Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1916-07-18

) Decision 5
OF Tvo Evils Choose the )
( Lesser I
! BY ELEANOR MARSH
There are rare instances Of girls mar
Yying men charged with some co.,
tempdble crime, the evidence Of the
mans guilt being overwhelming and
no explanation whatever being offered.
Several such cases have come to light
when It has been suspected that the
accused was made q scapegoat 10
screen some royal parsonage. have
one such case In mind that occurred tn
England twenty years ago. A baronst
played baecarat with the heir 30 the
throne The baronet was accused Of
cheating No defense was oGered. At
the height Of the excitement an AmsKi-
can girl married the supposed scape-
goat No explanation has ever been
made.
II would be hard 10 find a case Of
love sacrifice more pronounced, even II
the bride ts convinced Of the innocence
Of the husband.
A case something Ike this happened
In my professional life. I was Sitting
In my Office one morning when re-
cedved a telephone call that a man who
had been arrested and was being held
at q police station desired to see me.
I went 10 the station at once and
found the prisoner In the garb Of an
ordained minister. The name entered
by the police was Jimmy Whittier,
alas the Rev. Miles Staples, alias sltp-
perry Jim. learned from the police
that he was q sneak thief and conf
dance man, his last role being that Of
Q three card monte sharp travelling
with q circus.
The police had been looking for him
for some time, but be must have he'd
q confederate to keep him posted as to
their movements, for whenever they
proceeded to take him he was not
there. The night before I was called
for they had received telephone mes
sage that thay would fnd Slippery Jim
IN oanonicals at the Ackley hotel.
They went there and learned from the
clerk that a man in clerical dress had
come to the house during the evening.
Piloted by the clerk, a sergeant and
two men went to the reverend gem
tleman's 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 fsigned 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
aancee. the daughter Of one Hugh
MacD Donald, q merchant In high repute.
His name was On the register as Ar
thur Poindexter.
Such Is a synopsis Of the matter
from the time Of bis arrival at the
hotel TO the moment Of my arrival at
the police station. he was conducted
10 q private room, where I was left
alone with him. I asked him why he
bad sent for me, and he told me that
b had asked the sergeant for the
name Of q criminal lawyer and had
been recommended.
Notwithstanding the apparent COM
piicated condition Of the case It SEEM
Cd 10 me to be very simple. All he
had to do was 10 send for his aancce
Of some member Of his family for iden-
tiacation. proposed this to him, but
be did not seem to place the reliance
ON It that did BE said that during
the winter he had made trip to Flori-
da, where he had met the lady who
had become his 6ancee. He had not
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 sojourn at the same winter
resort, her acceptance, Of course, be-
ing conditional upon his presenting
satisfactory credentials and the ap-
proval Of her parents.
This certainly put q more serious
phase upon the matter. Whatever
faith the girl might put In him, her
family would likely take the ground
that she had met q scamp, who had
fortunately been exposed before any
serious harm had been done. chang
"a my mind about notifying Miss Mac
Donald or any Of her family until !
had had time for consideration. Indeed,
the prisoner seemed greatly distressed
at the idea Of her being informed Of
hts plight until be was ready to prove
that he was not the man he was ac-
cused Of being.
The case was puzzling. he claimed
b have gone to the hotel IN an ordi-
nary business suit When be was
awakened BY the police there on the
chair on which he had placed his
clothes was a suit evidently worn BY
q clergyman. But the most damning
proof against him was that In the
rosuee gallery was a photograph Of
tie Rev. Miles Staples, and Il It was
not photograph Of the prisoner It was
certainly very Ike him. I asked him
II he had a brother who had gone to
tAe bad, and he replied that he had no
brother whatever nor was any member
Of his fathers family living.
Il seemed to me that unless I could
6nd the party who had telephoned the
police Of his presence at the Ackley
House I would have q difficult Job to
prove he was what he claimed to be.
I had no great confidence In the iden'
tidcation of his friends, for once throw
q doubt on q persons identity and one
may get evidence against him as wen
as for him. But the ultimate proving
that he was Arthur Poindexter was not
the fundamental point for he might be
poindexter and all the rest Of his all
ases as well.