SHE WENT TO CABARET AT THIRTEEN

NZ Truth, Issue 1182, 26 July 1928, Page 9

SHE WENT TO CABARET AT THIRTEEN

Flappers Startling Story of ,Gay Doings In Flat

COMMISSION AGENT'S NAME CLEARED OF STIGMA

_W!!!!!!!I!||!!I!!!!!E - 2£iimiminiMiiiii.miiiimmii_immmiimmiiiiMUiiimiimum_uuHiiiuiiiiiMiimuiiuui^^ rirni'—rn— ' ■ "". -■■""—- m..^..mnui m i.H m .uninniK.i.m„i.iiM,ii.HiMi_«iiiiiM U ui..um«<i.u.uuii.i.i..iiii.___»ii...„ r -.„, M .„,,, 1 ..,n r _, n , m . tTtl , nirT ,,. t ,,,,p.^ j i| ([Ftom "N.Z. Truth's" Special Auckland Representative.) . ■■: " ll if ■' For a young married man to find himself m the unenviable position of having to give public rebuttal against if |j an affiliation claim reflecting upon his moral behaviour at a time some few months prior to his pledging himself Jl ||. toa partner for life, the ordeal is m itself a severe test. • ji || . . . . But when the information to the court involves evidence m which is embodied an allegation of a most jf |i serious and criminal nature, the lot of the defendant must be unpalatable to a degree. > ' II l_ 31,111 m lllllinillllimilllMlllllllllll.miimiiiMiiiii.nl iiuiiimui,,,,, urn ..t,.,„mimi.mlni!ii.mit!m.i<llimililiiiii iniiiitllimiiiiiiiiiitiiiii iiMiiii l iiiii.iiiiiriiiiiiitiii>iiiiiiiiniinili>illiiliMlllininlllllimiilirillliiiiililiiiiiiiiiiiiii>nii>itiiiii__iiii.«i... l i„. . . ...81

uiiutinuiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiimHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiutiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii IN Just such a stigmatic predicament was placed Shelly Byrort Atkinson, commission agent, when Gladys AdaElizabeth Hadley, residing at Newton Road, brought ah affiliation claim against him before Magistrate Luxford at the -Auckland Magistrate's Court on Tuesday last (17th.). , But the scales of justice dropped m favor, of Atkinson. . ; The proceedings "were instituted under the Destitute Persons Act. Policesergeant Turner conducted the case for the complainant. Carefully attired m .a fur- edged coat over a henna frock, with hat to match, Gladys Hadley, a pretty girl of twenty summers, took the witness-box to tell her Btory. ' • | "My father is living ln Sydney. My mother died when I was thirteen years of age. I have been earning miy .own living most of the time," she told the court. "In 1925 I was working fctr Mr. Dunn, a land-agent m Dilworth Buildings." The magistrate: Is that the Tamaki estate expert? — Yes. "I started to go to Dixieland when I was 13 years of age," continued witness. , His worship: What, as an attendant, or to dance? — To dance. | The magistrate: I suppose thirteen can be made [to look like twenty-three at a cabaret,. Proceeding, the girl qald she met defendant at Dixieland; she was introduced to him by a girl named Shiela Barrow, and- a close friendship was commenced. * Sergeant Turner: \D\& Atkinson ever take you for a ride m his car?— Yes. The magistrate: First of all, did you become interested? — I suppose . I did. When -was this?— When I was fifteen or sixteen. * The sergeant: You say he used. to take you for rides m a motor-car?— Fes. And did improper relations take place? — Yes. '•= , She Accepted Him j; Where?— ln. the car the flrst time. Hia worship:, Whereabouts was it? — i P cannot remember. Was it after a dance?— No. , To the police officer, complainant stated that Intimacy had occurred a number of times, but she could not remember how often. The. magistrate: Was lt m the car each time ? — No. - . The sergeant: .Have you eyer walked out with him? — Yes. (To his worship): "Over at Devonport along the streets and shops." , . - • Sergeant: Did he ever make any suggestions to. you? — What do you mean? His worship: Well, surely you must know. what it means by a man. making suggestions to you? "I mean, your worship," the police officer explained, ''anonymous suggestion—something concerning marriage." His worship: That is usually spoken of as a proposal. Witness: Yes, he has, and I accepted him. He took me to a jeweller's to choose a .ring. The sergeant: Did 'you get the ring. —No. . The bench: Was there nothing suiu able?— Suitable all right, but there was nothing m it. I chose a stone and a ring was to be made. The sergeant: During this period were you still Intimate? — Yes. Where were' you living then? — At j Glen Eden. . Later on, said witness, she was living at Waterloo Quadrant m a flat whldh she shared with a girl friend. Miss Hadley declined to mention tht name of the girl with whom she shared the flat, notwithstanding the fact that the young lady, It transpired, was seated m court and was later called as a witness. .'■',. "Were you visited at the flat by Atkinson?" was the next question by the police officer. "Yes," . replied the girl. Now, can you tell us of any particular occasion?— Yes. One day he came to our flat very much under the influAn Evening Visit ence of liquor. He had a friend with him. The magistrate: Was it m the evening?— Yes. And was his friend under the influence of drink? — Yes., Having attended a picture theatre ln town,, witness dined at a restaurant with her girl friend. They were proceeding down Queen. Street when they sighted defendant with a male friend In a car. This was about 6.25 m the evening. Defendant pulled the. car up, and. spoke to the girls. The four of them proceeded to the girls' flat. "We were all going over to the hall at the back of the building to play the pianola," continued witness. . "My girl friend, and her boy got out first and as soon as they went out Atkinson locked the door and a certain thing happened." The magistrate: Did you -go to the hall— the jazz-hall?— No. Shortly after my friend came back and asked for the door to be opened, and son called her nasty names. Commencing a lengthy crops-exam-ination, Lawyer Simson asked: "In^ November 1925,- at this flat, yoi^ say was the last time; did you see him after that?" "Yes, but not to speak to." You have no .doubt, it was the last occasion? — No. -. • ' - ' Who was m the flat with you? — A girl friend. -' Who was she? After hesitating to divulge the name of her companion,' Miss Hadley Anally wrote the. name on a piece of paper which was handed to the lawyer.' . . How long were you living m the flat?— About six weeks. A „" : ' I suggest to you tha,t it was about. 3.30 m the afternoon when you saw Atkinson and Johnson?— No, it wasn't, Did you not wave to them as .they Went past m ihe- car?— -No. I put It to you that one of you girls suggested that you all go for a spot?— No. '_...,. And ybu went to the Strand Hotel at Parnell Rise and had one drink each? |— No.

iiiitiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiii/iiiiimiiiiiitniiiMniiiiiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiinmiiiiiiiiHiiiii iiiiim Are you sure of that?— rSure of it, because it was twenty-five past six. when we met them. After the spot you suggested going to the fiat for afternoon tea? — I never, said any such thing. Magistrate Luxford: How long before the flat incident was it that you quarrelled?— Not long. Counsel: Two .months 7 — lt might have been. How long were you all together at the flat between the time you went there m the car to the time the others left?-^-Oh, half to one hour, but I wouldn't swear to that. Counsel: Did the men decide to leave rather suddenly and, you get annoyed at their, abrupt departure? — Certainly not. We were glad to see the last of them. • "Then, if* you were glad to', see the last of them, why did you take them up to the flat?"— l thought things would be different. " Is this the only time you have . been ih trouble? — Yes. / The girl then vacated .the box apparently none tne worse for her forty-five minutes' ordeal, and her place was taken by Joan Turner, who described herself as a married woman living at Grey Lynn and the person who , had shared the flat with complainant some two years ago. Atkinson, witness asserted, was the 1 only man who had kept company with her companion. The magistrate: ' Was lt at the flat you flrst saw them together?— Yes,, it, was. ,' The sergpant: Did you understand that they werel an engaged, cduple?— l i

iniiitiif iiiininiiiiiitiiiiiniiiiuiiiuiiinn!iiitiiiiutii[iiiitiiitiniiiiiiMiiiiiiiifittuiiiiiiinniiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiitii her," the court was told. "I asked heh if anything had happened and if she was all right. She denied at first that anything had taken place . . . . then she cried and said: . 'It did." Under cross-examination by Atkinson's solicitor,, witness assured the court that she would have been aware if any other men visited the. flat. \"I put it to you that she had other men friends," counsel persisted. "It iß.no good putting it to me." replied the witness spiritedly, "I was a I way 8 with her and never, on any occasion, did she go out without me to my knowledge." "To your knowledge?" counsel countered. "Oh, most witnesses use the term," answered his worship. Interrogated as to her exact meaning In stating that ' Miss Hadley's clothes were disarranged, witness detailed the girl's appearance, and with a flashing of dark eyes rapped put the final retort: "That's what I mean!" The Magistrate: What about the bed — what was that like? — You would have thought it had not been made for a week . . . it was ail right when we left the room. A statement delivered by defendant yhen Interviewed on the matter by a police constable, was handed m to. the bench. Inter alia, it read as follows: "(3/1/28). . . ■ I am a married man living with my wife, and residing with my wife's people at Lyoa's Avenue, Morningside. I am a commission agen.t for the Southern Cross Insurance Company.

