The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-08
|shEaaONCE
 @ OVER
Imaginary Chilling of Grossly Inc6
 GOyerress

Imaginary Chilling of Grossly Incompetent | Governess
 ("The expert placed some of the blame for Dicky Loeb's criminal tendencies upon
 a governess. He was placed in her
 charge when he was four years old. She
 was cold and formal, the professor tes-
 tified, and kept the boy ignorant of the
 ordinary facts of life r'--Newspaper
 item.l
 O. You were the governess of this boy? A. was. @] | Q. How old was he at the time? | A. About four years, sir. 4, ~ l Q. It is alleged by the experts In this case that though being cold and formal you were partly responsible for this boys criminal life. Were you cold and formal?
 A. I wouldn't say was cold, sir, or too formal. sir. l O. We'll now let us get to the bottom of this matter. Did you make it practice to slap the child on the back, call him Old Top" and swap funny stories with him? l A. Certainly not, sir.
 Q. Did you take him around the pool rooms cabarets and burlesque houses? | A. Indeed not, sir. | o. On the day you first took charge of the child did you rush into his room singing For He's Jolly Good Fellow" or Hail, Hail, the Gangs All Here?" A. Oh, no, sir.
 0. Then how can you sit there and claim you were not cold and formal? (The witness seems confused and hangs her headl.
 q. Don't you know that the first test of a lgood governess is that she be hale fellow well met?
 A. I didn't realize it then, sir. Q. What have you to say to the charge you were prudish and kept the child ignorant of those facts of life which might have pre- vented him from growing up and becoming criminal?
 A. I don't know what to say, sir. He was very young and we never got into any lengthy discussions about criminal tendencies, the penal code or the likes of that.
 0. Do you mean to sit there and admit that you never discussed crime with this child like an honest woman and a good nurse? A. I never did. O. Didn't you ever read him the crime news so that his tender mind might be prop erly influenced against such things? A. I never thought of it. I'm very sorry, sir. o. Didn't you ever so over the various murder cases with him and explain how they happened and all about the trials and so forth so that he might know what happened to lity tie boys who grew up and committed mur- ders?
 A. No, sir. O. You have the effrontery to sit there and tell this court that although you were an experienced nurse and qualified governess you never discussed degeneracy, duel person alities. crime instincts, suppressed impulses and general dementia with him? A. Yes, sir I didn't realize at the time what great wrong I was doing him by not going into these things. Oh, if I had only known!
 0. What kind of reading did you do for him?
 A. Only bedtime stories and fairy tales, sir.
 0. Didn't you know very we'll that no child could grow up to be an honest, clean, com mendable citizen on such trash as that when there was good criminal confessions and po- lice reports to be had at all the libraries? "a, | A. 1t never occurred to me that way. sir. 0. What kind of toys did you let him have to play with?
 A. Rattles and tops and building blocks. 0. Didn't you know enough about chil. dren to appreciate the importance of giving him a few meat axes, blackjacks, pistols and acids to play with?
 A. No, sir, I'm very sorry. M
 o. In all the time you were goyerness of this child did you ever describe a hanging to him? W
 A. No, sir.
 Q. And you call yourself competent gov erness and an honest woman?
 A. do, sir. o. Your honor. You have heard this shame full confession. move that the boy be set free and that the governess be sent to prison for life.
 The court Booming out of a sound sleep) {: Alabama casts 24 votes for Underwood!
 (Curtain)