Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-03-19

There are two things neces-
| Sary to make blaEkmail under the Geor-
! gia law. The first is to make a charge
| Of a criminal act against another per-
| son. and the second is to attempt to
] extort money on a threat to publish
1 the charge. Both acts were commit
ted in this case Blackmail is some
what new in Georgia because there
! haven't been enough rich people here to
! encourage them, but after this trial I
think they will be considerably less in
evidence | feel that l would have lived
III vain if l hadn't done everything
in my power to prevent the slaughter
ing of such character as Asa &.
! Gambler at the hands Of two such
creatures as J. w. Cook and Mrs. Hirsch.
"a woman of this sort can cause
more trouble than anything else l know
of If you gentlemen are going to try
her on her ability to cry when her cue
calls for tears, that's a different propo-
sition. What you want TO do, and what
you must do under your oath, is to look
at the plain facts in this case, and at
the law when the court will put down
TO you. There is no difference in the
application of the law to men and wom-
en- in our courts. God knows, we in the
south put our women on a pedestal, and
we put them there because we expect
so much OF them, not because we ex-
pect them 10 chase back and forth to
other mems Offices as this Woman did.
Husband Not Involved
Il don't believe for minute that she
told this HUMPHREYS woman in Jail that
. her husband was in the plot. l don't he
Geve her husband was in the plot at all.
l don't think he knew anything about
il. l think she had him fooled complete
ly into believing she was a good woman
No, gentlemen, he didn't have any hand
in this plot. Cook was the man she
dealt with. They were the pair that
were going to leave Atlanta and have a
good time on the proceeds OF their eX-
tortion. If she had intended to go
away alone, all by herself, $4,000 a year
would have been sufficient. But Cook
is hot sport and a bad actor, and that
wasn't enough to satisfy his eXtrava-
giant taste, and so she raised her price
to 100000, so that Cook would always
have a plenty.
"She lived with her husband from
Friday to Sunday. walked with him and
Gined him, and all the time she was
planning to stab hi min the back by
clipping with Cook. Don't be Influenced by
her Sniveling. If you establish ;he
preceden- in this cour: that a woman
can cry her way out of a conviction,
lawlessness and anarchy will prevail
Every crooked woman in the community
will feel at liberty to hatch any PLOT
her devilish cunning can devise. She
made a better speech than her three
lawyers can make in two months, but l
don't expect it to have much influence
on your minds. She cries too easily
gentlemen, and she smiles too much
when she's got no business smiling.
Convict her on her husbands ac-
count, so that when he walks the streets
hereafter"
Here Mrs. Hirsch broke into such loud
ard prolonged sobbins that Mr. Arnold
was interrupted, and resumed along a
different line.
For the sake Of our wives, our wom-
ell. our future, gentlemen, don't sanction
such conduct as we have proven to you
in this case.
Are you going to let other cities say
thai an Atlanta jury has got funny
idea of the difference between right an /
wrong i'm wolnan's conduct?
Judge Her by the Facts"
Keep your heads and don't be influ-
euced by this melodrama. You know as
well as l do that some of the worst
crooks. some of the most dangerous
characters in the world, have been wom-
en- 1T was Lucretia Borgia, a woman,
who stands with the greatest criminals
Of history. 1t was Mrs. Dennis, in In
diana. who murdered nine people and
buried their bodies with her own hands.
1t was Katherine de AIedici whose cruel
and malign and murderous hatred con-
'ceived the massacre of St. Bartholomew.
drenching the streets of Paris with in
nocent blood.
1T all comes down. gentlemen, 10
what l said in the beginning, that a
good woman is the finest thing in the
nd ha
| ask you to judge this woman by TIE
facts"
As Attorney Arnold brought his arg j.
ment to a close Mrs. Hirsch had her
face between her arms on the table, sob
bing in a low tone, her shoulders heav-
ing with exhaustion. His references to
Cook produced no effect on her emo
tons She would look at him with cold
eyes, her mouth drawn tight. But when
he spoke of good women, spoke of her
husbands humiliation. she broke down
every time and cried and sobbed.
Before Attorney John r. Cooper began
his argument Judge Hill announced that
no references to Cooks trial would be
allowed unless they involved matter
which had been brought out in Mrs.
Hirsch's trial
Mr.. Cooper Speaks
Il have never heard such abuse Of
woman III my me- SdiO <NbtOA ny NOOP-
err. "a lawyer who has to resort to
abuse has got a very poor, dirty case.
That's all I've got to say about Mr..
Arnold's speech. Y
"ThiS is perhaps the most important
nisdemeanor case ever tried in Georgia.
/ ask YOU in this trial, which will de-
eide whether a poor woman can come
into a courthouse and get justice
against the influence of money. or
fol cot i'm
against her. to rise above the reach of
millions.
IF you will shut your eyes and for
get the prominence of the prosecutor in
this case we are not the least bit
afraid of the verdict you will render.
If the truth had been known on Febru-
airy 6. or within a few days thereafter,
Mrs. Hirsch never would have been ar
rested and thrown in yonder dungeon.
If the prosecutor had been an ordinary
citizen the trial of her case would have
been conducted like any other minor
misdemeanor. l don't care if he is the
mayor and multi-millionaire, this de-
PENDANT is entitled to all her rights.
mo semblance of a case has been
made against her. She is the victim of
trap set by Forrest Adair. He made the
whole case, and he's just as guilty as
the woman. for he was the one who con-
cocted the scheme about leaving town.
If she goes to the changing they ought
to put him in stripes and make him
walk alongside of her Why was Cand-