Evening star., 1942-02-14
Laura ingalls,,
Guilty, Faces
2-Year Term
Flyer Is jailed;
Jury Decides After
Hour, 20 Minutes

Laura ingalls,, record holding avi-
atrix, was. in Jail today, facing
penalty with a maximum of two
years in prison and $1,000 fine for
failing to register as a German agent,
of which she was found guilty last
night by District Court jury.
When the jury of two women and
10 men brought in verdict, after
an hour and 20 minutes of delibe-
ration, Justice James w. Morris or
dered Miss ingalls, bond of $500
forfeited and committed her to jail.
The flyer was allowed to 60 to her
hotel and pick up her belongings
and then was taken to the Women'S
Bureau and locked up.
Justice Morris indicated to the
attorneys, they said after a confer
ence at the bench, that he would
entertain later a motion to fix an
appeal bond.
Court to Fix Penalty.
1No ddbS AVA cSAASSiANS Voo WV AAAS
defense attorney, James Reilly, has
several days in which to file mo-
ton for a new trial, which must be
disposed of before sentence.
The ellen registration law, which
Congress passed in 1888, fixes pen
atty to be determined by the court,
ranging from fine up to 81 1000 or
Imprisonment for any term from 8
to "a months, or both.
The jury took the case at 4:30
pm. An hour later the jurors came
back for additional instructions, ask
ing the date on which the law was
enacted and what was required of
registrants. They were back with a
verdict in a short time.
Miss ingalls,, standing to receive
the verdict, was white-faced but
calm.
When Justice Morris announced
that he must commit her to jail,
she murmured to her lawyer: Cant
l make bail?" But she went away
in custody of deputy marshals with
no show of emotion.
Admitted Receiving S400.
Justice Morris, in mis- charge, cau-
toned the jurors that if they be-
lieved Miss Julia Kraus was an ac-
complice to the offense alleged, they
should know that an accomplice's
testimony should be viewed with
suspicion, although this did not
mean it could not be believed and
even fully credited.
Miss Kraus, a former employe Of
the Alley Dwelling Authority, was
the Governments star witness. She
admitted she had been the inter-
mediary between Miss ingalls, and
the German Embassy and the
means of her meeting Baron Won
Gienanth, the second secretary,
from whom the flyer was charged
with accepting money for her
services.
But Miss ingalls,, taking the stand.
admitted she had received S400 from
the baron, at different times, for
agreeing to carry on propaganda
for peace and national isolation.
Her defense was that this was only
a pretense and her actual motive
was to serve as a self-appointed
counter-espionage agent for the
American Government. Several
times, she said. she had offered her
services to the F. B. l. and had been
turned down.
Shakes Bills at Jury.
In the closing argument for the
Government, NJ Neil Andrews, spe-
cial assistant to the Attorney Gen
eral, reviewed the evidence against
Miss ingalls, scathingly. Shaking
before the jury five $40 bills, which,
according to the testimony, were left
with Miss Kraus for Miss ingalls,,
presumably by Baron Won Gienanth,
after the war had closed the Ger
man Embassy, the prosecutor
charged the defendant with taking
the wage of infamy and eating the
bread of shame"
Il am asking you" he told the
jury, Ito interrupt the career of
Mile. Mata Hari for a little while"
Miss ingalls,, in her testimony, said
she had imagined herself "a sort OF
Mata Hari. an international spy"
Mr.. Reilly, in his summation for
the defense, insisted that, while
Miss ingalls, might have been "a bit
of a crackpot and fanatic" in her
ideas, she had meant well, and. in
plotting to be a scret agent for her
country, she merely was continuing
the adventurous career which had
made her the first woman to fly
over the Andes and brought her
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