The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1908-05-26
MOST REMARKABLE
WOMAN IS ANNIE
SMITH
SMILES AND 6IvEs-THAT Is HER
MISUNDERSTANDING OF HER.
SELF, SEEKS ONLY TO KEEP
TRUTH FROM DAUGHTER.

When Annie Smith left the stand IN
Justice STEMS court. Monday after
noon. after undergoing a crossexan-
nation that would have left an ordin.
airy woman worn and upstrung, her
face was illumined by smile, as 1t
had been, In fact almost continually
from the moment she was sworn. Fri
DAY morning, as the first and most
important witness for the people In
the examination OF Police Commission
er Smith, Capt. Frank Newberry and
Frank Hibbler on charge or grating.
The smile was characteristic OF the
woman, who possesses a rather re-
markable personality in spite OF the
fact that she belongs to class not
recognized by society.
There was nothing forced about It..
On the contrary, its spontaneity was
SO obvious as TO leave no room for
doubt on that score; and all the more
surprising in view OF the merciless
gruelling she had received at tho
hands of the attorneys for the defense.
men OF wide experience and recog-
niZed ability in their chosen profession
The story Of her life, which, out OF re-
spect for her worthy parents >ld her
pure young daughter. she had hoped
to conceal. ruthlessly had been laid
bare; In open court and in the pres
ence of hundreds of curious strangers,
she had been held up TO scorn and
ridicule; her motives had been attack
ed, her character bitterly assailed, her
veracity openly questioned, and she
was warned OF the awful penalty Of
perjury should she be caught in lie.
And yet this woman passed infiinching-
ly through the trying ordeal and
emerged smiling
Gives With a Free Hand.
Il have nothing to fear. l tell only
the TRUTH" she said.
Whatever the motive behind her
spirit Of levity, II certainly was not
put on. Nature endowed her with u
cheerful disposition, personal char
acteristic that goes hand in hand with
her generous heart Among her coun-
trymen in old Delray she Is looked
upon as sort of LADY bountiful," and
she has been dubbed the Queen Of
Little Hungary" No worthy suppl
cant for aid has ever appealed to her
in vain. Even now, with her saloon
closed and her source of revenue cut
off, the latch string. of her kitchen
door is always out for the poor and
needy of her race who pass that way.
Her motives are mercenary," some
VI he m oil
back when times are better and her
saloon is running again"
But there are others, better posted
perhaps. who will promptly resent any
inference that there are strings to
Annie's charity.
Mother and Godmother.
II is a matter OF no little personal
pride to Annie that she has acted as
godmother to no less than 29 Hungar-
ian babies since her advent In Delray.
For. notwithstanding her calling" An
ME Smith is a true woman at heart.
She Is herself a mother. Her daugh-
ter, now nine years of age, Is being
reared in a Catholic institution in
Buffalo, In utter ignorance OF her mo-
theirs ignoble profession" 1t was
caused the smile TO fade from her
cheeks and her tongue to hesitate when
her daughters name was first dragged
into the testimony. Her tender con-
sideration for the child's welfare was
again manifested, Monday afternoon,
when it developed that the authorities
of the institution that shelters her.
though receiving remittances from
Mrs. Smith regularly, for the child's
care. do not even know the mothers
street address.
Such Is Annie Smith. the woman and
the mother. AS the central character
In a scandal that has stirred the city
to its foundations, and the star witness
in the prosecutions that have resulted
from her revelations. she has mani
tested other characteristics. equally as
interesting from another standpoint.
AS one contemplates her while she
IS giving her testimony, and realizes
what she has accomplished in the way
OF picking up the American language
and American ways In seven years.
one cannot help wondering what the
result might have been IL Annie Smith
mad had better opportunities. BY 70
means unattractive. ready wit In
spite of her inperfectlons OF speech
and yet not so imperfect when one
considers the handicap under which
she has labored In learning our Ian
guage-the possessor OF a subtle sense
OF humor and frankness OF manner
that Is refreshing, she might grace n
drawing room II she had had the ad-
vantages of a gentler training. In ma
tive Hungary she might have been a
lady of distinction If reared in proper
environments.
In the Battle Of Wits.
In giving her story on the witness
stand she spoke with directness that
appealed to the lay mind. IL not to
that OF the professional man. When
question was asked that she prefer.
red not 10 answer she side-stepped
artfully, until she had satisfied herself
that there was no way out of IL. but
once she made up her mind there was
no equivocation. II she suspected a
trap she weighed her answers care
fully, and in giving them looked her
questioner squarely In the eye.
From beginning to end the long
cross-examination was a battle Of
wits, between Annie Smith and her in.
quisitors. and while the lawyers lost
their tempers and hurled insinuating
remarks back and forth across the
counted table. Annie Smith sat smiling
serenely In her chair. apparently en-
joving the diversion as though she
were q. mere spectator. She spoke Of
her business" when IL involved only
herself and the defendants, In most
60, Ia