Evening Star Newspaper, December 24, 1923, Page 9

" COMPRONISE 1UR NEWYORK PROBLEM ~Instruction of Judge Snubbed When Desire to Finish Is Felt. * BY ROBERT T. SMALL. NEW TYORK, December 2t.—While New ‘York has mot as vet had to etruggle withi the perplexities of the “mixed jury” system, it nevertheless has a real jury problem on its hands. It 18 the jury which laughs at the latw and brimgs in its own variety ef verdict, regardless of what the court’s instructions may .be. Sev- eral times lately the judges of the doutts here have fedt called upon to lecture a jury for its findings, but “the jurymen merély have smiled and gone about their other affairs. 1 In this respect New York proba- bly is in mo different position from other communities in the United - States, and it would seem as if the ~ entire jury system , were on trial. Several times within recent years offorts have been made to launch & movement in favor of a trial b: judges, but the right of trial by jury, Tranted in the Siagna Charta. has been held so long to be a guaranfee of liberty and justice that little or no headway has been made toward any sort of court reform. Juries in New York appear to feel that they can make thelr own laws * and their own punishment to fit the orime, regardless of the evidence. One or two sentimentalists or soft- hearted persons on a jury often have heen known to sway the others against their better judgment. Compromise to Save Time. But one of the most rapidly grow- ing problems is that of a verdiot by compromise. Ratber than be locked ap overnight, it has been shown that many jurors, convinced either of the Zuilt or innocence of the accused, have deliberately yielded their views and agreed with the majority on a gompromise verdict merely in order to get a quicker releass from the confinement of the jury _room. - Idges: are. pointing- out that if Jurles are to bo thus swayed, if ver- Aicte are to be thus reached, there is little to be said in favor of the Jury system. Ono of the latest cases which has called attentlon to the modern methods smployed in the jursroom is that of the Vetters—Ernest and Marle. This mar- red couple; according to the evidence, {nvited to their home a former lover of Mrs. Vetter. Thero they gave him whisky. Then they beat and stabbed lim to death. They bundled up the body, placed it In a Ford sedan, drove to the edge of the bay and threw It overboard. Ernest Vetter, the aged hus- band of tho wife who had crred, had taunted her about her love for their victimi. She offered to prove that she no longer cared for the man. The mur- der was the proof. 1In their confessions the husbaid placed the blame on the e Here was a straightaway case. To men versed in the law it looked as though there must be either a verdict of premeditated murder or acquittal under the “unwritten law” or self- defense. There was no plea of insanity. Mrs. Vetter said her former lover tried 10 kiss her when he came to the house. This wus her justification for striking him down with an iron bar. Hard Question to Declde. The sentimentalists and the sob_sis- ters soon got to work on the trial. They argued back and forth as to whether or not a woman “should tell” Most of them agreed that sho should either tell before her marriage or keep her mouth shut afterward. M. Vetter ARn°t sell until: gfter she was;, married. ‘Then~her d-gave her imany- un- _happs moments, At the trial, however, ~they were ltke-a couple of turtle doves. And so far as the “telling” was con. cerned, it seemed 1o go harder with the former lover than Any one else. He was -bumped off-in the most uncere- monious fashion. The jury was out some fifteen hours. —At first it stood seven for acquittal and.five for the electric chalr “for both husband and wife. Christnius was coming on.. however, , and-the jurors had a lot of shopping to do. So they eventually got to- gether on_a verdict of manslaughter. That is-usually the yerdict where one ,» person kills another unintentionally S through neglizence. X Another wild verdict was recorded 2 day two previously. It was in the case of the youthful gunman, * Louls Cohen,-who shot and killed .. "Kid" Dropper, a gang leader. Drop- ver was in custody of the police and was being taken away in a taxicab ~ headed for Sing Sing.” Cohen brokes |of through the police lines, climbed on the back of the taxi and shot Dropper to death from behind. The Jury compromised on second degres murder and all the court could give the gunfnan was twenty years. What court said 1o the jury, neverthe- . made up in Some part for his ity to send) Cohen up the river 1o be “burned.” Lawyers and court delays have stood much of the blame rime waves, but it would seem hat crazy and unexpected jury rdicts will have to bo considercd a new and very important factor. —— *> ENABLED TO RESIGN : BY COLLEGE OFFER ® Liberal New York Seminary Teacher to Fill Chair at ‘Woman's School. