Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-03-02
BY BRYAN COLLIER

A prison romance, which well il
illustrates the old adage that truth
is stranger than felton," and which
has in it, withal, a touch OF humor
and a tinge of pathos, came to light
Tuesday morning when a little,
aged woman made her way to the
Atlanta police station and inquired
into the financial status Of the man
who had asked her to be his lawful
welded wife.
It was nothing new for her to go
to the police station, but never be
fore had she been there on a ro-
mantle errand. The veterans of the
force remember how, years ago,
thew first began arresting her as an
habitual drunk" Yes, she is well
known there, and during the last nj
teen or twenty years has been
drought in" dozens Of times-al'
ways on the same charge-drunk.
Her name is Mrs. Irene Campbell
she is 81 years old and the last time
she was arrested, about February
1, 1922, she gave her address as 396
Central avenue. This was the sec
ond time she has been arrested in
1922; in 1921 she was arrested II
times, and the record shows she has
been arrested many times during
the years preceding.
The police know her as Irene
She is considered down there as one
of those half humorous, half tragic
characters that are sometimes seer
around all police stations. She is
little, old, Wrinkled and gray, enc
almost always drunk-the very an
tithesis of romance. it would appear
Man i'm the Case
Now for the man in the case, fol-
there is a man, and he asked Irene tC
be his wife. His name is George ia
cobs, also 81 years old, also old ano
gray, and lives at 70 Ivy street.
He also has a long police record
extending over practically the same
period of years as Irene's and al
WAYS for the same offense-drunk
For the last fifteen or twenty years
the police have been bringing him
in and have come to regard him also
as half tragic, half humorous.
He is a poet, too. Years ago he
wrote a poem to the city stockade,
while there as prisoner, and he
dedicated it to the stockade. He has
also written other poems, but that
was the best he has ever done, ac-
cording to the police, who know him
intimately.
But here's strange thing. The
police say that George has reform
ed. In 1920 he is said to have set
a record for arrest on the charge of
drunkenness, and then in 1921 he
suddenly changed and was only ar
rested three times, while in 1922 he
has not been arrested at all-thus
far.
So the police think he has re-
formed and, strangest of all things.
they think that he is trying to re.
form Irene.
He met her years and years ago,
in the city stockade, while they
were both prisoners on the same
charge, and since then they have
met there many times.
Perhaps it is the affinity of tastes
the police say they both love
their licker"-perhaps it is some
thing else, but whatever it is it is
inexplainable, because last Sunday
George went out to the stockade,
not as prisoner this time, but sim
ply to see Irene, who was a prisoner
and he asked her to be his wife.
He told her that he loved her, had
always loved her and wanted her to
marry him. The officials at the
stockade heard about it and sent
for the police. The police came and
examined him closely, but found
that he was not drunk at all, and