Evening Star Newspaper, February 24, 1937, Page 4

IDGE ASSIRES " LFETO TROLPER Rules No Evidence Offered of First-Degree Murder of Monaghan. BY the Associated Press. SOMERSET, Pa., February 24 —Su- preme Court Justice George W. Maxey guaranteed State Trooper Stacy Gune derman his life today by directing the Jjury it could not return a verdict of first-degree murder against him on the State's charge that he beat a prisoner to death in a “third degree.” Justice Maxey declared: *“No evidence of firstydegree murder has been presented and J -instruct you that you cannot return such a verdict.” Chief Defense Attorngy John Dug- gan, jr., then made his closing address in defense of the 25-year-old State policeman indicted with six other Uniontown peace officers in what the State called the “Dark Ages” slaying of Frank C. Monoghan last September 12. Attorney General Charles J. Mar- giotti had charged Gunderman beat the 64-year-old Uniontown hotel man to force his confession to cutting De- tective John C. Wall. Defense Admits Violence. ' Duggan agreed that Gunderman had injured Monaghan. He told the jury: “* ® * There isn't any question, from what the doctors say, that Frank Monaghan's death resulted from external violence. Furthermore, there is no doubt that violence was in- flicted by the defendant, Stacy Gun- derman. * * * But the whole pic- ture here is the circumstance under which this assault was made.” Attacking the State’s contention that the beating was “deliberate,” Duggan continued: “The State contends this defendant wilfully and maliciously killed Frank Monaghan. “If that were all, then this defend- ant would be guilty of some crime— manslaughter or second degree.” Defendant Noticeably Relieved. Gundermar. sat calmly in the court room, noticeably relieved by the justice's charge which counter- manded Margiotti's previous request that the jury send him to the electric chair. Six other officers and officials of | Fayette County are under indictment for murder and five were indicted for “concealing true facts about Mona- ghan’s death.” A crude, anonymous letter that gharged a juror had been bribed stirred the court room. Spain THE EVENING Peggy Visits . Father Peggy Garcia shown with her father, C. H. Taylor, whom David Rubinoff in New York. she visited at Roanoke, Va., during a delay of her suit against : —Copyright, A. P. Wirephoto. cluding government militia from ’ Santander, participated in the drive in which two villages—Prenodio and Areces—uwere captured, govern= ‘ment officers said.) A government retreat under in-| surgent fire was turned into a rout, an insurgent communique asserted. Work squads connected with the ine surgent troops buried 375 bodies after the attacking government militiamen retired, it was declared. Suit (Continued From Pirst Page.) parties separated, is still only a void- | able marriage and is binding and con- | where we went to the clerk, who told | us he wasn't marrying any babies to | men that day. Then the second boy | said he was my brother and we were | orphans and it was all right for me to | get married. “The clerk said: ‘All right, sut if I| find out you're lying you'll all be| charged with rape’ " | Justice Cotillo asked: “Did you ever live with him?"” | “‘About two weeks.” “Did you ever see him since?” “Never.” Questioned by Judge. “Then that is why you consider the | ceremony not a marriage and that is why you testified last Friday that you were never married?” “Well, I went to see a New York STAR, WASHINGTO DIVERS SEEK BODY OF MISSING GIRL Holes About Piling of New Bridge Explored—Truck Driver, 45, Is Held. BY the Assoclated Press. NOTTINGHAM, England, Febru- ary 24.—Divers searched the River Idle today for the body of 10-year-old Mona Tinsley, dark-eyed schoolgirl, who police believe was kidnaped and murdered. A frantic search has stirred Eng- land since the girl disappeared Janu- ary 6 after leaving the Newark home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Tinsley, to return to school. Tinsley was one of the more than 3,000 spectators who watched the divers explore deep holes around the piles on a new bridge across the river. The spot was considered one of the last hopes of the widespread search for the dimpled little girl, which has ex- tended over 400 square miles of coun= try in the Newark and Retford areas. Six hundred citizens have assisted the police, digging up gardens and ditches and dragging canals and riv- 609 Penna. Av. N.W. Tickets and infor: on to all parts of the U. S. Tel. District 4224 DOLLARS SAVED DAILY BY THRIFTY PEOPLE with these low fares. EW YORK R Trip g 1.05 LOS ANGELES $37.35 Round Trip 67.25 Phone today for information