Arizona republican., 1912-09-20
COUNT FACES
 POLICE JUDGE
Member of Royal Blood of Belgium Is First Prls- oner Placed on Trial in New Municipal Court Room


 When Police Judge Frank Thomas held court for the first time yesterday afternoon in the new court room on the second floor of the city hall the first prisoner to face him was a real full -fledged count, with the very com monplace charge of disorderiy conduct lodged against him It was an ex- ceptional occasion and an exceptional case. for new police court rooms are not opened every day and members of royal blood do not frequently appear in the Phoenix police court
 Count J. van MosserVelde of royal Belgium blood and scion of the so- ciety of his native land, sat at the head of the line of prisoners awaiting trial when Judge Thomas mounted the bench and announced that court was in session. As the count has not yet ac- quired fluency of English speech. he was accompanied by Dick Erdmans who offered to act as interpreter, as well as attorney
 From the first a general denial of the charge was entered by the royal prisoner who through Mr Erdmans told the court that the charge that he ilcib tItoltu hiSttli DotilCt III lllt bdI room of a local hotel was quite with out foundation. That he was drunk was quite ridiculous
 Acting Chief of Police Brisbois said that he had been requested to remove van Mosservelde from tEe barroom and told of having endeavored to induce the count to proceed in his automo- bile to his $20.000 ranch q few miles outside of town. But the royal blood was aroused. It was an outrage that even the head of d police department should lay official hands upon his august person He was decidedly | peeved and employed some English words in manifesting his annoyance | that would not ordinarily be repeated | in the best society.
 | He was removed to the police station | where after an hour in the woman's | cell. he managed to communicate with a friend vho had the necessary ten | dollars to secure his release, pending his trial of yesterday
 | Acting Chief BrisbOis did not press 1 his charge aggressively, stating he be- 1 lieved that unfamiliarity with the GUS
 toms of this country might have been ] | of the night before And so the first case to be heard in the new police court room. was dismissed with a
 warning to the defendant.
 Henry O. Echre, charged with being | drunk and dsorderly denied the | charge in toto. He said that his pecul- | jar and violent actions of 10 o'clock the night before, when it took five | street car men to restrain him, had l been occasionej by being struck on
 the head with the brake handle of a street car just as he was attempting ! to alight. Three employees of the | street car company were on hand to l cinch the charge that Echre was decid-
 edly under the influence of liquor the night before and that they had no 1 knowledge of the defendant having l sustained any injuries from brake handle. Echre said that this was an effort on the part of the railroad com | pany to discredt him in suit he in-
 tended entering against the street car | company for injuries sustained He asked that his case be continued until today in order that he might produce
 witnesses who would show that he was
 not intoxicated the night before. Judge
 Thomas consented to such continu-
 ance.
 Two others were charged with
 drunkenness and upon pleading guilty
 were given five and seven days in jail
 respectively The man who drew the
 seve days sentence had finished serv-
 ing a five days sentence but three hour'
 before he was arrested on the charge
 he faced yesterday