The San Francisco call., 1909-11-10
Girl Who Took ReCreant Sweet
hearts Life Exemplifies
Social Atavism
LIE DOUX CASE CITED
TO AID THE DEFENSE
Young Prisoners Attorneys
Score. Point by Disqualify-
ing Sheriff and Coroner
WORK OF SECURING A
JURY PROCEEDS SLOWLY
By ARTHUR L. PRICE


"A on trial here for her life for
= killing her recreant lover, Joe
Armes at Newcastle, Placer county,
June 5 last. exemplifes social atavism-
She is a girl who has returned to the
type of the cavemen, whose law was
the injunction of the stone AK, only
she used revolver. and she has had
little better opportunities for mental
and moral Improvement than the
cavemen She grew up on poison
oak ranch" and that seems to be all
there is to it.
Il never in my life had bit of re-
ligious training nor moral instruc-
tion,'' said the girl today; Il never
went to school after / was IA years
of age. and very little before that, [
always had to work" declared Alma
Bell, whose very name seems to carry
the desperate terseness OF a ballad
measure. But for all that the girls
defense at the bar OF justice IS con-
ducted with all the aecompaniments
of legal learning by her counsel, l.
L. Chamberlain and J. Pruett.
Point Scored for Girl
While the girls development has
the barrenness of prehistoric epoch
and her only modern touch is the cir
cular puff of her hair her legal coun-
sci is spectacular for its modernity.
Today big point was scored in the
girls behalf when her attorneys in
yoked the recent decision of the Cali
fornia supreme court when it reversed
the Emma lie Doux judgment and
saved from the gallows another
woman who had killed lover. At
torney Chamberlain cited the decision
of Supreme Justice Henshaw, who
held that the lie Doux jury panel was
/ improperly summoned and the trial
consequently void because the sheriff.
who had served the summons. had pre-
viously expressed his opinion OF the
defendants guilt. The decision was
rendered May is last.
Acting on it as a precedent Judge
n. d. Arnot was obliged TO disqualify
Sheriff George Macauley and Coroner
G. G. Bisbee and secured the town and
outlying districts for an elisor- The
stolidIy silent girls attorneys cited
this law. so new that it is not yet in
the bound reports. and thereby a fresh
safeguard was thrown about her peril
Gus position.
Girl Is Listless
While this delicately spun point was
being invoked the girl on trial sat
listIessly in the courtroom with her
four brothers-Ben, Joe. Ed and Lester
Bell The defendants mother was not
in court today nor was Minnie Foster.
the girl for whom Joe Armes Tilted
Alma Bell. sad faced little girl
slipped into court this afternoon and
took a seat on one side of the room
so that she could watch Alma Bell.
The child was the sister of the dead
Armes boy.
There are still only two sworn jurors
in the box and six others passed sub
ject to challenge when the regular
were sworn today. The box stands:
Jurors sworn-Fred Clubhouse. John
Coy. Jurors passed subject to per-
emptory hallenge-William Lewis j.
G. TutcIiffe. j. j. Gibson. ]. L. Fire
stroffer and A. Nj. vivier.
During the examination of talesmen
Miss Bell seemed little disturbed Hers
is an immobiIe face without color or
even hitting flush of embarrassment
The questions put to the jurors reflected
on this girl. but she gave no more
sign of nervousness than a restless
twitching of the fingers. but there are
more trying moments in store for her
and perhaps she is holding herself for
the terrible ordeal which is yet to come.
Jurors Carefully. Questioned
Attorney Prewett conducted the in
terrogations of the veniremen for the
defense One of his questions was:
Have you any prejudice against a
young woman who would yield to the
opportunities of her lover and suffer
herself to be betrayed under promise
of marriageg That question was read
lily answered in the negative by all the
jurors.
For the prosecution District Attor-
ney C. a. Tuttle and Special Prose-