Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-08-23
A JAIL
Than HOME FOR
WAHIAWA BABES
And the Crowd at Police Court
Today Had Its Morbid Cur
i0sity Satisfied

''The defendant is charged with
having unlawfully sold intoxicating IL
quors."
A little, bent, misshapen, middle
aged woman stood up before Police
Judge Monsarrat this morning as Dep
uty City Attorney Chillingworth pro-
nounced these words 1t was the be-
ginning Of the days prosecution of
offenders and the hot courtroom was
sordid throng, the curious, staring,
british crowd of the police court
The weman before, the police Judge
carried a tiny babe in her arms. 1t
might have been six or seven months.
old At her Size stood little girl of
perhaps three. The baby's soft hair.
was golden. and SO, too. we're the,
curls OF the little girl. Their eyes
were blue. The woman's eyes had
once been blue Now they We're fad
ed; her sparse hair was faded. Her
face was scanned and scared. But 1t
was not bad face, not SO much bad
as vacant, lacking in intelligence. It
was hopeless, tired, homely face.
garment that had once been white and
she looked as AZ she had made pitt
full effort to appear clean and tidy
before the Judge. But no clothes
could make that bent and lumpy fig
ure tidy. And under the drag
ging. soiled garment she wore a pair
of huge shoes as misshapen as her
body or her gnarled hands.
She stood before the Judge. and the
babe In her arms began to whimper
She soothed 1t with low words and
with a mothers quick, tender little
shakes. pattings and caresses. The.
little girl of three was restless. She
ran around the courtroom. She paus-
she tiptoed, fearless but with grave
care. over to the bench where police
giants, huge ofiscers in plain clothes,
and attorneys, were sitting. Frighten-
ed for moment at something, she ran
back to her mother and hid her head
in the woman's voluminous dress, but
soon the little curly head looked out
and the restless feet took her on an
othes circuit OF the courtroom. Wide
eyed, perplexed of face, wondering
what all this solemnity might be
about, what made all these big men
so silent, she went from one to the
other, apparently seeking smile on
every face But there were no smiles.
Somehow the eynicism of the police
court habitues was forgotten. Instead,
whispers Of plying comment rose as
the men saw the two little children
and their mother brought before the
police judge.
Meanwhile Deputy Chillingworth
and the attorney for the defense were
arguing the question of bail.
"Your honor, ask for a substantial
bail, and submit that the woman and
her children are better off in Jail than
where we found them-in room 6x8
at Wahiawa, surrounded by ,unspeak.
able mud and filth" said Chilling.
worth.
The other attorney thought the bail
was too much. This woman can't
leave the territory. Let her go on her
own recognizance," he urged
IF you do, your honor, she will go
right back to Wahiawa and take these
children back to that life. There are
certain facts we know which make me
say that we owe it to this woman, to
these children, to keep her away from
there" said Chillingworth.
The judge asked a question.
MY husband" said the woman
then, speaking for the first time, as
serving year and a half in the stock:
ade at Camp Cashier"
And the children" said Deputy
Chillingwcrth, Your Honor, the chill
dren cant be. worse off in Jail than
they were at Wahiawa. Two of her
children are now in the Castle Home,
two others are being taken care of by
the Salvation Army. And they are all
weak-minded."
The little golden-haired girl, in her
restless circuit OF the room, by this
time was back at the prosecuting at
torney's desk. She stood between her
mother and the tall deputy city attor-
hey. She looked up into his face and
tried to take his hand, but her arms
were too short to reach the distance
So she contented herself with finger
ing the big hook in which the mother
was charged with selling booze H.
licitly.
The judge fixed the bail at 5000 The
woman. soothing the tiny child in her
arms and taking by the hand the
scarcely larger child. went back to her
seat on the bench with other offenders 4
Near her sat another woman This
ether woman was also before the
Judge for the Illicit sale of liquor. Her
husband was nat in stockade. Even
then he was sitting in the prisoners
deck ten Yards away Ia fat, powerful,
staggering negro, his head close
cropped, his dark face immobile, his
eyes alone restless and uneasy. His