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Show HOOD IMS BACK HIS WIFE ID LEAVES FOR COAST Salt Lake, Jan. 27. (Tribune) Mrs. Viola Hood, arrested here Monday Mon-day with Raymond Dodds, a young mulatto, with whom she eloped from her home in San Diego last Friday night, boarded the 11:50 train for California Cali-fornia last night with her husband, Van Lee Hood, who arrived here yesterday yes-terday and pleaded his wife's causo with state and federal authorities. Dodds is being held In. the city jail ponding further investigation by federal fed-eral officers who will attempt to prove that ho violated the Mann white slave laAV in accompanying Mrs. Hood from California to Utah. Van Lee Hood reached Salt Lake on an early train yesterday morning He went at once to the public safety building, where he conferred with federal fed-eral officials and Chief of Police C. W. Shores. The conference was held in the mayor's office behind locked doors. A patrolman was stationed outside as a sentry. United States District Attorney W W. Ray reached Hood by telephone and talked over the case with him from the federal angle. Following the conference he said: "I have no reason to believe that there is a charge existing against ' Mrs Hood " Woman is Released. Beond that he would say nothing. Asked if Mrs. Hood would be released Chief Shores said. "If the federal authorieies have nothing against Mrs. Hood she will naturally be released." Her release followed a few minutes later. Shortly after the conference in the mayor's office Hood issuad u statement written in lead pencil on the back of a police department blank It read: "So far in proving such facts as 1 am able to obtain, my wffe is the victim vic-tim of a conspiracy to ruin her life and character. My future course will depend entirely upon new developments develop-ments " Asked what this alleged conspiracy was, Hood refused to answer, but intimated in-timated that the negro was simply the tool of a group of plotters. Before her marriage to Hood, Mrs Hood's name was Viola McFadden. Her father is a banker of Cherokee, Okla. It was rumored that the alleged alleg-ed conspiracy was to seduce Ttfrs Hood and blackmail her parents in Cherokee and possibly Hood himself. This was denied by Hood, who refused refus-ed to discuss the case except to say that he placed absolute confidence in his wife's honor. Hood branded certain extended interviews in-terviews alleged to have been granted while Mrs. Hood was in jail as "deliberate "de-liberate fakes." After Hood and his wife had met in the mayor's office in the presence of federal officers, Dodds was brought from his coll between two plain clothes 'men. He walked falterlngly to tho door and tried to draw back as it swung open to admit him. People in the lobby edged toward the door when It closed behind the negro, leaving him in the presence of the husband of the woman he claims to love. Only a low murmur of voices Indicated what was said. Back in his cell Dodds called call-ed for the jailer. Richard Benyon, jailer of the afternoon after-noon shift, went to his cell on the top tier to see what his prisoner wanted. Dodds said: "Is there any way that I can get the trunk that I sent on ahead of us over the Wells-Fargo. I sure want that trunk." Asked why he wanted the trunk so badly, he said: "U'b got all my personal papers in it and a lot of clothes." An officer standing near said: "Were there any clothes belonging to Mrs. Hood?" The negro winked at him and wont back into his cell While preparing to leave for San Diego Hood was asked if he had become be-come reconciled to his wife. He refused re-fused to answer, but patted her arm when she attempted to answer the question herself. He carried her traveling trav-eling bag when they left the police station and her hand rested on his arm |