Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-08-03
DIDN'T STEAL HYMNAL, SAYS CHILD
DEFENDANT, ACCUSED BY WOMAN
Glenolden Stirred by Neigh
borhood Row Involving
Five -Year-Old Girl

Maria Romero n beautiful little girl who
is one of the five children in the family
of Manuel Romero only barber in Glen.
oden, will be one of the defendants at n
hearing before Justice of the Peace Stuart
in Glenolden tonight She is accused of
taking hymn book belonging to her next
door neighbor Mrs. Mary Able; her mother
is accused of destroying IT,
1t is worth a trip to Glenolden to hear
Maria deny the accusation-she does 1t SO
prettily and so Indignantly.
ibid you take the book?" one asks her
She laughs at you, then answers
"No didn't threw it in the hedge"
what kind Of a book was it?"
"It had a name in It,"
Yes, but what was the name Of the
book?"
Maria laughs again, and without being
at all ashamed of 1t, tells you she can't
read "You see I'm only FIVE" she ex-
plains.
1t ought to be said that Maria's picture
doesn't do her Justice at all. The photog.
rapher didn't make her brown hair and
eyes show to even part of their advantage,
and in the picture she isn't smiling She
Is beautiful when she smiles, altogether
too beautiful to be concerned In a neighbor.
hood row.
That is all Justice Stuart says this Is.
He calls 1t a case of two women, each with
chip on her shoulder.
At the Romeros they say the book never
came into the house at all.
Mrs. Abel replies that Maria took the
book from her daughter Laura and that
the mother refused to give 1t back. Mrs.
Abel adds that 1t is a hymnbook given to
her by her grandfather and that 1t even
has her maiden name In it.
The two families have been quarreling
for some time, neighbors say. whisper
in either house can be heard in the other,
and yet there is fence built between the
porcheJ
They have had warrants out before. Jus.
tice Stuart has always managed to have
them settle their difficulties without going
to court, but this time the agreement has
not been so easy. He had 1t all but settled
at hearing the other night; wanted to
bind them to keep the peace between each
other and split the costs-S4-but he failed.
He blames John German, an attorney from
Norwood, retained by l.. S. Hart, an eX-
Glenolden Councilman, for the Romeros.
Mr. Hart is the only eX-Councilman in
terested, but there are two actual Council
men concerned. There Is II. r. Cromio. who
was being shaved by Romero when Maria
entered into the scrape and who told the
Justice that the little girl insisted on Civ
ing the book to her mother when the father
asked for It. Here Mrs Abel comes in to
say that she heard the mother declare her
intention of destroying it when the maiden
name OF Mrs. Abel was seen written on q
page Then there also is c. F. Eggeston.
president of the Borough Council, who Is
appearing for Mrs. Abel
The Justice gets shaved at Romero's
place. as do all the men mentioned. but he
thinks Romero made n mistake in bring
ing the Norwood lawyer into Il. 1t takes
money out of the borough for one thing
and then he says the Norwood man is keep
ing the disputing parties from reaching a
settlement
"You see," he said today, neither dis
putant can afford to have this thing car
rled to court. Whoever would lose In court
couldn't afford to pay the costs. l want to
settle the thing right here. and then divide
the costs by tonight they won't run over
Sc, but there's no telling where they'll stop
II the wrangling keeps on"
All the testimony in the case was taken
at the hearing the other night. 1t will all
be taken again tonight Maria will deny
stealing the book. Mr.. Cromie will tell what
he heard. Maybe Mrs. Abel's children will
appear against Maria, but this is doubtful.
Little Laura says Maria took the book.
Maria isn't worried. She plays around
where she pleases and would forget the
affair entirely II somebody didn't always
bring it up.
'Why should I want the book?" she'll
ask IT can't read until 1 go to school
next year"