The Washington times., 1922-12-07
JAILED IN CELLS
WITH RATS,
HERFATE
Mrs. 0benchain Tells Of First
Days After Arrest a. Slayer
Of J. Bolton Kennedy.
BY WILLIAM PARKER.
Csssnspeiitan Nsws Ssrvies.

BY WILLIAM PARKER.
Cssmspsiitan Nsws Service.
(copyrisht. 1879. by cosmepoiitas
News 6ervics.)
Los ANGELES, Dec. ITO be
plunged suddenly by the hand Of
ate from life Of quality in fash
onable hotels to the sordid atmos-
,here Of an oyercrowded Jail and
nto. q rat.infssted cell was the sx-
,erience Of /. Madalynne Obenchain
yhen she was arrested the night her
'ormer suitor. J. Bolton Kennedy.
vas murdered.
A Mrs. Obenchain described II,
1t was as II had stepped without
yarning from the sunshine Of day
nto q horrible dungeon" Her firse
ight In jail was a haxy tumble,
he related. her mind apparently 70
using to function. y
She wondered In q daxed way why
anybody will ever make wall paper
with such wide stripes a. that which
was on the walls OF tho cell. Later
when her faculties were clearer she
saw that the striped wall paper ef.
feet was caused by the shadows Of
the cell bars. made grotesQue by the
angle OF the light.
my initial shock was this: The
first night q girl with . ghastly
face coming to my bed remarking
thusly, hello kid. where did they
pick you up?' caused me to keep
my eyes shut very tightly until
ahe, believing I was asleep, went
back to the bed" said Mrs. Oben.
chain.
Rats RIM Ovsr Bcds.
"where was II What had hap.
pened7 The world had known
had suddenly turned topsy.turvy.
but that remark told me most
emphatically and decidedly I was
somewhere where didn't belong.
For weeks. after ] was held In
the jail, would see rats running
up and down the bars on the
windows, over the beds, rafting
this, that. or the other thing alonR
the steel floor. And possibly you
can understand something Of the
condition of my mind was In when
tell you that not one particle Of
feeling or emotion did have In
regard to these rats, which the
girls In there called cats on &C.
count OF their size.
After several months I remem-
her feeling of utter revuls on
passing through me AZ . rat ran
across my bed. From that da
counts really my consciousness of
this experience through which ]
have Just passed
During the many months OF my
Incarceration I received thousands
Of letters. ! do not care to mention
the names Of some OF the promi.
nent people In Los Angeles a. well
a. other cities who have been
writing mo almost continuously
since I was incarcerated.
"A Cornell man has been one Of
my stanchest defenders. Not only
has he written. but he has sent
candy and flowers. He has re-
ceived not the slightest acknowl.
edgment Of either his letters or his
gifts. First. ! could not without
q staff Of secretaries reply to these
kind people; second, there u moth.
ing could say that would strength.
en- the confidence they appear to
have In me. t.grs..
Dumfounded By Juryl
'In view OF this how can anyone
say the world II an unkind plaoef
"It must have been q distinct sur.
prise to the same thousands who
have written me, when they read
that first verdict, q divided Jury.
Personally. I was dumfounded
So positive was I Of an acquittal
that had sent from jail most Of the
dozens Of books and various gifta
which I had received. II .,wss q
tremendous shock TO me. but rea.
soned that the bargain had not been
completed. So I returned to my
cell and patiently awaited . more
definite outcome"
When the name Of Paul Roman
came upon our conversation she
flashed fire.
This man with q romantic name
an ex-convict with a record, entered
the Obenchain case during the SEQ
ond trial. He was the star witness
for the prosecution.
People called Ralph Obenchain
the one man In D Million but Il
Il were set to find in hades, 'on<
man In Q Million would stop when
came to Paul Romanr'
She was asked II she would svsi
repose confidence In another man
Her Irish eyes cleaned with amuss
ment.
Absolutely" she declared, en-.
phaticaRy, II would not permit one
Of his caliber to destroy my faith
In humanity"
Tomorrow Mrs. Obenchain wifi
ten The Washington Times how. o.
the night she married ''eteAAy
Ralph" ObenchAln she violated sou,s
unknown Fundamental law and that
her tragic experience was the CEN
pensstion nastsa eat to her - I
WILL REOPEN HEARINGS
ON REcLAsslFicAUoN
- =. AZ -