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Show I w . . , .... " - - , - ' L'j i. i.ii. ill.. . lslrr.tr. . Is a woman's ::y cn the witness etand, unci r crc--exarr.lnat'.on, asood as that of a man? A New York Police Magistrate has stirred up a hornet's nest by declaring in a case before him that women witnesses wit-nesses could not be relief on; that they allowed their feelings to tinge their testimony. tes-timony. . Former Justice Morris Bommer. Judge D. II. Wenger and Attorney Tarley P. Chrlstensen take the following views of the matter: 23T ATTOItXEY HQr.HI3 EOIIliriL My opinion is that a woman will tell more than a man when under cross-examination. I have found It extremely difficult to confine many witnesses to the questions asked. They Invariably get off the subject in hand and tell many things irrelevant to the question. As a rule, let a woman talk as much as she wants to and. she will tell many things which she would otherwise try to conceal. con-ceal. . , ; Under ordinary circumstances, I rely as much on a woman's testimony as on a man's. They often become hysterical while upon the witness etand and frequently fre-quently break down completely. In many Instances this is done in order to get the sympathy of the court and Jury. An ordinary man will give in to a woman wo-man if she will only cry a little bit. Story of Woman's Tears. ,' Judge Sommer tells a good story on himself, which happened some time ago, that goes to show the Influence of a woman's wo-man's tears upon man. Mr. Sommer had just been married, and one evening a young lady called upon up-on him and asked him to free her husband, hus-band, who she said had been arrested for seining in the river. She made such a dramatic appeal that the Judge's wife and a woman friend were moved to tears. This had such an effect upon Mr. Bommer that he wrote an order to have the prisoner turned loose till the next morning at 10 o'clock; It afterward turned out that he had liberated a dangerous dan-gerous prisoner, who- had been detained on a minor charge until evidence could be gathered relative to a graver case. The freed prisoner never came back, and since then It has been Impossible to locate lo-cate him. COURT EMPLOYEES WANT SLEEP Object to Sunday Morning Sessions in Police Department on This Ground. . ' - The members of the Police court do not take kindly to the arrangement recently made by which the Police court, session will be held on Saturday mornings at 10 o'clock instead of 2 o'clock In the, afternoon. after-noon. . . ' . . ' . - f . . The men complain that those on night shift will r.ot get enough sleep if court is held at that hour. ' The arrangement was made in order to give the Judge and other court employees a half-holiday on Saturdays Satur-days during the summer months. All other city employees save the police and fire departments nave this time for recreation. recre-ation. , ... BY JUDGE D. H. WENGKEU Women, as a rule, when not Interested in the case, give as reliable testimony as men. If.. however, they have an interest in-terest in the case they are Inclined to color their testimony more than a man. When an unprincipled woman begins to lie in her testimony she will stay with the falsehood longer .than a man,, and has absolutely no fear of being detected. The testimony of a woman whose reputation repu-tation Is shady, or who Is a bad character, char-acter, is absolutely worthless from any standpoint. - A woman of this class will use any means in her power, either fair or foul, to win a case. But, on the other hand, take a woman who is high-principled, well educated, and is not interested In the case, and her testimony under close .cross-examination will be as good as that of a man. BY PARLEY P. CHBISTENSEIT. In my opinion, there is seldom any question as to a woman's veracity. A roan as a rule makes the better witness under direct and confusing cross-examination. One peculiarity of a woman's testimony Is she wants to tell everything that is in her mind. If she has any prejudices pre-judices against either the defendant or plaintiff, her testimony will be colored thereby.- Of course, man is supopsed to be the stronger, and an ordinary woman becomes be-comes very much confused If placed under un-der rigid cross-examination. In my Opinion, a woman's testimony is not as good as that of a man where she has interests in-terests In the case, as they invariably let their feelings Influence their testimony. BY MARK TWAIN. . Are women veracious witnesses on the stand? A good deal depends upon the stand as well as upon the woman. Some women are born veracious, some achieve veraciousness at Smith and Vassar, for Instance, and others have veraciousness thrust upon them. All these are fortunate or unfortunate according to the point of view. . Is that non-committal enough? For I am too old and too wise to commit myself on such a delicate subject Silence Is most becoming to me In matters of this kind, where discretion is the better part of valor. . . .- . , . . B Y CHAUXCE Y 1L DEPEW. My experience as a lawyer is that a woman as a witness Is more picturesque than convincing. She cannot avoid letting let-ting her feelings color her tertlmony. She does not mean to be unveractous. but she means the jury, to understand the case as she herself does, No, I would not call a woman an Ideal witness. She Is more apt than a mere i man. to be swayed by her personal feelings feel-ings for .or against the accused party. For the same reason, in dealing In cards or stocks, she Is a mighty poor loser and an emotional winner. |