The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-02-28
MRS. COUDERRE'S COUNSEL GRILLS
 JOHN |. SOMERS
After Long Hearing in City Court Judge Reserves
 Decision
BLAMEs sOATERs FOR MRS. COUDERRE'S ACTS
Says He Dangled "GoIden Bait'' Feared She Would
 Repudiate Frame-Up

In q hearing characterized by ire auent and sharp tits between counaeI merciless griIIing of vvdtnezses and .fre- quent objections. Mrs. Marie couderrs of s22 State street, LocomobfIs CO stenOgrapher, was arraiened before Judge D. P. O'Meara of New IIaver in City court today on the charge Of attempted extortion of $2,5OO from John L. Somers, 1O11 Stratford ave nue. After a hearing of three hour8 Judge O'Adeara took the papers, re- serving his decision until Wednessaw morning on the ground that he de- sired to consult his notes and clear ur several details Bonds were continned at $500.
 In the summing up by Aftorner Clitus F. King for the defense. somer4 was subjected to one of the r1oe4 mercfless and caustfc cE1aracterizafir.r heard in City court Cor many a day. He did not contend that Mrs. Co1- derre was blamelesS nor that she had acted with discretion or as she should have done. But he did contend -fhat she is not guilty of bIackmafI, under an interpretation of the state statutee.
 Her story, he said, has the rinr of truth Tn places t coincided with that told by Somers but a different motive for her conduct is to be eesr
 
 1t Is Of setting price of the sfVsnr Ur per5ured tssstimony and f5omerH fn even more ghiltr of an onense fin being re sponsilble for the giving Of m1eh tasiI- naony and of having her continue- i1 the preeedure1s Ffe noted frAt no a.n- ton had been taken aeatnst soinerr the woman only being the 0b3eet or prosecution
 ThesFeal trouble or wrpns doinr he- Ean. he aa1d. T f5--serz ,tle.rrfaL man, Cook 1lts. Coucce nd L Watson, two maFried vg0men oat On 4 "joy ride" got under the Influence o- liquor and into an accident tnat suited in the death or the latter --l- until she met Scmers, he said. had there been even the breath of susDlr- ion directed at A1rs- Couderre and not until she met him had she been in Che public eye.
 ssEver since man first met yeoman.- he said, it has been the procedure oE. real manhood that the woman is 70 be shielded and protected. Coutiuuiue- he said that the man who, in order to save his own dirty hide" win sack to protect himself behind a woman. turn upon her and try to wreck her reputation, future and even freedom in order to save himself is outside Che paths generally trodden by sentlemeu- and is a person whose word can nc- be trusted.
 He interpreted part of the eviaeace as showing an atten1pt by Bomerg to hold the woman to t1lesRr1ginal tegti- mony given before Coroner Ell Mix concerning the details of the accident in which Mrs Watson lost her lie and which she now claims to have been false and with the sole intention of protecting Somers- He said tnat Somers. as many another man has done in a like case, had started co frame up a defense and that Mrg- Con- derre was an important link in r. ED asserted Somers had succeeded in get ting her to give the story fayora2ie lc him before Coroner MIX but la1 thought that she was WealreninE and had begun to ''dangle the golden Ds-lr before her eyes. He comnented upon sfenificance of the fact that Roilce- man D. J. Sheehan, said to have been one of the two hearing the defnf-1- for money on the fatefu Ihurala-l' had not been called upon to testify.
 10 the reading of the warrant at- 1aoine fhe attempted eEtOrtiOn of tt.- 800 from Somers, Attorney King e-- tered a 1,lea of not guilty for El1 client Somers, the first yritne~e, - subiected to a gri1Iing by both Fro9e- torney Jacob B. Klein. attorney toi Somers, sat just behind Frossce-e1 aT,anev and advanced sug8esllo1- from time to time
 Attorney King was susta1neo m A-- obiectious upon several occasions r-- gardfng the admission, as evloence l- events of conversations reporter @ having taken place without the a--l-- e7 heino rresent A number of tin1e@ Prosecutor Delaney had to snarp-3 a-- nnonisb somers to stick to the mater iaI evidence. answer the questions and to leave out fmmateria1 details- An other time he instructed him Go s-t properly in the witness box burtne along in the hearing Somers starge- to saw that he was not intoZ1cated D-- that Mrs. Ccuderre had drank moFq than he had Judge O'Afeara sharp lv interrupted him and said that n3 did not consider further ezDlarattpn along this course material at tlal
 Briefly somers related incideHis leading up to her alleged dernaa for money. He explained that sl- had called at the store a nmin1er of times and, the day preceding Acr arrest, had demanded sz,5oe- aay-i.5 that in return for this she W1llr continue in the story told before Cor oner Mix and would disregard che e'- vice of MT Coudere to "tell the trutl He related how he had put her r had consulted with Attorney Klein and then had arranged another meellr-. Her reasons, he said, Wae tHat her father and husband had refuasd 0r have anything to do with her aflsr the trouble and that she had Go nall something to live ons
 He said he asked her R she czl ra have her employment if sfe had rf been advanced over the othcr --
 6cons1nued on E'ass TwcJ