The Washington times., 1922-06-14
FLAYs
MONCURE FROM
. TINY RENO JAIL

- IIlvI uI1vU UiuL
Has Nothing But Contempt for
Judge Who Sentenced Him.
He Writes.
Frank Stuart, Wrecker Of Lit
tie Reno's divorce mill, pho yes.
terday began his fiVe-dGy sen.
tence for alleged contempt Of
court, imposed by Judge Robin
SON Monc,tre, of Alexandria, has
,oritten his impressions Of his
first night in Little Reno's jail,
for Washington Times readers.
Moncure sentenced Stuart to
jaI on the occasion Of his first
appearance in the Judges court,
follolOing the tOhitetoGshing Of the
lAleEGndrid divorce ring.
BY FRANK STUART.
My commitment to Jail and the
serving Of this five days sentence,
the first lawyer in the State OF Vir-
ginia ever to serve a term in jail
for alleged contempt Of court, began
at o'clock last night. and will be
served in compliance with the will
Of the court, as unjust az II may
seem to my friends, without protest
On my part.
As stated In my plea for a pardon
to Governor Trinkle, which was de-
nied, l disclaim any discourtesy to
he court. but have no hesitancy In
expressing my contempt for the
present occupant OF the bench, Judge
Robinson Moncure, whose wrath /
am partially appeasing by my sefV-
,ng this sentence.
Declines To Apologize.
The Judge has advised friends of
mine that my order OF commitment
would be rescinded. II I would apol.
ogize to the court. / have not Of
Tended the court. and rather than
offer an>apology to the Judge, which
would be a travesty on my self.re-
spect. I would spend the rest Of my
days here In jail.
Things could be worse. The many
messages from my friends have
made the short sentence but a fleet
ing moment and compared with his
tory and time we are all puny things.
fighting and quarreling among our
selves, for our respects and disre-
spects.
I slept little last night. although
my quarters were reasonably com.
Portable with a fairly good bed.
an electric light and plenty Of litera-
ture. However, was unable to
read. The oppression of the four
stout steel walls grated upon my
nerves.
The lines Of Oscar wilde's i'm
mortal poem, The Ballad Of Read
ing Gaol." ran through my mind.
as I sat upon my cot, watching idly
the cockroaches and mice scurring
too and fro.
That verse about the laws being
right, came to my mind, and here II
Is as I recall:
II know not whether laws be right,
Or whether laws be wrong:
All that we know who lie in gaol
Is that the wall Is strong;
And each day is like a year.
A year whose days are long"
Finds Solace In Motives.
= And so 1t is. the walls here are
strong. but even so, i have no In
tention of escaping, and ! feel no
romorse for being here. but did my
duty, as I saw II, in attempting to
break up the corrupt divorce ring
Of our city.
I realize perfectly we'll that I am
not the keeper of my brothers 8
morals, but as an American citizen,
believe the people Of Alexandra
are opposed to the prostitution Of
our courts by divorce-seekine people,
and the participation of certain
members of the legal profession.
who have debauched themselves and
pandered their profession for u lot
Of filthy dollars.
The facts of the divorce scandal.
which has brought shame to our
city, have never been refuted by
Moncure. or members of the divorce
ring. The investigation, on> the con-
trary. showed the true condition of
things and sum total Of the results
has been my own sentence to jnil,
with q lingering desire on the part
Of the judge to send q couple OF
Washington newspapermen to Jail,
to keep me company.
No prosecution has been brought
against the members Of the ring;
there has been no impartial probe Of
divorce conditions here by an impair.
tial grand jury, and there have been
no steps taken to break up the prac-
tice Of swearing false and spurious
affidavits. None has been prosecu.
ted except those who sought to
break up the practice.
Glad the Thing Is Dead"
My chief consolation, however, Is
that through the assistance Of The
Washington Times, the light has
been thrown upon the ring, their
mill has been wrecked for all time
to come, and without being accused
of undue animosity toward the Judge,
am glad that the thing is dead.
My incarceration is not, l feel,
the fault Of the law, but is the venom
of Judge Moncure, whose sentence
on me is the crowning achievement
of his czar-like rule and domination
over local politics and persons In