Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-01-01
Sully Suit and Hope Diamond Case Among
Most Notable on Local Court CAL
endar The Hutchins Case
Fourteen Opportunities"
Help Charity Work.


over an alley queen" Mervtn Matthews
killed his sweetheart.
Rachel Annie Epps. colored. who fhre"
her husband overheard and watched him
drown. was sentenced To twenty live years
in the penitentiary. James Anderson ~
serving fifteen years and Samuel Mat
thews ten years for manSlaugh'er.
Only Two persons We're acquitted II
murder "harCes during the year. jury
freed George Malachi Williams. colored.
of stabhi.g a man I'm roolroom The
victim died later. and the testimony
raised doubt As to whether the STAN
hing caused the death. James t. Thomas.
c"'ored. was acquitted Of charge "t
murder IN the second degree.
y case that strongly attracted public
notice was that ~ James r. Knots. Ben
jamin Knots. Albert \. Armstrong and
FlosSie Knots. alias Bennett, conNlctet
of blackmail. The Knots boys came fi IN
was from the west. with whom they
formed plot to fleece men by taking
photographs OF the victims in comp omls-
ing positions with the woman. whom the
younger Knots had married out or tre
red light district young man MaS
found in tho womans room, and. after
several pictures We're taken. the nus an
rushed i'm and demanded 5000. He CON .
promised on the promise or the Nlctih
TO pay S2.HS at his store tho next CAV.
when the arrest followed The mon w"rs
given four years each in the penl 'tl-
tiary. and the woman. who WAS nineteen
years old. was sentenced to TWO years
Imprisonment.
J. Barton Miller. former secretary
treasurer of the First Cooperative
Building Association of Georgetown.
was given new trial on III" charS"
Of embcZZling the funds of the aSs"-
citation and was tried for destroying
the books of the concern. Miller was
convicted on both charges. Sentence
was suspended on the book destroying
charge. and Justice Wright sentenced
Miller to serve twenty years in the
ton m al.
which is still pending. Interesting fea-
lures of the trials of Miller were that
they began on the same day or IN"
year. ended on the same date. with like
result and Miller received the identical
sentence each time.
\ high finance scheme by which
woman secured quite a large sum OF
money on promise of high interest
| rates and by means of forged indorse-
ments on notes was before the court
during the year. Adele Winifred Wade.
called the Cassie Chadwick of Wash
ington.' was convicted of forging the
| name of William SchoneberCer and re-
ceived sentence of three years. Mrs
! Josephine Harris, who pleaded guiitE
to indorsing one OF the notes at tue
direction of Mrs. Wade. was given TWO
years. The sentences were suspended
and both women placed on probation.
John Henry Purnell. colored, who as
saulted an elderly woman storekeeper
In Georgetown and kept out of the
information from prisoner I'm whom
Purnell had confided. and was given
a term of twenty-five years imprison-
ment
The white slave traffic was called to
the attention of the local court last
month. Robert Davidson of St. LOUIS,
Mo-. was convicted of selling has
wife. Edna Davidson. nineteen years
old. to life of shame in this city.
The girl was located by agents Of the
Department of Justice. who discovered
the case while working UP one in
New York. No sentence has yet been
imposed on Davidson.
Another unique feature Of l9i1's Grim
inal Court record was the conviction OF
woman highwayman.' Mrs Margaret
Laffey a comely woman of forty wears.
, was found guilty of holding up charies
| hatfield, manager of store y; which
, the woman had previously been IL charge:
and requiring him at the point ~ ii pistoi
| TO hand over sos. the days Receipts. y
, ! plea of temporary mental alteration was
. ! made by the woman. but disreSarded by
the jury A motion for d new trial is
!. pending.
were convicted of crime in the criminal
courts 1876 of them being placed on pro-
; | ba tion.
A total OF .sb cases were filed in the
. office OF United States Attorney WILSON
. during the year.
| The resigna ton of Assistant Tnited
States Attorney Charles II. Turner la It
, July caused the promotion of samuel
: McComas Hawken. for six years clerk III
Criminal Court No. 1. To be an assistant
prosecutor in Mr.. Turner's place. Later
Stanton c. PeelleS resigned as assistant
United States attorney. and was sue
r ceeded by John Lewis Smith. sydney H.
, Mudd. jr.. was appointed an assistant
United States attorney. and VIII am Oil
| christ and Bolitha j. Laws were added
to the clerical force oi tie Office. =
! Kemp Edmonston. former private Se''"-
i resigned to accept the position. o; cierb
of the Juvenile Court.
2 The vacancy in the office u clerk o.
I the court caused by the promotion o'
y ment of William L. Knoll as an assistant
: clerk Mr.. Knoll was assigned to th'
s marriage license bureau.
d Dan Cupid wears broad smile as NJ
: reviews the record of marriage license
a for 1911. because his victories this year
outnumber by seventy-five the laure
d Won in 1910 There were l"s' nceils'''
Y issued in 1911. as compared with ''."'" II
+ the previous twelvemonth.
. On both the law and equity sides :"
. the clerk : office increases are shown II
: the number of suits instituted this veal
. over the record for 1910. \ total of l.l6'
lawsuits were brought. as compared Wit
J.. go in 1910. showing gain or 30 SUITS
:, In equity We're filed this year So cases
g a gain of fifty-siX over the figures To-
4 1910
= !, In addition to the suits fled. the clerk
:, office i'm 1911 recorded 1913 mechanics
=, liens, sixty-nine petitions i'm bankruptc,
\ and sixty-five proceedings in the Distric
court including condemnations OF ian'
n and pure food proceedings. In this ofhc'
" were filed $50 applications for natural
"a zation of which 16' Were granted.
- total of :s34 persons made declarations %
a intentions to become citizens.
- The past year was the initial one
! the application of the probation system
" to convicted pris' 'ers in the local cr1mi
nal courts. Capt. Isaac d Porter. III
\, probation officer, announces that durln
N the year total of 1856 persons have bee'
committed to his care. OF this numbe
:, Ic9 We're men and seven women. ON
a Indian was placed on the probati ton list
~ with seventy-nine white and fifty-siX co..
tored persons The Oldest proba toner.
n man. is fifty-sX years old Among tn
? women the oldest is thity-siX. while IN
?, youngest Is eighteen years old. tn
= youngest person in the custody OF tap'
Porter is a boy of seventeen years.
OF the 136 persons awarded the priv
"a lege of the probation law only eight wer
!, taken into custody and required II serN
~ their sentences. Three fled from the pro
~ tecting wing of the probation officer an
"a he reported them as absconders. Nm
\ persons served creditably the probatio
81 term specified by the court ana were r.
~. lea sed from the espionage of the prob'
ton officer.
~ Records in realty operations wer
:, sma shed in 1911, and the report of ia
d. for. NaG