS Love
OF Vengeance, says Former
con6ressznan Lewis Oh Lac
deg Especially DANGEROUS to
Lawyers-a Women Are H
pected to cajole and Deceive
% Gain Iheir Ends, Says
Fair One.

n
~ as a witness for one Of two rea-
sons" he sad, "either she comes
through sense OF affection or duty
to those whom she loves or she comes
to satisfy what she regards as a per-
fectly legitimate feeling OF resent
ment.
"If 1t is the first of these she will
come through fire and water to testify
and she will see things as her friend
views them. Sincerely and earnestly
she will testify that things are as she
thinks they ought to be and you may
cross-examine until you have exhaust
Cd the vocabulary and you will get
nothing from her but her ideas OF
what they ought to be. A woman
has no idea of the sanctitv nf an oath
and a woman will repeat when on
oath anything which she will say
when not ON oath.
Let Her Go-Quickiy.
III she comes as your witness, i'm.
PEELED by q feeling OF resentment, be
careful not to let her tell why she
came. Get your main point out OF
her as expeditiously as possible and
let her go. Do not branch off into
collateral matters or she will take the
flrst opportunity to vindicate herself
for appearing by telling the grudge
she has against the defendant.
sOn the other hand If you are
cross examining her, be careful not
to let her state the grievance that
has brought her in as a witness
against your client, unless you are
sure of what 1t is, for. no matter
what women does, il it be an act
impelled by natural and legitimate
affection, the world will ever forgive
her."
Above all, remember that woman
is a strange animal and never ques-
ton her as to her age. Let the
cross-examiner do that and make an
enemy for life.
much tact as you will require in
dealing with ordinary women, 1t is
nothing to the tact necessary to sue
cessfully cope with old women. Old
ladies are dangerous on the witness
stand; they destroy you. They have
tact themselves and much experience,
and often they are sharper than you
are. There is no limit to the damage
a vindictive old lady can do. Let
me illustrate:
II was defending personal injury
case in which the plaintiff called as
a witness a Miss Quinn and we held
the following dialogue:
"'Your name is Miss Quinn, I be-
lieveT
"'Miss Quinn
"'Did l understand you to say that
you were near the track?'
"I don't know what you under
stood. You may be deaf for all
know
"'Were you near the track?'
Eyes
"'You say that you stood so close
to the track that the train shaved
your dress as it rushed past?'
yes
"Tf you saw it coming why did
you stand so close to the track that
it shaved your dress?
why don't you shave your whis-
kers?'
'sYou see, gentlemen, that | can
not emphasize too much the value Of
exercise of Difference at all times
and under all circumstances to old
ladies.
'tOnce in a personal damage case
a bright young woman stenographer
for the plaintiff persisted in declar-
ing that she thought this happened
and she thought that was true. Final
ly l and the opposing attorney told
her she would have to stop thinking
in her testimony.
"T can't talk without thinking,
she said; I'm not lawyer
Mans Fault, Say the Women.
The women are on Col. Lewis's
trail. Mrs. J. F. Thompson, president
of the Social Economics Club, said:
Ibid Col. Lewis ever have a moth
er or sister that he should insult
them this way?'
Catherine Waugh McCulloch, Evans
tons woman justice OF the peace, said !:
MY opinion is that women are as
truthful as men. The Colonel only
expresses the views held by men in
the past. Married women in particu-
lar have been held incompetent as
witnesses when their husbands are
prosecuted. II woman, married or
otherwise, a witness or not should
lie, it Is a direct result of dependence,
political disenfranchisement and le-
gal degradation. Women have been
expected to cajole, deceive, wheedle
and fiatter men to get out of them
that which should have been freely
yielded them as their right"