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, December 24.—The Rev. Dickinson 8. Miller, whose resignation from the" staff of the ‘General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church was said to have been in protest against thebishaps® Pastoral letter, announced today that | = an offer to join the Smith College faculty had influenced his decision. \ The letter was a powerful considera- < uq‘s in' cauysing him to resign, he - said. x > “Precedents the church had T eclearly established liberty of in-| terpretation in regard to certain ar- | ticles of the cfeed. Mr. Miller stat- { ed. “The pastoral letter, with its ¥ imputation of dishonesty, had the effect of forcing clergymen who avalled themselves of this Aiberty | and_accepted certain articles in 3 «" symbolic, not a literal, sense to speak | = their minds with emphasis and ex- plain_their position In order to sus- “. tain these precedents, “It 1 stayed at the seminary after this pronouncement and my own pro- test 1 should sow dissension, which in the interest of my principai teach- | 1 have " sought sedulously lu‘ . PAIR TO BE SENTENCED | % FOR ARSON. DECEMBER 28 . Sallstad_and Dorothy Anderson : -~ Amxious to Begin Serv- ing Terms. “In By toe Associated Press. SUPERIOR, Wi, Y Edward J. Sallstad thy -: Anderson will bé brought befere ¥+ Judge Archibald McKay. in circuit ., court here for sentence December 28, _ ¥ Robert E. Kennedy, district attorney, ' ‘Who is proSécuting the cgse. sald. M¢. Kennedy-said he will prefer a charge of arson against the couple, the charge carrying & penalty of from | » three to ten years. Sailstad and Miss Anderson declared that they are * anxious to enter their pléas, receive Sentence 4nd begin to serve aj once. *» Sailetad, however. will remain'in the *.. county jail until he is ser P ‘sction againet him by CHICAGO TO REVOKE, GIRL KILLED, 3 HURT WHEN AUTO TURTLES Miss Ellen Gammie Victim of Ao-l ocident on-Annapolis l Boulevard. - - ! Special Dispatch to The Star. i < I BALTIMORE, Md., ber 24.—| isu Ellen Gammie, twenty years old, 1024 East North avenue, was killed and,three of her companions were slightly injured Saturday ~morning when an automobile in which they! were riding skidded off the Annapolls | boulevard and.turned turtle. The ae- | cldent oocurred near Pumphreys sta- ! tion. In the machine with Miss Gammis | was Mise Catherine Turmer, twenty- | two years old, 1026 East North ave- | nue, ‘and Frederick Flood and James | Broak of Annapolls. All were shaken ! up and slightly bruised when the ma-~| chine went down the embankment. | Part of the windshield cut Mise Gammie's throat and she dled two ! hours after being admitted to the University of Maryland Hospital, | where she was taken in a passing au- || tomobile After an Investigation this morn- ing, Coroner M. G. Gorsuch of west- ern district gave verdict of acel-| dental death. According to ~Mise Turner, the girls and their compan- jons had been aftending a _high school dance at Carvel Hall, Baltiv more. SPEEDERS' PERMITS Dever to Wage Relentless War on Reckless as Auto Tol Nears 700. Spedial Dispatch to The Star. CHICAGO, December 24.—Mayor De- ver, who has just concluded a successful campalgn against Volstead act viola~ tors, today announced a crusade against speed flends, who have mowed down upward of 700 pedestrians_in the city |/} and its environs since January 1. Disturbed by the light punishment meted out to speed law violators who | (}| happen to have a “pull*—and it ts| amaxing how many of them seem to || have pulls—the mayor said today that, || beginning next week, he would move to | | revoke the license of every convicted || speedster and careless driver, regard- || less of the sentences impoed on them. || Mayor Dever declared he was more || concerned about the great wave of || automobile killings than he had been about the city's wet spots which he mopped up so energetically, and assert- 2@ ho would o the limit" to make the || highways safe. N 588 Victims