The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-08-09
JUDGE 6. H. PECK DENIES THAT HE TRIED TO GET
 CRAFT IN sHALLOCK CASE
Explains To Reporter the Facts in the Case-Is Apparently Backed Up By
 the State Law in His Case.
Special to The Farner.)

O SIO4y OaI OI S5110 SSAAS 1 charles H. Peck to a Farmer reporte' Hast evening in speaking of the accu saOon brought against him that he wa trying to get some graft out of th'
 late Mrs. Jeannette Hallock, who dfet
 at the Bridgeport hospital on June 2s
 8 victim of kidney trouble" As is generally the case there proves
 to be two sides to the> story and iron l the way the judge spoke to the repor l ter last night, he is innocent of any wrong doing attempt at wrong do 1 ing in the case. In fact not only is he
 to all appearances guiltlesss of the charges brought against him by his
 enemies, but he was perfectly right ir | proceeding inc the case as Ee did and | is backed up by the law of the state. The judge is accused of endorsing "a bill for expenses of a trial that was never held in the town Although the story which was circulated around the town was to the effect that the judge had tried to collect money for the trial
 which was never held, he stoutly de-
 nies this and the records show that it was for the expenses of the sheriff who went to arrest the Ha11ock woman on the charge of drunkenness but who did not arrest her because she was found to be i'll instead Of drunk, and for drawing up the. necessary legal documents, that the bill was presented to the town treasurer.
 Article 1855 of the Connecticut Gen eraI Statutes reads as follows:
 Costs In Unsuccessful Prosecutions.
 ''If any costs. shall arise in any pros eeution, and the accused cannot be ap- prehended, or, being apprehended, shall, without fault of the officer, es- cape before he is committed to prison or bailed, such costs, if the offense of which the person is accused is cog nizable by the superior court, shall be Il 41 clerk of such court, and if 0cogn1zable by a justice of the peace only, on his order by the town in which such of- fense is alleged to have been commit ted
 'aThe thing is plain enough said Sheriff Russell was informed over the telephone that a drunken person was creating a great disturbance in Put neY, trying to break into peoples houses and in short terrorizing the neighborhood. The sheriff could hard ly be expected to walk all the way to Putney fns the middle of the night to Stanley Beach's automobile, agreeing to pay Beach $5 for the use of the ma chine.
 ..He went up to Putney, but failed to find the drunk. Shortly after re- turning home he was summoned a sec
  the Blue Ribbon garage cars, being charged $5 for that car also. On his second trip to Putney he found the Ha1lock woman apparently very drunk Investigation. however, showed that she was in a etupefied condition, but Dr. Cogswen was summoned and she was taken to the hospital where she died the following day. s
 Now, it's very true that the. woman was not arrested and therefore was not tried. Sheriff Russell could hardly be expected to arrest Q dying woman There were the costs to DC met in the case just the same, however, and as the sheriff had his writ charging the woman with drunkenness, he returned the writ to me for taxation of costs, as by law.
 ''I allowed him s1o for automobile l hire, $5.50 for cmopeneation for his services in going after the supposed drunk $1.06 for the grand jurors fee. and put in my own fee for $2.35. The | B. 35 was all I got out of the whole case. Does that look as if Nws get ting any graft out of it?'
 The judge explained how the accusa- lions came to be brought aginst him. He showed the reporter the blank form used by the justice of the peace to draw an order for costs in a case ike the HaI1ock case.
 The order reads as follows:
 ITO the Treasurer of the Town of
 Stratford:
 .sYou will please pay the following1 respective names; the same being the costs taxed by me the above enti- led case.
 And hereby certify that the ac- sused was by me discharged, a. noIle having been entered by State found guilty. committed to jail in default of payment of fine of, $........ and costs { and appealed to the Court of Common Pleas, Fairfield County .........-..,.... Term, A. D., 191... Bound over to Su- 1erior Court, t,......-.. Term, 191..., and process sent to Superior Court for taxation of costs.'
 At the end of this the judge wrote: Papers returned for taxtion of costs, p and signed his name to it, expecting | his stenographer to cross out all the writing on the printed form beginning with the words s'the accused was ,by-3 ne discharged" down to the end where le had written Papers returned for axtfon Of costs.' The stenogra pher however, inadvertently neglected to t ross out these words and the form vas handed into the town treasury just IS 1t was first printed.
 That's how the trouble began" said fudge Peck, land when my attention vas drawn by the town treasurer to ny stenographer'e error, imm ediat tely ook steps to rectify it. But the story hat was trying to collect fees for rial that was never Held got out and he newspapers immediately seized pon 1t and tried to make it appear hat was guilty of all kinds of wrong oing But the facts speak for them elves and I am sure that one who oolks fairly on both sides of the case I'll believe the false story that has cen circulated around the town in re- ard to the matter
 STAMFORD DOINGS.
 The Newfeld Sunday school will hold s annual picnic at Compo beach on August 14. An invita- tion is attended to any of the Stra tford -iends of the Sunday school who care 3 go for a good time. Robert Erwin, l