Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-09-10
APPLAUSE IN COURT
BRINGS FINES FOR !
Rose Pastor Stokes an Of
:, fender at Trial of Debs
at Cleveland.
COURT UPHOLDs DIGNITY
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
CLEVELAND. Ohio. September 10
Judge D. c. westenhaver administered
fines at the opening of the Debs trial
today to seven persons who applaud
ed Attorney Stedman for the defense
in court yesterday. Rose Pastor
Stokes. Mrs. Margaret Prevey and J. j
Fried were fined $25 and the others
$40. Mrs. Stokes and Mrs. Prevey at
first insisted they would go to Jail as
a matter of principle. but friends ar
gued them out of it.
The government then began the in
PRODUCTION of evidence in its attempt
to prove that Eugene v. Debs violated
the espionage act in speech at Can
ton. Ohio. June Is.
The offenders apparently were car
ried off their feet by the climatic elo-
quence of Stedman's brief opening,
which IN all occupied only thirty
minutes. Judge Westenhaver. how
ever. exceedingly wroth, saw in it
only a deliberate contempt of court.
remarking that in all his experience
he had never known so fragrant a
case.
1t came about in this way: F. B.
kavanagh. the assistant United States
district attorney, who made the open
ing statement for the government, had
closed by asserting that the jury
should judge Debs by his works."
Stedman accepted the def. saying:
THE defense accepts the challenge.
You shall know him by his works
by the works of his whole life
Stedman sat down amid increasing
applause from the body of the audi
ence. 1t looked for a moment as if
the incident were to pass unnoticed.
as the bailiffs seemed stunned by an
outburst hitherto unlimited in the
austere atmosphere of Judge Weston
haver'S court.
Judge Is Astounded.
The judge himself known as a
martinez among lawyers. was a full
minute in grasping the incident. Then,
recovering, he addressed the bailiffS
in voice that quivercd with anger:
Bring that man in the brown coat
standing to the left of the doorway
to the bench. Bring any others that
you saw clapping their hands,
In a moment the seven were before
the bar. among them Mrs. Stokes. the
factory girl who became the wife of
the millionaire socialist of New York,
j. G. Phelps stokes.
Mrs. Stokes, plainly clad, as usual,
and at liberty on an appeal bond her
self for conviction of violating the
espionage act. stood with bowed head
and with an air which said plainly as
words: "In trouble again"
\ rOtund person, in a scared-to-the-
death voice. the first person ques-
toned by the judge, and answering to
the name of Fried, explained quaver-
ingly that his hand had been clasped
beneath his hat and that he had made
10 sound.
Mrs. Stokes Admits It.
Mrs. Stokes. however. answered,
quietly:
Yes. I applauded"
Mrs Pavey replied with similar COM
pcsure.
Attorney Stedman and Attorney W.
\. Guinea. also of the defense, ar
culprits. but the judge insisted that
morning.
1t required only two hours and fif-
teen minutes of actual work to OBJ
tain jury. All were old men and
largely men ofTproperty.
Throughout the day baby, possibly
2 year old. slept or crooned on lit
tie bed made by pushing two chairs
together in a storeroom across the
hall from the courtroom. 1t belonged
to a woman companion of Mrs. Stokes
who said she had known the latter
for years.
The case may be in the hands of
the jury in week or ten days. as two
days. it is believed, will suffice for
presentation of the evidence of the
twelve government witnesses.