The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-09-04
DANA IS MERCIFUL
Sends Youths to RefOrmatory
Rather Than Prison.
Mothers Presence Wins Glenn
ency for Earl Riggs.
WIRTH MUST WAIT.
His Case Has Not Been Thor
oughly Investigated.
Negro Who Carved Another Let
Off With Jail Sentence.

| In the district court today, the last
Gay of the present term. many nom
contested cases were wiped from the
docket by Judge A. W. Dana, among
them several criminal cases In the
decisions of which the Judge followed
the precedent established under the
spirit of the Kansas laws providing
what he termed half way house" for
the young criminals involved In their
first trials and open to reformation
In the trial of Earl Riggs, Is years
Old, who pleaded guilty to charge of
grand larceny, the judge said to the
prisoner:
you know what you are charged
with. stealing a bicycle, and you stand
there pleading guilty. You know that is
grand larceny and a penitentiary Of
Tense. Yet I will say this for you.
You have a good looking face and your
mother sitting there in the rear of the
room is a good looking woman 1 am
sure she is good woman. Can you
give any excuse for this, your first
theft?" The young man did not an
swer and the judge continued: we
have a half way house provided for
just such boys as you by the legislature
OF Kansas which gives you a chance to
reform and make man out of yourself.
am going to send you to the reforma-
tory at Hutchinson instead Of to the
peniten1iary, but I want you to under
are brought into court you will be sent
over the line to Lansing"
Ernest warfeld. alias Password,
colored youth charged with a statutory
offense against Ethel Stanford, also es-
capped The penitentiary. It is the opin-
ion of his attorney that he might have
escaped altogether if he had not talked
so much when first arrested. In ar
ranging with the county attorney this
morning for the plea of guilty of Fast
world, the defendent solemnly stated
to the attorney that he was IL years
cedent to be the best age to secure
1ightened term in the refornatOry-
but Deputy Sheriff Sauls reported that
when the man had been arrested two
years ago he gave his age as 26. The
attorney learned that he had left To-
peka II years ago. had been 10 years
of age when he left and figured that
he was about q and that is the age he
gave the judge. Nevertheless owing 70
information concerning the character
OF the girl and other circumstances the
prisoner was allowed to go to the re-
formatory.
Charles NJ wirth, for whom it had been
arranged by the states attorney to go to
Hutchinson few weeks ago on the plea
under false pretenses but was refused
that privilege by the judge at the time
over to the September term of court. 1t
was the intention of Wirth, aged q, 20 |
plead guilty and take reformatory SEN |
tence. but the judge saw too many grown |
up crooks escaping that way and an
nounced a halt
Bud Graves. negro charged with carv- |
ing several gashes in the anatomy of an
other negro which required fourteen |
stitches to mend, when asked his age |
caused a ripple of laughter in the room |
by stating that magic age-1S years. Upon |
advice of the county attorney the charge
of assault with intent to kill was replaced I
by assault and battery and the more ser
ious charge sacrificed for plea of guilty /
by the county. Bud explained to the |
Judge that he had been in several other |
scrapes before and had used knife delft |
".
''You are altogether too handy with |
that kuife," said the judge, and when |
you get through serving six months in the
county Jail don't be so flip with your |
knife or you will go direct to Lansing" |
William Smith charged with stealing |
clothing from Rock Island car was
favored with a reduction of charge to |
petit larceny and was sentenced to serve /
three months in the county jail. He has |
already spent nearly six months there |
awaiting trial.