om $3.50 6.30 $2.25 | | the trip you're planning. Most modern terminal facilities At *“C»y"” Ellis>—Special Lenten SEA FOOD DINNERS Tonight or tomorrow ... enjoy a delicious sea food dinner at “Cy” Ellis'’. A complete choice of 'sea food dinners and D. C, WEDNESDAY, ers in an effort to locate Mona's body. Police have pressed their search in order to secure sufficient evidence to lay a charge of murder against a 45- year-old truck driver, Frederick Nod- der, now held on a charge of abduc- tion in coninection with the girl's disappearance. Nodder, who pleaded innocent to the charge, was remanded for trial March 9 at Birmingham. ‘The prosecution charges Nodder met the girl in Newark and took her by bus to Reiford, 25 miles away, and kept her at his home that night. A child who answered the descrip- tion of Mona was said to have been seen standing In the doorway of Nod- der's simple home the next day and FEBRUARY 24, 1937. then to have dropped completely from sight. Nodder admitted to the committing judge he had met the girl and took her with him, but insisted he placed her on a bus for the return journey. Show for Needy Veterans Unit No. 1 of the United Veterans of American Wars will sponsor an entertainment program tomorrow night for the behefit of redey vet- erans. The show, which will include amateur vaudeville acts and motion pedition, will be held in Harding Hall, Government Printing Office, at 8 p.m. pictures of Byrd's last Antarctic ex- | HELD IN SLAYING Jones Must Face Grand Jury in Estranged Wife's Death. Benjamin Pranklia Jones, 24, col- ored, was held for the grand jury by & coroner’s jury yesterday follow- ing testimony that Jones entered the | home of his estranged wife with two drawn guns Friday night and shot her | to death. | After the shooting at 14 N street, | Jones went to the home of Detective | Lieut. Clement P. Cox at Seat Pleas- ant, Md, and gave himself up. On | the way to headquarters Jones volun- tarily repaired a flat tire on Cox’s car. Sweden may provide loans of $250 for young ccuples about to marry and $750 for expectant mothers. PONTIA Sixes & Eights IMMEDIATE DELIVERY WE NEED USED CARS Flood Motor Co. D rect Faciory Dea'er 4221 Connecticut Ave Clev. 8400 clusive upon both parties unless set | Bttorney.” sald Peggy, “and he wrote (Continued From First Page.) prominence, held a large segment of the summit but were blocked from im- mediate occupation by spraying ma- chine gun fire from a house doggedly held by the imsurgents. Insurgent artillery on Pinzarron Hill has blasted at the Valencia road for days. Domination of this vital highway, running southeast from Madrid, is the immediate objective of Gen. Francisco Franco’s offensive in the Jarama River sector. ‘The thrust of the government troops up the shell-torn slopes was hailed by their commanders as ‘“undoubtedly one of the strongest battles in Span- ish history, if not the heaviest. It has shown our men have ceased being defenders only and have turned into formidable attackers.” Two advances were executed before the militiamen attained the summit. They opened the way on the first push with grenades and a sweeping fire from rifles and machine guns. Steadily, seeking cover at every for- ward step, they attained the crest to be met full in the face by a counter- fire of insurgent machine guns. They fell back, consolidated their death-thinned ranks, and then started the upward movement again. This time they held fast to their gains while enemy bullets dug into the ground around them. Pinzarron Hill has been heavily for- tified by insurgents during the two and one-half week battle of the Jarama River, LEFTISTS ROUTED AT OVIEDO. Franco Reports Enemy Leaves 2,500 Dead on Field. SALAMANCA, Spain, February 24 (®).—Government attackers of the isolated insurgent garrison at Oviedo have been routed in the “most crush- ing defeat of the civil war,” leaving 2,500 dead on the northern battlefield, Gen. Francisco Franco's high com- mand announced today. More than 10,000 government militiamen have been wounded in two days of attacks and counter attacks, the insurgent commanders declared, while many government soldiers were drowned attempting to cross the Nalon River near Trubia, a few miles ‘wast of Oviedo. “The government attacks, launched mainly by Basque supporting troops, were repulsed by heavy machide gun &nd rifle fire from insurgent trenches, the high command said. (Government reports from the Franco-Spanish border disputed this claim. They said the Militia- men were slowly closing in on Ovie~ do with principal fighting centered around the Vega arms factory. (Ten thousand Basque troops, in- aside by a court of competent