The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1913-03-18
FINAL EFFORT
SAVE CHARI10N
WILL BE MADE WHEN CASE
COMES UP BEFORE SUPREME
COURT NEXT WEEK.

washington, March ia final and
determined effort to save Porter Char
ton from being extradited to the ItaI.
ian authorities demanding that the
prisoner be turned over to them to be
tried for the murder of his wife, Mary
Scott Castle Charlton, at Lake Como,
Italy, on June 8, 1910, will be made
when his case shall come up for argu-
ment before the United States Su.
preme Court this week The case
was taken to the supreme court on an
appeal from the action Of the United
States circuit court at Trenton, N. J..
in denying a writ of habeas corpus
sued out by Charlton's father to review
the proceedings before County Judge
John A. Blair, sitting as a committing
magistrate, who held Charlton for ex-
tradition.
The argument in the supreme court
VIII hinge largely on the contention
OF Charlton's counsel that the treaty
between the United States and Italy
made in 1868 has been nullified by the
refusal of Italy to permit the extradi-
ton to this country of Italians ac-
cused of crime and that consequently
the United States is not compelled to
deliver Charlton over to Italy An
other crucial question to be argued
will be whether an error was commit
ted by the committing magistrate in
refusing to allow Charlton's counsel to
prove that the prisoner was of I'M
sound mind at the time of the commits
sion of his self-confessed crime. Mr..
Garven, who will argue the case for the
Italian government, was prosecutor in
the proceedings before Judge Blair
and succeeded in keeping out all evil
dence tending to show that Charlton
was insane. His term of prosecutor
recently expired and Governor Will
son appointed Robert s. Hudspeth to
succeed him.
Porter Charlton is the son of Paul
Charlton, who resigned his position as
United States Judge for the district
OF Porto Rico a short time after the ar
rest Of his son. Young Charlton re-
ceived fairly good education and, be-
'ore he had reached his twentieth year.
'ound employment as clerk in the Ma
.ional City bank on Wall street. Dur
ing the winter of 1909-1O he became
acquainted with Mary Crittenden Scott
Castle, a former actress who had Just
been divorced from her husband, and
after a courtship they we're married
n Philadelphia on March ~, 1910. For
several months they lived at the Ho-
eel Woodward, in New York, before
hey started on trip to Europe.
They made their first stop, after
'eaching the italian lake region, at
Cernobbio, where they took lodgings
It the Hotel Suisse. They quarreled
10 much, however, and there were so
many violent domestic scenes between |
hem, that the manager Of the hotel |
vas forced to ask them to leave. The
'oung couple rented the Villa Leg
lazzi, above MoItrasio, on Lake Como,
yhre their quarrels continued to the !
asst. On June 8, 1910, villagers pass
ng the villa found 1t apparently !
losed. Neither Charlton nor his wife
we're seen in or near their villa. On
he morning of June TO- fishermen
ound in Lake Como, not far from the
lila LegnazZi, trunk which contain
d the body of woman who had APP
arently been murdered. The body
yas identified as that Of Mrs. Charl-
on and, suspecting that the woman had
cen murdered by her husband, the
authorities notified the police through
ut Italy to be on the lookout for
'harlton and to arrest him when
ound.
Having murdered his wife with a
1allet and having disposed of her
ody by throwing it in the lake, Charl-
On. carrying only a suit case with
few clothes, left Moltrasio and went
rst to Como and then to Genoa,
here he took passage on the steam
hip Princess Irene, bound for New
ork. The steamer touched at Ma
les, Palermo and Gibraltar and at
aeh port detectives made a search !
n Charlton, who travelled under the
anne of Jack Colman, without detect
g his identity. s
It was due to the efforts Of Captain I
enry Harrison Scott, the brother of |
lie murdered woman, that Charlton t
as apprehended upon the arrival of I
Ie steamer Irene in Hoboken. Charl- S
n at first denied his identity, but in C
Ie face of positive evidence discov- a
ed in his baggage, not only admitted v