The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1917-09-19
VAN ORMAN FINED
$40 AND COSTS
States Attorney UncOvers
Trail of Unpaid
Bills
PROBATION OFFICER
TAKES TWO BOYS
Town to Care for Them-Father Given
"a Hours in Which to Pay Fine - AL
tentative Sentence Is Term in House
of Correction.

After a lengthy hearing before Judge
A. +. Cudworth in the municipal court
this morning Elmer Van Orman, g..
who was arrested yesterday morning. ac-
companied by two boys, on charge of
evading a board bill at the kendrick
hotel IN Putney, was ordered to pay fine
OF $40 and costs of $50 or to serve three
times as many days as the fines and costs
amount to. in the house Of correction at
Rutland Van Orman was allowed -
hours in which to raise the money and
expressed the belief that he could do so
adding that few years ago it would
have been easy for him TO get 81 900 in
that period of time
Since the arrest yesterday morning
/ there have been several new deyelopments
1 in this case, which lead the authorities to
/ believe that Van Orman has left a lonp
string OF unpaid bills behind him. States
Attorney w. r. Daley, who appeared at
the hearing, stated that last November
the prisoner was released from the house
OF correction after serving three months
on charge OF receiving stolen goods
/ Since that time, according to his own
I story. the man has been wandering from
town TO town, staying a few days in each
and even invading New Hampshire Be
fore coming To Putney last Saturday Van
Orman was in Ludlow where Attorney
Daley stated that he had left the LUDLOW
) House owing - and hat he also had con
tracted bill Of S2l al Mrs Leach's board
ing house which he did not pay. From
Mrs. Streeter's he also took Dutch leave.
t1prOr1lnn a hn b,t+
amount could not be asccrtained Fur
ther, two clocks which were taken from
homes in Ludlow TO repair ii is alleged
Van Orman failed to return The time
pieces were exhibited in the court room
10 tins story the prisoner pleaded inno-
cence. stating emphatically that he had
paid the boarding house bills and done
enough work at the hotel to pay the bill
> there
Regarding his affairs in Putnev Var
! Orman pleaded guilty, but stated that he
had calculated to come to Brattleboro YES
terday and raise sufficient funds to cover
the expenses for himself and children
1t was rather a disconnected story
which Van Orman rccited to the court
o. and in several instances when questioned
his memory failed him completely HI
claimed to be native of Montpelier an,
n for Is years after leaving there said tha
L he followed his trade "a a, shoe worker il
= Randolph. Eleven years ago he was mar
ried, but his wife died few years later
! leaving two boys. They have been care
" for at different times he said. by broth
er who has since died. and by friends A
effort was made to determine where tn
wanderer made his permanent home, bu
this was impossible as he has lumpe
- about SO frequently and in SO many differ
~ ent directions
He admitted that since the death of hi
j. wife he had not paid poll tax anywher
=, and when asked where he voted last Il
;? replied that the last time he ever vote
:, was for Grover Cleveland.
81 w H. Jeffrey, secretary of the stat
y board of charities and probation wG
present in the interest of the two "kit
dies" who were with Van Orman wht
arrested
Mr.. Jeffrey questioned the prson
re quite sharply but could get no satisfa
tory answers. He expressed the opiniC
to the court that Van Orman's name w
ae- very familiar and he believed there w
ne a long record against him, which he W
if look up later.
tie An amusing incident arose toward
IN close of the hearing when Van Orm
asked Inc court " Dt itiltIt anu give II
an opportunity to raise money for his b
. at Putney.
-. The trouble is suggested the stat
attorney, that the man you want to {
l it from is back in Rutland. He liked I
place so we'll he couldn't keep away"
Van Orman laughed heartily at t
and made several queries He was t.
that perhaps he would have an opp
tunity to keep him company while
John, aged 10, and kendrick, aged o,
two Van Orman boys who were with til
father when he was arrested and "
have been cared for at the town fal
were declared by the court to be neglec
and dependent children and orde
I turned over to the state board of ch;
ties and probation. Secretary Jeffrey '