New Britain herald., 1915-09-07
WOMAN HAS RIGHT
 ID HIDE HER AGE
All Girls Do It" Is Disclosure Of
 Mrs. Sophie Gordon

Although sensational disclosures were expected in the case against 1 Aaron Gordon of Greenwood street, charged with non-support, when it came before Judge Kirkham in police court this morning they failed to ma l terialize. The biggest sensation oc- cured when Mrs. Gordon blushingly admitted that when she was married to Gordon in Brooklyn on August she gave her age as twenty-three, when in reality she was twenty-seven
 years old But lots of girls do that
 about their age. It Is privilege they've got" declared Mrs. Gordon
 as she hid her face behind her we'd
 ding certificate. Later she asked
 Assistant Prosecutor Woods to ques-
 ton her husband about the age he
 gave. saying that although he is but twenty-three, he told the alderman
 he was twenty-six years of age. After hearing the entire case, Judge
 Kirkham ordered Gordon to furnish a bond of $250 to pay his wife $2.50 a week for six months. Bonds were fixed at $200 for an appeal.
 Mrs. Gordon said she met Gordon
 in New Britain on June 10. During July she met him at Coney Island, af- ter having received a number of ar duous love letters from him. She ad- mitted that she did not know his parents, but didn't care, she said, be- cause he was all she wanted. On August she and Gordon went to an alderman's office and were married in Brooklyn. In her affidavit she said she was twenty-three years old, but she admitted that she had observed twenty seven birthdays, but was sim ply doing as other girls do in hiding her age.
 It was not Lawyer SaXe's fault, however. that there were no real sen- sational developments. for he tried to prove to the satisfaction or the court that Mrs. Gordon was previously mar ried to a man in Russfan\and he is still living, and she had never ob- tained a legal divorce. On these grounds he attempted to prove that the marriage with Gordon was not
 binding. Mrs Gordon admitted that she was married in Russia nine and one-half years ago, but" that six months after her wedding she was di- vorced She exhibited post card written by her father in 1907, and signed by a Russain rabbi, in which mention was made of her divorce. 1 which had taken place three years | previous, and purported to be docu- mentary evidence to show that she
 was legally divorced and could mar ry at her pleasure.
 The accused took the witness stand l and declared there is absolutely no l possibility of his living with his wife. He has no work at present but until | two weeks ago was employed at the ! New Departure company in Bristol | where he earned from $9 to $12 per week Before the case was concluded l Lawyer Sake hinted at some real dis closures that may come later.
 r.. Bailiss Fined $25.
 l Israel Bailiss came into court and | through Lawyer Sake entered plea of guilty to the charge of cruelty to 1 animals. A week ago yesterday
 horse he was driving dropped dead on l Arch street from abuse and although 1 the accused admitted it, he declared | that the act was unintentional on his 1 part. Assistant Prosecutor Woods l pointed out that the horse was twen-
 ty years old and weighed only 800 1 pounds The load the beast was l forced to draw weighed in the neigh
 borr ood of 5000 pounds. He also
 declared that three months ago Bail l. iss had another horse die under sim | liar circumstances.
 Lawyer Sake said his client had l purchased the horse for $40 and did 1 not know it's weakened condition. Had l it rot slipped and fallen on the pave | ment the case would never have ] reached the court, he said.
 Judge Kirkham imposed a fine of | $25 and costs.
 Lawyer Sake asked that Baliss be ] given probation so that the can pay ] up. He said he was receiving no pay 1 as lis attorney and Bailiss' sole for
 tune consists of $15 and even now he
 is trying. to earn enough more to en- 1 able him to buy a new horse.
 "But the court doesn't want him to 1 have another horse. A man who will abuse an animal as he did has no | right to own a horse," said the judge. 1 However, he gave the accused time in 1 which to pay his fine.
 Wine for Broken Jaw.
 Adolph Slepski made an unusual plea when he told the court he took to drink only when his doctor ad- vised him to drink wine for his
 health. Slepski figured in an acci-
 dent in New York seven months ago
 in which his jaw was broken Officer Storey arrested him on complaint of his sister-in-law, Mrs. Slepski who ac- cused him of smashing in the window at her house. A fine of $15 and costs was imposed, for the doctors pre-