Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-10-24
MRS. ROSTER LEARNS SHE
WILL HAVE TO TAKE STAND
Enigma in Her Eyes as Wiess Describes Finding Bodies of
Her Victims on Fatal Day
BY PEGGY LUKEs

Catherine Roster will take the wit.
less stand in defense Of her own life.
learned this authoritatively today.
with her hand over her face and her
cad 20 bowed that only the top Of her
lack hat showed. she heard for the
rst time today the complete story OF
bc deed she had done. Policemen told
also a ruddy faced youth named
Weston. who had rushed into the Roster
,dyertisino "ffices at tho sound of the
eyolver shots. .,
II asked Miss Reckitt II she was
hot" . N,. ~.
aer'. sealskin coat over Miss Reckitt,
,ut some one said, Don't 1t Will get
These were the sentences that floated
hack to her place in the courtroom.
They wovc themselves into tho high
rama of the morning and held the legal
.hamber spellbound.
Enigma in Her Eyes
Tho complete story! Once she raised
Icr ewes and there was enigma In them:
ihese we're only the paltry fringes OF
iragedy--what went before, what came
catherine Roster almost smiled for
,hc first time during the course OF her
.r,al No one could know the COM
Alctc story, 1t was locked in her heart.
yeral phrases could not seek 1t out.
10 one would know till she told 1t her.
self. .
She has been informed she will take
The testimony Of William Treilor.
who sold the revolver to Catherine
Roster, brought out this rather sur
prislng list Of news: A great many
women carry revolvers. They carry
hem in their handbags much as they
10 their vanity cases. Ihey nave 10
be shown how to use 'em, OF course. .,
Mr.. Freilor twirled woman's small
revolver on his finger as he gave his
testimony. He showed woman's way
# carrying Il revolver. The wrong
way, Of course.
Tho first woman to testify in the
Roster trial did her sex credit. She
vas Jean A. Story, an employe OF the
Philadelphia Show Case Company,
where, II is said. Mildred Reckitt was
c\nsidaring taking employment.
She wore pretty blue serge dress
with lighter blue embroideries. Her
tricotine hat was black and long
string of jet beads finished off her cos
tune. The packed courtroom gave u
little stir as she took the stund-
this first woman--would she be nerv-
Ousf
The spectators stretched their nccks
and cooked their ears to catch ho~ first
answers. Ty,ey ! src unjmpo n;it.
simply verifying the fact that Va .urcd
leckitt had applied for the position.
The important part was-she did not
Get nervous. She even held her ground
firmly when an embarrassing question
was said to be about to be asked. 1t
was not asked.
Out of crowd Of exactly ninety
eight women who waited outside Of
Judge Barratt's courtroom at 0 o'clock
this morning, seventy-two were mar
lied women coming directly from their
homes. Ten We're typists or stenog.
raphers. Two were manicurists. One
was II woman who amde slip covers for
furnitur" at home. To were members
Of the Volunteers of America. Three
We're social workers and the rest Of
them were distributed among as widely
Sepnrated occupations.
This little census which I laboriously
look out of sheer interest while wait
ing for court to open this morning
speaks for itself. They were home
women coming to sit in on this tragedy
OF the home. Curious, it is true, but
NOT morbidly curious, if you get that
difference. Because women are con-
servers Of the affections of the human