The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-05-19
A Practical
Decision
OF Two Evils Choose the
Lesser
By ELEANOR MARSH

There are rare instances Of girls mar
ryins men charged With some con
tempubie crime. the evidence Of III,
mans guilt being overwhelming ant
no explanation Whatever being offered
Eeveral such cases have come to ligh
when it has been suspected that tn.
accused was made a scspegoat ts
screen some royal parsonage. / have
one such case in mind that occurred In
England twenty years ago. A harone'
played baccarat with the heir to the
throne. The baronet was accused OF
cheating No defense was offered A,
the height of the excitement an Ameri.
can girl married the supposed scape-
goat No expiana ton has ever been
made
1t would be hard to end a case of
love sacrifice more pronounced, even II
the bride is convinced OF the innocence
of the husband
A case something like this happened
In my professional life was sitting
In my Office one morning when l re
ceived a telephone call that man who
bad been arrested and was being held
at police station desired to see me.
! I went TO the station at once and
| found the prisoner in the garb OF an
ordained minister. The name entered
/ by the police was Jimmy Whittier.
alias the Rev. Miles Staples. alias Slip
/ perry Jim. learned from the police
2 nat he 4hiaF nd .pd
| dence man. his last role being that OF
! three card monte sharp travelling
with circus
! The police had been looking for him
! for some time. but he must have had
a confederate TO keep him posted as to
I their movements. for whenever they
proceeded TO take him he was not
there The night before I was called
/ for they had received a telephone mes
sage that they would find slippery Jim
/ IL c8nonicals at the Ackiey hotel.
They went there and learned from the
clerk that man In clerical dress had
come to the house during the evening.
Ptloted by the clerk, sergeant and
| two men went TO the reverend gen
/ tlemans room and knocked. When he
/ opened the door and saw the police he
assumed surprise, which was TO have
been expected He was told to put on
| his clothes and when he took them up
| for the purpose feigned to be dazed.
wondering how they got into his room
and declaring that they were not his
and asserting that he was Arthur
Poindexter and had come to the city
late the evening before to VISIT his
fiancee, the daughter OF one Hugh
Mac Donald. a merchant In high repute
His name was on the register as Ar
thur poinde1ter
Such is synopsis Of the matter
from the time OF his arrival at the
hotel 10 the moment OF my arrival at
| the police station He WAS conducted
to private room, where I was left
alone with him / asked him why be
had sent for me, and he told me that
he had asked the sergeant for the
name of Il criminal lawyer and I had
been recommended
Notwithstanding the apparent com
NohhtiitH W tuS thSr II StrAh-
ed to me to be very simple All be
had TO do was 10 send for his fancee
or some mem Der of his family for iden-
tihcation. ] proposed this to him. but
he did not seem to place the reliance
on It that I did. He said that during
the winter be had made . trip TO F1ori
da, where he had met the lady who
had become his fiancee He had no,
yet met a single member OF her family
Indeed, he did not see how the young
lady herself could vouch for him. She
had accepted him after a couple Of
months sotourn at the same winter
resort. her acceptance. Of course, be
ing conditional upon his presenting
satisfactory credentials and the ap
proyal Of her parents
This certainly put a more seriou,
phase upoD the matter. Whatevel
faith the girl might put in him. he
family would likely take the grount
that she had met scamp, who hat
. fortunately been exposed before an,
serious harm had been done / cha ng
ed my mind about notifying Miss Mac
Donald or any Of her family until
E had had time for considera hon Indeed
the prisoner seemed greatly distresse,
at the idea Of her being informed o
his plight until he was ready to prov
kthst be was not the man he was ae
,cused OF being
!. The case was puxzting. He esaine
: TO have gone to the hotel in an ord
nary business suit. when he wa
I awakened by the police there on tn
chair on which he had placed h
clothes was a suit evidently worn b
a clergyman. But the most damnin
proof against him was that In tn
rogues' gallery was photograph @
the Rev. Miles Staples, and If II WA
not photograph Of the prisoner II wa
\ certainly very like him, asked hir
II he had a, brother who had gone I
the bad. and he replied that he had n
, brother whatever nor was any membe
. OF his fathers family living.
1t seemed 70 me that unless eeHl
ind the party who had telephoned til
police of his presence at the Ackle
: House ] would have a difficult Job I
prove be was what he claimed to b,
I had no great confidence In the ider
, tiflcation OF his friends. for once thro,