Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-07-18
CLAIMS CRUEL
TREATMENT AT
NESBITT HOME
Martha Peterson Shows Marks to
Prove She Was Often Beaten for
Failing to do Work.

A slender, palefaced girl, clad
il a plain Bingham dress-hair
combed straight back from pinched
features, chin in two small, toll cal
Ioused hands-slumped respondent
ly in a big chair in the living room
of Sheriff John P Fleming's quar-
tiers at the county Jail. In an even,
lifeless tone. 12-year-old Martha
Peterson unfolded her story.
81 have lived with them (refer-
ring to the w. H. Nesbitt family
southeast of Aledo) for four years,
she stated. my mother left me
there when she want away. l never
saw her any more.
Nobody seemed to like me any
except my father and they did mot
seem to like it when he came to
see me-" continued Martha. II had
to get up at the same time they did
about 4 or 5 o'clock in the morn
ing. I had to feed and water the
chickens first, then set the break
fast table. The men came in and
ate; then l had to wash the dishes.
After that 1 swept, busted, made the
beds, and scrubbed. Then l set the
table for dinner. Afterwards l
washed the dishes, watered the
chickens again, did what housework
there was and tended the baby. l
did that about all day long except
in the evening when she mrs. Mes
bitt) would take it. / set the sup
per table. She usually would help
me with the dishes in the evening"
Were you ever whipped?" Mar
tina was asked
Lots of times" the little girl re-
piled. 81 had to get the breakfast
dishes done by s O'Clock, interurban
time. or take a lickin.' She CMrs.
Nesbitt) whipped me because she
said I was slow and an idiot. She
hit me on the ears lots of times
with her hands and pinched me
wherever she could catch hold.
once she grabbed me by the hair
and shook me. Another time she hit
me across the back with clothes
stick" a weapon which the child
described as about two feet in
length and about the size OF a
broomstick. Il came to have awful
hard headaches and my eyes would
get bury. They hurt me sometimes
too.
"She dashed me once across the
right shoulder and back as l was
going out the door. She usually
whipped me about the legs. l had
welts on my legs and black and
blue marks on my arms many
times. Always she said l. was be-
cause 1 was too slow with my
work. He (RIr. Nesbitt) only licked
me a few times-when she asked
him to. Sometimes he was kind bnt
then she would say he was taking
my part. l got as many as three
whippings in one day"
Mr.. and Mrs. Nesbitt both eX-
plicitly deny that they were cruel
to Martha. They admit Furnishing
her but say she needed it, being
perverse and wilful. They DEFY
having compelled her to do work
beyond her strength.
A crisis was precipitated Tuesday
according to the little
girl. when because she had not fin
ished the dishes before o'clock she
said she was whipped, II was then
that she decided to run away.
when there was company they
were nice to me" Martha testified.
But / was warned about telling OF
my beatings because it was no
body's business. she said. She told
me if 1 did would get a good whip
pin | never even told my father
how they treated me, because l was
afraid.
"They gave me plenty to eat and
wear" Martha declared, but they
let me go anywhere and
only one of my schoolgirl chums
could come and see me. Once in
a while they gave me spending
money. I won't go back to them, l
want to live with my f-f-father,
she gulped.
Martha is nearly IS years of age
and this fall ready for the seventh
grade at school. She loves TO go, she
stated. She is Lonely now. despite the
fact that Sheriff and Mrs. Fleming,
her temporary custodians. are TAX
ing care of her as if she were their
own child.
Shortly after she was brought to
Sheriff Fleming's quarters, an ex-
animation was conducted of the lit
tie girls body in verification of
the story of abuse which she dis
closed. The sheriff stated that there
were welts on her legs and black
and blue marks on her arms and
back, corroborating her tale.
'If you go, you go for good. You
ion't need to ever come back" Mrs.
Nesbitt is alleged to have said
when Sheriff Fleming. amid pro-
tests of the Nesbitt family, took
away to this city following
her discovery at Shale City We'd
nesday.
A hearing to decide whether the
girl is to revert to her father,
Charles Peterson for care, has been
set for Aug. before County Judge