New Britain herald., 1918-01-11

Wakefield court, furnished consider able amusement for court visitors this
 morning when they recited their re-
 spectfve tales of the fistic encounter
 of Wednesday night in which Brown
 received a discolored eye and follow
 lng which Luce received a summons to appear in police court on a charge of assault After hearing all the evil dence in the case, Judge Meskiu evil dently decided 1t was a "ffty-ffty' proposition and ordered the discharge of Luce. Judge William F. Mangan represented the accused
 According to the story told by Brown, he was walking home about S:30 o'clock, Wednesday evening, when he was suddenly attacked from the rear, knocked down and given a severe pummeling. In witness there of, he exhibited his black eye. He accused Luce and said that he had # been ''attacked without warning.'' Luce told a different story. He M briefly related the story of a fight # which took place between himself and V Brown last summer, and then said \ hat as he passed Brown on Wednes-
 fay night the latter gave him a wall Iop on the side Of the jaw. Instead of fleeing, Luce said, he turned and Il gave DaLCle, and Wn1IG bTOWn was sidestepping and trying to remove his overcoat in order to have more free use of his f1rsts, he hit him six or seven times in the jaw. This s knocked Brown down, Luce said, < whereupon he jumped upon him and grabbed him by the throat, meanwhile delivering an ultimatum in which he % advised him to cease annoying him in < the future. Luce also told the court that ever since last summers fight he has consistently tried to avoid Brown, E not because he was afraid of him, but # because he did not want any trouble. M He said that in order to avoid Brown # he has often walked to work instead # of taking the car when he saw that # Brown was on the car, and at other # times he has been IS minutes late at # work in order to avoid meeting Brown.
 After hearing the testimony, Judge # Meski1l said he was frankly confused # inasmuch as both men apparently told # the truth. Thinking to clinch his side s of the argument, Brown volunteered d some additional information which < was supposed to discredit Luce's story and which ended with the state ment that Luce would never have & knocked him down eff it had been a fair fight"
 
 ruled.
 N Subsequent investigation showed that last summer Brown and Luce en- gagged in a battle royal in which Luce # suffered two black eyes, but friends E of the latter say that he would never T have been whipped at that time if # Browns wife and family had not come \ to the rescue of their battling hus- band and father.
 Non-Support Cases
 A rather pathetic non-support case was given a hearing when Mrs. N Michael Kriger, whose husband was \ recently apprehended in Harrison N. T., told the story of her domestic troub- les. She said that her husband de-
 serted her on November 30 and since that time has not given her any ! money Tn the interim she said she has been supporting herself and her two children by working for the Traut & &, Hine Mfg. Go. Two weeks ago,
 however, one of her fingers was cut off
 when it was caught in a piece of ma-
 chfnery and since that time she has & been unable to work. Kriger said ! among other things that his wife ''ls & liar" and that she put him out of \ the house. He also said that when he # was home she continually harassed # him, even going to the extent of pull # ing the bed clothes off when he went 7 to bed So he could not sleep in peace ' He was ordered to furnish a bond cf 4 s450 and to pay his wife s8 per week
 for one year or go to jail for six
 months. -....
 Richard O'Keefe, whose wife said
 that he left her and their little baby
 some time age without food or money,
 was ordered to furnish a bond of $350
 and pay his wife S6 per week for a
 year Tn lieu of this Richard goes to x jail for six months. VI Wouid-Bc FTirt Jailed
 Sar2as Baba, arrested on Main street
 yesterday afternoon by Officers Sharpe