in Ten Months. On November 5 598 persons had been killed in automobile accidents. At that time safety department offi- || ¢lale, launching a campalgn agalnst ing, predicted that some ninety |} more citizens of Cook county would give their lives to the speed demon || before the vear ended. The predice tion has been more than fulfilled. With nine days vet to go, including Christmas and New Year eve, thel| toll has paesed the 100 mark, and || promises to go considerably higher. Highway and metropolitan police | have been waging a relentless war || on violators of automobile laws, At oné session of ' speeders court this week nearly 600 persons were ar nfimd—,—qn pioked up in ‘pre- ceding twenty-four hours. after day, for weeks, the average has been sbove 500. Heavy sentences ~were" many cases, among- them sprinkiing of jail-terms. But: political or other influence kept many of the cases from going further than the po- lice station, whers nominal.bail -was et. ‘The brutality and callousness pf some of the offenders surpass belief. Per- haps the most outstanding horror of the past month was the killing of & woman about to become & mother. Three youngsters and three flapper girls in_“Gad's” car were bumped off the road into a ditclf one night. The mecident disclosed that & woman was lodged between the hood and the fender of the car. She dled fifteen minutes later. For several days the body was m’- identified. The slh‘l and boy oecu;;n 3 the car swore they didn’t even kno any/ . Their story as Convincing. But & detective trap: ped one of the girls into admitting that hey all knew when the woman been struck, three miles from where the | vy had stopped. They had sped on, | finally came out, had thrown away & | 5 | o accident that their victim's body was carried along by the car. BERMUDA WEST INDIES CARIBBEAN MEDITERRANEAN Around the World—South Ses 1sland—Cruises. CALIFORNIA—ALL WATER VIA PANAMA CANAL OBER’S STEAMSHIP AND TOURS Available Feb. Ist Large Office IN The Evening Star Building This offos contains 1,900 aq, g.. including private lavatery. unning lced water 'in room. Ruitable for light manufactur- ing or office employing many clerks. < Rent reasonable. ’ Apply S 621 STAR BUILDING Phono Main 5009, BY. 3 ‘Y. U, MONDAY, DE —— ‘WABHINGTON, CEMBER 21, 1923 ‘Have You Forgotten ) o Something? Please note that our stores will be open until’ late" this evening. | ' Dixie Mixed Hard Candy, perlb,, 22¢ Eureka Mixed, 3 Ibs. for 50¢ Superfine Mixed, A b, 29¢ Melbourne Chocolates, ~ 5-Ib. box for $1.39 Mixed Nuts, Ib., 25¢ California Walnuts, Ib., 30c California Almonds, Ib., 30c Brazil Nuts, ~ Ib., 25¢ Dorsch’s Fruit Cake, b. 37%c Corby’s Fruit Cake, . 47%c Cook’s Pouiid Cake 21b.size 49¢ R & R Plum Pudding, - No. 1size, 29¢ Premier Plum Pudding, No. 1 size, 15¢ - Pfire Lard, "~ Tb. carton, 17¢ Snowdrift, 1b. can, 22¢ Crisco, - 14b. can, 23¢ Loffler’s Breakfast Bacon, b, 30¢ Phillips’ Original Pork Sausage, Ib., 35¢ S S —— 3\ 3 Can, 2Ic Can, 10c Bottle, 35¢ Keystone Peaches, Shriver’s Nectarine Premier Stuffed Olives, Pansy Seeded Raisins, Corn, Gold Medal Sun-Maid 5 eeded, 2 phes. for 25¢ Figs ver . 25¢ Oc Smyrna yer 3 i)kgs. for 20¢| Lippincott’s Queen Ohves,_ For TOmorrovG’s Breakfast Fancy , 2 sc 1o Our Stores Will Remain Open Until 100 Tonight Big stock of all Christmas goods still on hand to supply your wants Gift Basket Apples, . Each, 89¢c | Western Boxed Apples, fancy, 4 lbs. for 25¢ Cooking Apples, -6 Ibs. for 25¢ Cranberries, lb., 12¢; 2 Ibs. for 23¢ | Oranges, doz., 35c¢, or 3 doz. for $1.00 Oranges, larger, Doz., 45¢ Potatoes, 15 Ibs. for 28¢ Onions, 4 1bs. for 19¢ } Kraft Cheese (American), Ib.,45¢ Kraft Cheese (Swiss), Ib.,55¢ South Carolina Sweet Potatoes, 4 Ibs. for 25¢ 40¢ Sanitary Brand ... Selected Eggs '™ Canada Dry Ginger Ale, 5 Bottles for 95¢ G & G Ginger Ale, Per Bottle, 10c | Clicquot Club Ginger Ale, 2 Bottles for 25¢ | Armour’s Grape Juice, ‘Pint, 25¢ | Armour’s Grape Juice, Quart, 49c Bulk Mince Meat rer . 17%5c Top Notch Oleomargarine, First Prize Nutmargarine, Green Bag Coffee, ver . 25¢ | ~ Can, 33c | Bottle, 25¢ | ‘Peter Pan Sugar Corn, Can, 15¢ | “Paris” Sugar Corn, Can, 15¢ Blue Label Beets, ~ Medium No. 2 Can, 19¢ Blue Label Beets, Large No. 3 Can, 25¢ | Sentinel Chief Pumpkin, ~ Can, 12%2c Rob Roy Tomatoes, fancy (large can), ~ 20c | Standard Tomatoes, No. 3 (large can), 12%2¢ ‘Columbus Apricots, - Can,20c -Columbus Peaches, - Can, 20c Honey Dew Pineapple,