Putnam patriot. [volume] (Putnam, Conn.) 1872-1962, 1919-12-26
MILL OPERATIVE
ENTERS COMPLAINT
Alleges BOSS" Is Father of
Child Born to Her Last
Friday
Hearing Held In Cell Room While
Spectators Wait In Court Room


On the allegation of a seventeen
year old mill operative that her for
mer boss" William Cote, was the ia
Their of her child, born Friday night
Cote was arrested Sunday evening
on statutory charge and placed in a
cell at police headquarters. The case
was continued four weeks and Cote
furnished bond Of 5000 for appear
ance.
Court convened as usual Monday
morning and Captain Bulger went to
the cell room to get the prisoner. In
few minutes the captain appeared
in the doorway to the court room and
called Patrolman Chandler. After
another wait of several minutes Off
Ger Chandled returned to the court
room, held a whispered consultation
with the judge, and then his honor,
the prosecuting attorney, and the
: clerk of the court, followed the off
Ger out.
In the court room was handful of
spectators, Mrs. w. J. Bartlett, pro-
baton officer, and two newspaper
gems. The little gathering sat on and
/ on, expecting the return of the tri-
! bunal Of justice, but they might have
all sat there the whole day long had
it not been for the Unborn curiosity Of
| the two newspaper men. When near
| ly an hour had elapsed and there was
no action, the pencil pushers decided
/ it was time to investigate what had
happened to the police department
and court officials, as it began to look
as il the chance for story was in
some other part of the municipal
| building.
] When The Patriot man entered the
| police Office and poked his head in the
cell room he saw one of the steel doors
off its hinges and it looked as if yege
men had been operating on safe
The first thought was that the prison
er had broken out, but when in the
| next little room Cote could be seen,
this theory was knocked in the head
Asking a few modest reportorial
questions, it was learned that the door
/ that had been locked behind the pris-
oner could not be unlocked. When
the court officials found that it might
| be hours before the defendant could
! be brought into the court room it was
decided that the wheels of justice
would revolve in the cell room just as
well as anywhere else. Perhaps it
was the novelty of the situation or the
earnestness and dignity of it all that
caused the waiting spectators to be
orgotten-including the two news
paper gems. However. there really
was no trial, as the girl who accuses
Cote Of the crime for which he was ar
rested was unable to be present. The
case was continued for four weeks,
and bonds of 5000 were ordered.
Following this short ceremony the
court officials filed out of the iron
barred room, out through the outer
door and to their offices, probably
thinking that the police officials would
tell the court room assemblage that it
was "all over" Possibly the police,
who were busy trying to repair the
door that had been pried off with a
crowbar, had thoughts like those of
the judicial minds and expected that
some of the court officials would mott
fy the spectators that there was moth
ing to speculate" Both might have
thought that the janitor would throw
some Light" on the situation. AS
usual when there are so many to take
care of little unimportant matter,
no one does it. So. az before stated,
it was the newspaper gems that took
the initiative and save the spectators
from spending the day in the chilly
room.
Ii is said that the girl who accuses
Cote states that the crime was COM
mitted last March Cote is boss in
the spinning room in which the girl
worked and she says that at the end
of day last March Cote waited for
her and as she was passing out grab
bed her and assaulted her. Some
weeks later, she says, she went to
Cote and told her she was in trouble,
and he procured something for her to
take. She kept her trouble from her
parents. who knew nothing of it UNI
til last Friday. when she was taken i'll
and a doctor was called in. Then the
child was born. the story was told, and
Cote was arrested.
Cote denies the story and says he
is not guilty. He is married and his
wife is in delicate state of health