vmiimmiumuimumiimimmumiiiimiiiiimiiiiimiiiiiiiiitiiiniimmiiiuimiiiuiiimiiiiiiiimuiiiiiiiiiiii mm immiiiimiiiimiiimmmmi mnmim

uiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii did so. Atkinson gave me to understand that they were about to become engaged when they had quarrelled. What was it they quarrelled about? — So far as I know it was another girl. Referring to the meeting m Queen Street, witness said that Atkinson had mentioned their having a "spot" which he thought he could provide from the car. "I said to him that I thought he had had enough already, and declined." "He told, me he would very much like to make up the quarrel he had had: with Miss Hadley and asked if I would mind them going up to the flat." The magistrate: What did you say? — Tes, and he drove us up. , "The fiat," said witness, m answer to queries from the bench, "was a bedsitting room." In corroborating the evidence of the previous witness regarding what happened on their arrival at the apartment, Mrs. Turner defined the language of the two men as "vile," and, as a means to bringing about their expeditious departure, witness decided that they should go and play the pianola. The sergeant: And did you play the. pianola?— Tes, just one roll, but I was rather uncertain about what was happening and we then went back to the room. Witness had some troy ble In getting the ,d.oor opened until Johnson called out to -Atkinson — "Open the . door, she's going to call a Detailing the scene on the opening o.f the door, Mrs. Turner gave a graphic account of defendant walking out ln the act of putting on -his jacket and &reat-coat, while. Miss Hadley was a 'picture of dejection with her clothes seriously disarranged and marks on' her elbow and the side of her face. The girl was crying when witness entered tlie room, and m her opinion was, not m a fit state -to come out of the room. •■ ■ . : "Her face was flushed and- there were marks, on the side pf her face as though someone had caught hold of - ' * • ■ ' ' • ' -.'■•'

lllMMllllllllllUMlllllllllllllHlllllllllllllllltllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllm "The first time I met the complainant it was In Queen Street three years ago. I picked her up on the street. I subsequently met her at different dance halls. I was single at the time. I went out with her for a week on end. "I then heard she had been keeping company with fellows about town, including taxi drivers .' . . I dropped her." ■'■ . ; Touching on the letter received from the girl's brother apprising him of the girl's condition and its attendant claim, Atkinson's statement spoke of his reply through his lawyers which was a complete denial of responsibility. The remainder 6f the statement was corroborated By defendant's evidence m the witness-box. > ; The constable who had conducted the Inquiry, then read a statement given by Herbert Charles Johnson, the man whom def endant'- had cited as a witness. The document was dated 6/2/*2 B. Johnson's story was that he 1 and. the defendant met the two girls one Saturday afternoon, and someone, he could not remember who, suggested a "spot." , They iall proceeded to an hotel at the foot of Parnell Rise and thence to the girls' flat oh the ground floor of a' building at Waterloo Quadrant. "The other girl who was supposed to be with me, left the room/, ran the document: "I went out shortly afterwards and left the girl Hadley and Atkinson alone. ln the, room. -We were out for a couple of minutes and when we got back it was suggested that, we leave and we did so immediately; • ••" • . . .'.-■'< "When I got back to the room the girl was walking around and Atkinson was sitting, on the side of the bed." After Rearing . the latter* statement, counsel _or. defence remarked that he was quite prepared to let the statement go m, e,s evidence. Sergeant Turner: 'We Intended to subpoena Johnson as he was just as much a witness for us as for the defence.' ; ' '""

