Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-03-09
POISON PEN"
CASE FINALLY
GOES TO TRIAL
Court Refuses Motion to Quash
by Mrs. Nelson L. POllard's
Attorney.
Especial to the Evening star.I

ELIZABETH March 9.--After nu-
merous adjournments covering
period of nearly a year. the famous
poison pen" case against Mrs. Anna
L. Pollard. wife of n prominent Pub
lie Service Corporation official, was
started today before Judge Connolly
in the Court of Quarter Sessions. She
is charged with having written Ger
tain insulting and offensive letters to
Mrs Charles r. Jones. wife OF a local
dentist and a next door neighbor and
co-worker with the defendant in the
Daughters of the American Revolu-
tion.
An unsuccessful endeavor was made
by Samuel A. Schleimer, Mrs. Pol
Islard's counsel, to have the Indictment
quashed on the ground that it was
improperly brought. The attorney
also asserted that the letters COM
planned of We're not insulting or sour
rilous. That his client did not write
them is a matter for him to prove
during the trial
Prosecutor Stein opposed the mo-
ton to quash and contended that the
States insistence that the letters were
all that the indictment charged would
be two-fold and would be based ON
sections of the missiVes. One section
was cited in which the recipient of the
communication was alleged to have
committed an improper and Illegal
act. within the knowledge of the
author, and for ii was held up to
calumny. This, the prosecutor de-
clared. showed moral turpitude on the
part of the writer and as to whether
the letter was indecent or not, he
thought, was a matter for the jury
to decide, as well as to who wrote it.
Judge Connolly denied the motions
Six Elizabethans on Jury.
Great care was exercised by the at
torneys in selecting the jury. AS
drawn, il is comprised of six residents
of this city and the others are from
various parts of the county. They are
all representative business men of
middle age Contrary to expectations,
they We're not questioned as to their
opinion concerning the case, which has
| been a topic Of interest among all
I classes for months.
! Charles Dunn, superintendent of
carriers of the local postoftice, was
the first witness called. He identi-
| fled a letter received from Mrs Pol
| lard some time ago complaining
about the mail carrier This missive
was typewriter and will be used as
| the DHSlS kO prove llt iotilllhN VI
| the tYpewritinE of several letters re-
| ceived by Mrs. Jones' To do this
the writing of u number of typewrit-
ers will be used as standards.
I Photographic plates of the work
have been prepared by the State eX-
Z .3erts William J, Kinsley, of Nutley.
/ BY them it is Hoped to show the
( characteristics of the Remington
machine which Mrs, Pollard used to
I -. 4l..n
State will try to show that the same
defective letters in that communion
tion also appear in the Jones letters.
Typewriter's az" Big Factor.
Prosecutor Stein indicated at the
beginning of the trial he will en-
deavor to convict Mrs. Pollard by
means of defective letter e. in the
typewriter she owns. The prosecu-
tion maintains wherever the letter
! "E' occurs in the poison pen" is
smudge similar to one frequently APP
pearing in specimens of work done
by Mrs. Pollards typewriting ma
chine.
Mr.. Schleimer, attorney for Mrs.
Pollard would not indicate what de-
fense he will offer for his client, but
it is understood it will be admitted
Mrs. Pollard owns a typewriter, but
denied she wrote any of the poison
pen" letters.
Mrs. Pollard was arrested twice on
a charge of sending out seurrilous let
ters. She was arrested first on Mrs.
Jones's charge in June. Then she as
serted she was the victim of a CON
spiraey.
In October Mrs. Pollard was ar
rested again on complaint of DR..
Charles II. Schlichter. She was ac-
rused of writing letters rejecting on a
little girl living in DR.. Schlichter's
home. She was held in $1,000 bail on
this charge and $500 bail on the charge
made by Mrs. Jones.
Mrs. Pollard is an active worker in
! Christ Episcopal Church. and presi-
dent of the st, Elizabeth Guild of the
/ church