jurisdic- | tion in an action where both parties | to the contract are parties.” ‘The discontinuance took place over | the objections of Abraham Halprin, | | Rubinoff’s attorney, who said that | “serious charges” had been made | against his radio violinist client by | the Garcia girl and he wanted an op- portunity to prove they were not true. Explains Dismissal. In dismissing the jury which had listened to testimony for the last 10 days, the justice said that he thought he did the best thing “in the interest of justice” and that “plenty of dirty testimony would have been brought out and the trial would have dragged | on for two or three weeks.” | Cornelius H. Taylor, 67-year-old W. P. A. employe, Peggy's father, testified that he could not “exactly remember to a day” when his daugh- ter, the eighth and last of his chil- dren by his first wife, was born. As near as he could recollect, after seeing | the record in the books of Dr. M. P. Rucker of Bedford, Va. the Ob'i stetrician at Peggy’s birth, the father | said he thought Peggy was born in Bedford City on January 6, 191«, which would have made her 11 years and 2 months old at the time of her alleged first marriage. Defense counsel had contended that Peggy was married when she charged Rubinoff promised to marry her. Reads From Minutes. Justice Cotillo read from the min- utes of last Friday when Peggy in- sisted time after time that she had never been married nor “ever stood before a minister or priest and en- gaged in & marriage ceremony.” “Do you remember saying you never married any one except your present husband La Rocca?” asked Justice Cotillo. “I was justified in saying it was not a marriage,” the young woman answered. “How old were you at the time?” “I was 1115." “Eleven and two months,” Sander broke in. “All right, all right, make it 11 and 2 months,” said Justice Ootillo, “we will marry them in incubators next.” Peggy Tells Her Story. Peggy then told her own story of the marriage to Guinn. “I was 11 when I ran away from home and it caused my father to become very bitter toward me and he threatened to place me in a reform school, and when I thought he called the authorities I ran in town, where I met a boy I knew casually. “He asked me what was the matter, because I was crying, and I told him. He said, ‘Why don’t you get married? ‘They can't touch a married woman.” “Then another boy I never saw be- fore came up and he drove us to Salem, Blats, Joo )/’ You'll like Blats Milwaukee Beez «= just as judges of - fine beer have preferred Blatz for It's the beer that has “everything™. Ozder by the bottle orbythecase today. Distributed by Capital Beverage Co., Inc. ‘Pione North 6267. 617 Rhode Island Ave. N.E.. Washington. D. C. | another marriage,” he said. to Salem and was told there were no records of such a marriage. Then I| went to see a lawyer in Roanoke and ! he told me there was no legal mar- | riage, so I never considered myself | married.” | It was at this point that Justice | Cotillo read the Virginia law digest and asked that counsel make a move | to drop the trial. | Rubinoff and his three brothers left | the court room, smiling at the abrupt | ending. { After both parties had left the court Justice Cotillo explained the “tech- | nicality” on which he had acted by | pointing out that the law in breach | of promise suits is that a married woman cannot bring such an action. “The moment & marriage is proved a | plaintiff is barred from evidence to show that she had contracted for Justice Cotillo explained that the marriage record in Virginia and Miss Garcia's testimony this morning, had established she could not continue her suit. The court, he said, could not | g0 into the “collateral” matter whether | the marriage was legal or not. | Assistant District Attorney Eugene Finnegan, a spectator at the trial today, announced that when he reads the minutes, he would ask Miss Garcia and others concerned to appear before | him for examination. “I consider,” he said, “that Miss Garcia has cleared herself of perjury, but I want to find out if there was any extortion attempt. I want to know whose idea it was to start and prosecute this suit.” OUT-OFTOWN TELEPHONE your favorite cocktails and mixed drinks, pre- pared by experts. » Raw Bar and Restaurant 1011 E St. NW. Second Floor Dinine Reom New Open BEAUTY As Well As HEALTH Begins At The Eves In seven out of ten cases eye sirain is the cause of dimy spells, headaches and general nervous, irri table conditions. Don't let this condition destroy the youthfulness of your appearance. The regis- tered aptometrist here will scientifically examine your eyes. 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