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiniiiiiiiiiiiuiiuniuiiiuuiiHiiiuiuuiiiui<niimtitmmmiii_ninaiu__< Shelly Atkinson, a dapper young man of short and slightly rotund stature; swaggered round to the witness-box with confidence. A well -clipped military moustache was the outstanding. feature of a somewhat flushed countenance crowned with well-groomed hair. • In a clear, self-assured voice, he told a story m direct repudiation of the case before the court, his reoord of his friendship with the complainant being singularly different to the salient points of the complainant's evidence. Meeting the girl for the flrst time, he said, she asked him if he would transport her baggage for her from Glen Eden to her brother-ln- law's place at Devonport. The girl's story of the loss of her mother and the' absence of her. father so impressed him that he felt sorry for her and took her out on several occasions. Only on one occasion had he visited her at her flat.. Lawyer Simson: Have you ever taken her for a . joy-ride? — Never. I was not allowed to use the car after working hours. (To^ the bench): I might have taken her to Devonport once or twice. The Magistrate: Have you never taken lfer for what Mr. Simson calls a joy-ride?— No. It was m July or August, 1925, that their friendship had been severed owing, he said, to the fact that "her brother-in-law told me certain things and I deemed it wise to 'terminate the friendship, particularly as I was about to become . engaged myself, arid I thought it was up to me to let things go," It was hot until two or three .months later that witness again met the girl. It would be, he thought, m November. It was about 3.80 on a Saturday afternoon. and as he was driving with hid friend down Queen .Street he saw the girls who beckoned to. him. His friend, Johnson, suggested that they should pull up, and after some reluctSuggested "Spot" :■■'■■ ance, witness assented. The girls came over to the car and oiie of them suggested (he thought it was Miss Hadley), that they should go for a "spot.'-' "We went to the Strand Hotel for the drinks, and the girls had a port and lemon each. They were sitting outside m the ear. My friend and I had ours at the bar— we 'had an ale." "It was suggested that we go with the girls to. their flat for afternoon tea , . , immediately we 'arrived there one girl, whom I recognize now as Mrs. Turner, went out, presumably to make tea." . , ' In witness* opinion they were not at the. flat for more than half an hour altogether. If Johnson did leave the room for a moment, witness was not aware that he had done so. The Magistrate: When did the other girl come back?— - Just before we left. We left a' little after four o'clock and Johnson had tea with me. In the evening I went out with my present wife. His Worship: What did yott do at the flat? Did' you hold her hand, or stroke her hair, or kiss her lips? — ''As a matter of fact," was the bland reply, "I was walking round the room tidying up.» It was In slight disorder." Counsel: Why did you leave so suddenly?— Well, I looked round the room and then realized' that as I was engaged it was not right for me to be In the establishment. For fear my present wife might: hear about it, I decided to leave. Miss Hadley's friend -abused me and asked me why I was leaving so soon, but I gave no explanation. His Worship: Is; It more indiscreet to give girls drink m the back of a car than lt is to go to a flat?— The •wrhble thing was indiscreet on my part., I am not "Wishing-* to blame Johnson, but it was really his suggestion. . y. The Bench: Yes, I suppose calmer reflection reveals a lot of Indiscretions, Counsel: Did you lock the door?— No. , Indignant Denial Did ybu strike Mrs. -Turner?— -No (indignantly). I've never done such a thing m my life. . I had no occasion to do so, I had never seen her before nor have I since. "Did you ever propose to Miss.Hadley?" continued the cross-estamination. "Certainly not. In the first place she was too young .. . only 17 and a-half or 18 years Is too younai to think about marriage." Witness denied that he had ever entered a jeweller's shop In Auckland for the purpose of purchasing a stone or ring' as an engagement token. .'.., '•• His' Worship: Where did you get your present "wife's ring? — I bought it m 'India. To the. sergeant's insistent contention that one or. more shops had been visited for the purpose of gettlngrMiss Hadley a ring, witness held out a denlal. .' . ' . '■ Did you. have any spots ih the 'Car with you?; — Never, my employer ls one of the heads of the prohibition move- '' ment. Summing, up' the two sets of evidence, his worship remarked that he waß not- satisfied with the complainant's suggesting that she had been more-pr-less outraged. ; The defendant's description of the room showed It ta be one with a window facing out on a busy thoroughfare. There was no evidence of the girl hay r ing called put or screamed, ■-* There was no evidence by the plaintiff to show that intimacy had occurred on any other occasion, and he had to ;■'.• consider the belated, bringing of the "■ matter to court. Moreover, Johnson's statement had, lh many material ways, corroborated the defendant's story. .The information was dismissed."