Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1916-04-05
A Practical
Decision
Of Two Evils Choose the
Lesser
By ELEANOR MARSH

There are rare instances Of girls mar.
rying men charged with some con-
temptibie crime. the evidence of the
mans guilt being overwhelming and
no explanation whatever being offered
Several such cases have come to light
when 1t has been suspected that the
accused was made scapegoat to
screen some royal parsonage. ! have
one such case In mind that occurred In
England twenty years ago. A baronet
played baccarat with the heir to the
throne. The baronet was accused Of
cheating. No defense was offered. At
the height Of the excitement an Ameri-
can girl married the supposed scape-
goat No explanation has ever been
made.
1t would be hard to find 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 ! re-
ceived telephone call that man who
had been arrested and was being held
at a police station desired to see me.
went to the station at once and
found the prisoner In the garb of an
j ordained minister. The name entered
! by the police was Jimmy Whittier,
alias the Rev. Miles Staples. alias Slip
perry Jim. | learned from the police
| that he was a sneak thief and conf
dence man. his last role being that Of
three card monte sharp travelling
/ with a circus.
The police had been looking for him
for some time, but he must have had
a confederate TO keep him posted as to
| their movements. for whenever they
proceeded to take him he was not
there. The night before was called
for they had received n telephone mes
sage that they would find Slippery Jim
In canonicals at the Ackley hotel.
| They went there and learned from the
clerk that a man In clerical dress bad
come to the house during the evening.
| Piloted by the clerk. a sergeant and
two men went TO the reverend gen
tleman's room and knocked. When he
l
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
| lot he haf 20. xg,it hTa
fiancee. the daughter Of one Hugh
Macdonald. merchant In high repute.
His name was on the register as Ar
thur Poindexter.
| Such il a synopsis Of the matter
from the time OF his arrival at the
hotel to the moment OF my arrival at
the police station. He was conducted
to a private room. where I was left
alone with him. asked him why he
had sent for me. and he told me that
he had asked the sergeant for the
name Of a criminal lawyer and I had
been recommended.
| Notwithstanding the apparent com.
| plicated condition Of the case It seem
ed to me to be very simple. All he
!
or some member of his family for iden-
| tifcation. proposed this to him but
he did not seem to place the reliance
on II that did He said that during
the winter he had made trip to Flcri-
da. where he had met the lady who
had become his fancee He had not
| yet met a single member Of her family
| h..
lady herself could vsuch 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 an
proval Of her parents.
This certainly put a more serious
faith the gieI 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 I chang,
ed my mind about notifying Miss Mac
Donald or any Of her family until J
had had time for consideration. Indeed.
4
at the idea Of her being informed Of
his plight until he was ready to prove
that he was not the man be was &C
cused Of being.
| The case was puzxling. He claimed
to have gone to the hotel In an ortii
nary business suit When be was
awakened by the police there on the
| chair on which he had placed his
clothes was suit evidently worn By
q clergyman. But the most damning
proof against him was that IN the
rogues' gallery was q photograph Of
the Rev. Miles Staples. and II It war
not photograph Of the prisoner II was
certainly very like him. I asked him
II he had brother who had gone to
the bad. and he replied that he had no