The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-09-11
WITNESS MAKING |. SERIOUS CHARGE
 HAS PASSED AWAY
Mildren Peterson, IA Years Old Accused Reynolds of
 a Serious Offense.

ton by the county commissioners, the town school committee and the local prosecuting authority practically reached its closing chapter with the sudden death at the state tuberculosis hospital in Greenwich last Thursday night of IA year old Mildred Peterson, a County Home waif who for the last | year or so has lived with the family | of H. Sanford Osborn at Bedding | Ridge. On Saturday last she was to have appeared as a witness in support of a serious charge which she made | some days previously against Charles Reynolds, who has for several years furnished transportation for the chill dren attending the Ridge public school from the Sunset Hill section. A ently in a delicate condition caused her to be questioned with her accusa- ton against Reynolds as the outcome. The town school committee promptly took up the matter suspending Key holds from active service as tranSpor- tation agent pending the result of an investigation and communicating the information which had come to them to the county commissioners and to Grand Juror D. s. Sanford.
 According to the girls statement the alleged assault was committed last March in the school wagon while it was proceeding along the main Ridge highway not far below Episcopal church corner. The time was broad day and the vehicle a two seated sur rey with a top but no side curtains. In 1t at the time were four school girls besides the Peterson girl, the oldest about 13 and the others from 9 to 10. Closely examined by school board members all these children de- clared they had seen nothing of the occurrence described by Mildred Pe- terson. Therefore the accusation | against Reynolds rested solely on her accusations, but nevertheless these were convincing to Miss McMaster, agent of the State Board of Charities who came here to take part in the 1 inquiry. Others were little impress | ed by them.
 i In fact so incredible was the accusa- 1 ton story, being wholly unsupported i by other evidence and indeed contro- | verted by the evidence of the four disinterested juveniles in the surrey l to say nothing of its strong inherent | improba ability-that Grand Juror San : l ford was disinclined to issue a war rant. In view of all the circum- 1 stances, however, he decided that the matter should have full official inquiry i and a judicial determination. This ! course was earnestly requested by MT. Reynolds as a matter of right and
 justice to himself, he emphatically as-
 serting that a court hearing would
 exonerate him by showing the charge
 to be based on utter falsity. He is
 man of middle age, amiable, intelli-
 gent and hitherto of unblemished rep
 utation, but unfortunate in being a
 dwarf and cripple because of spinal l malformation.
 The case was first appointed for a
 hearing before Justice Muennich on l Friday last. Meanwhile the Peterson
 girl had become i'll and weak from
 what seemed to be tuberculosis and at
 the instance of the county tommis-
 sicnerS Was removed to the Green
 Wich Sanitarium. Judge Cunning
 ham of Danbury, Reynolds attorney
 and others concerned in the case, hal arranged to go to Greenwich on Fri day afternoon to take her deposition ] Word of her death came to them Fri day n.orrirg and directly theTeafta al
 Grand Juror Sanford received an au thoritatiTe statement that an exam : indtion by four physicians on the ja!
 previous had shown that Mildred wa lof
 which would explain the superficial
 indiratiDr.. formerly attributed 10 [
 far different cause. To remove al <, doubt on this point an autopsy wa . held on Saturday. This revealed
 dropsical tumor and utterly demol
 ished the earlier theory witn IFS at o tendant element of criminality. : = rumor that shortly before her deatl + the girl made a statement to one o
 the sanitarium doctors repeating he
 first charge against Reynolds is absU . luteiy false. MT. Sanford made in n qutry cr this point and received assur i, auce from the sanitarium tll1t the re
 port was untrue.
 As soon as the grand juror receive ', a sworn report of the autopsy he wi :, have a session of the justice court t o formally dispose of the case. Ther
 can be no other decision than on
 giving to MT. Reynolds full eXonera o tion. The grand juror and other off =, cials, deeply regretting the whole al |. fair, feel that such expressed vindi
 cation and restoration of the defend
 ants good name in so far as it ma :. have been shadowed, is no more tha
 n
 aration although the best possible. y While the case furnishes strikin
 and unaccountable example of chilt . ish mendacity such instances are | '- no means rare. Those acquainted wit the history of the witchcraft delusio ,l in New England will recall that mol LII than one victim accused of workir
 mischief through Satanic aid was SCI
 to an ignominious death by the ev 1T. dence of children who lied in conce Tt with an ingenuity and plausibili 'l- which deceived men of learning ar a. supposedly good judgment IT
 records of many police stations inclut
 instances of Host" and picked |
 youngsters who related tales of ha = ing been kidnapped or of other anna D ing adventures told with elaborate d = tail and seeming truthfulness and " SH as afterwards discovered, evolv, lH wholly from the imagination IT 'H childish tendency to romance al
 become the centre of interest pr We duces some queer manifestations. e Eightythousand mine workers hi Wilkes-Barre, threaten to strike u