The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1910-07-11
PREACHER And
GIRL ARRESTED
Former Deserted Wife and
Children.
BOTH CONFESS GUILT

Rev. Clinton Sharp, Who Decamped
From Schenectady, N. Y, When
Apprehended In Kansas City Says
He Is Willing to Go to Prison or
Be Tarred and Feathered - Com
panion Declares She viii Return
and Press Charges Of Mistreatment
Kansas City, July 11.-Clinton De-
Witt Sharp, the Schenectady IN. W
preacher, who disappeared early in
June with Eunice Graham Whitaker
14-year.old member Of his flock
was arrested here. The young woman
was also taken into custody. Sharp
has a wife in Schenectady. He ad
mitted to the police that he and Miss
Whitaker had been living in Kansas
City since June 8.
The story that the minister OF
35 and the girl of IA told tc
the police after their arrest here, is
the familiar recital of the runaway
pair up to certain point. BEYOND
romance. Both admit they did wrong
but neither is repentant. And botf
declare they purposely let the home
folks know where they were SO they
could be taken back-just to gel
even with the girls father.
hnr i,,tc
fessed to Captain Whitsett; she Ii
only a child, but | loved here. ] am
willing to endure punishment. ! an
willing to go to the penltentlary fol
years. am willing to be tarred ant
feathered, for ! know that the only
wrong l have done was an innocent
one. 1 should not have taken the
girl away. know that. But / die
1t when my heart was full of sym
pathy and when that sympathy ruled
my better judgment"
Captain Whittsett turned to the
girl. "And your" he said.
81 would rather be with this mar
than with my father and mother
Yes, / asked him to take me away
from Schenectady. l wanted nevei
to see my father or my mother again
! pleaded with him, and finally hi
said he would CO. When we got t
Kansas City we did not have mucf
money. II was June when we lef
Schenectady and II was June wheI
we arrived here and went to place
where we believed we could hide
He has kept every promise he made
me and he has treated me az II
were his daughter. There have beer
times when we had no money ant
nothing to eat, but we have felt hap
pier that way than II were at home
with my father. He earned a living
what living we had-by selling re
ligious papers and writing cards ant
peddling soap. There would be day
when there were no sales; but W.
trusted in God and we have lived.
"Then we saw my fathers denia
that he had mistreated me In the pa
pers. We had written letters to ffv,
relatives telling that we were goinl
away because my father had mis-
treated me, and I suppose the papers
got hold of one of these letters. M!
father denied everything. answered
the letter and told exactly where W,
were and how we were living ant
sent 1t to the paper. Then, we wer,
arrested"
"Did you ever intend to MARI!
him?" the captain asked. Never
the girl said, resolutely.
"Then how was all this to end?'
II don't know-neither of us knew
until that day we saw the Schenec
tady papers and saw the denial O
my father. Then both of us decided
to go back there and do what w,
should have done in the beginning
make public charges against m.
father. You won't need any requisi
tion papers; we are willing to q
without them"