The Blackfoot optimist. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1907-1918, 1913-06-12
TREGO FOUND GUILTY
OF CRIMINAL ASSAULT

Ill ITOuC OI lN0lllC WQeQ MIS-. 1T0EC
was out, in an unseemly manner, all
Of which testimony was contradictory
to Nellie's testimony.
The greatest bone of contention ap
parontly according to Mrs. Trego's
and the defendant viper's testimony
was that when ever Nellie was liber.
ated from this house which bears q
resemblance to the cribs of Clarke
street, Chicago, in that it was place
where, according to evidence, a girl
was procured and confined for i'm
moral purposes, she would invariably
take advantage of her liberty and 60
down town, with "her nickel and buy
candy or chewing gum, instead Of re
naming at home, humping q piano
or reading, all of which, according to
the opinion of the childless Tregos
was henious crime.
Evidence further showed that Ire
gos in tho three years that Nellie was
a resident Of their home, had never
had occasion to report to the Home
Finding society unfavorably about Mel
lie until she revolted at tho ruin
which Trego was accomplishing on
her, and then she was pictured as a
moral degenerate, a girl Of low, de-
praved instincts, designing, artful
woman and absolutely incorrigible.
They kicked about her attending schoo
until IL o'clock noon and not being
able to get home and have a hot din
ner ready for Trego at that hour,
about her not preparing supper, they
testified that Mrs. Trego had sick
headache, that incapacitated her on
that particular day, she being unable
to leave her bed and attend to house
hold duties, but that she wanted some
embroidery silk and that when Nellie
was scnt for it, she stayed down town
longer than necessary. The audience
were at loss to understand what a
woman with bed fast sick headache
wanted with embroidery silk. Birdie
complained to his sick wife on that
occasion that Nellie was saucy to him
For such unseemly conduct upon her
part toward her destroyer, in justice
to the Trcgos, 1t is only fair to state
that public opinion would be that N
lie should have been slapped severely
with the index finger Of her papa"
right exactly on her wrist. Saucy
little mink. When this absolutely un-
consolable conduct of Nellie was re-
ported to ''mama" telegram was
sent to the home to the effect that
the wronged child had forfeited the
protection of our home.' This was
part of Trego's testimony and he fur
ther stated, between sobs which were
lnterjcctcd to appeal to the jury,
that he did not care where Nellie
went after that. AS a master artist
working up pathos Trego is pretty
coarse and his attempt at crying re-
sembled more spear grass weather
from whose eyes was exuding an &C.
cumulation of diseased substance.
Trego testified that he wanted in
selecting q girl, to keep clear of in
sanity and immortality. That Nellie
had no evidence Of these two evils.
That after she arrived at their home
they discovered she sang rag time and
that they had to work her over to be
a suitable person to grace their habi-
tation. Right there the jury should
have found for the defendant. Think
Of girl in this cultured, local option.
tree, stock and food inspected, thor
Idaho, girl that has reached the
by moving picture shows, companions
and popuiace in general singing churc
dirges, SO far forgetting herself as to
let pass from her baby lips any tune
that would inspire the feet to move
faster than in stately, buck kneed
Trego tread.
Trego showed his ability to make
elastic the dates upon which events
occurred and slipped some important
evidence from October 10, 1910, back
to May % the same year.
Katherine Hummer, field agent for
10 fn1 70 I'LL s1so nh
acter, as did Mrs Captola Austin, Mrs
Horace Doud, a former teacher
Nellie's, and the defense introduced
Mr.. and Mrs. A. c. Morton, teachers
of a school near Boise which Mel
attended when she was eleven years
old.
Morton testified that Nellie atten;
ed school In his wife's room and had
bad reputation. Mrs. Morton, whom
Nellie did not recognize as ever hav-
ing seen before, said she was a bad
girl. That testimony was eventually
stricken out
T. r. Jones, in all his broad expans
and pants, took the stand in behalf
of the defense. +. r. Jones is the
father of two beautiful little girls, VIII
in few months will be budding into
young womanhood as Nellie Ray is
now. He testified that he had dis
cussed the subject Of the chastity OF
this fatherless, deeply wronged child
on the streets of Blackfoot That he,
full grown man, in all the vig0r Of
fully developed manhood. weighing ov-
er 200 pounds, had stood upon the
streets Of Blackfoot and engaged in a
conversation that would tend to
blacken the character of a child that
had been taken as an orphan from a
charity Institution, taken to home
where, instead Of being protected,
nurtured and cared for, as was sup
posed to be the case, her life was
blighted.
w. H. Kestner was sworn for
the defense, and stated that on or
about the twentieth day Of February,
1913. Nellie Trego on a cold wintery
night, came to the picture show, bare
headed, with no wrap on, clothed in
a green dress only. That she left
the picture show, came back in halt
, or three quarters of an hour. That