LED GAY LIFE

NZ Truth, Issue 1198, 15 November 1928, Page 3

LED GAY LIFE

Abe Piqued Pauline

At Times

(From "N.Z. Truth's" Auckland Rep.)

"Next, please!" . . . Abraham Gollinger, of Maxims Toilet Parlor, tall, thin, with carefully-brushed

hair waving back from his fore-

head, smiles at the female popula-

tion sitting round m rows. THEN m true tonsorial manner he opens the conversation with small talk on the weather as the ■ fair customer takes her seat where he presides among the hair lotions and curling pins. For Abe wields the scissors m the beauty parlor, bobbing and shingling for eight hours each day. That is his job.

But when the last permanent wave has been trimmed and the customer dons her hat as Abe parks his brush and comb, does the tired barber wend his way to his 30/- a week boardinghouse, or does he, as his wife alleges, join cabaret parties and gd for taxi jaunts with lady friends?

Abe has his Pauline to keep, the court having, ordered that he pay her 30/- a. week. Finding the drain of 30/---too heavy, on his "wage of £3/15/-, Abe applied for a variation of the order, and Magistrate Hunt recently decided to reduce it by 5/-, m spite of the wife's allegations that her barber husband earned more than he admitted.

While he stated that he was unable to pay his wife the maintenance ordered by the court, Pauline told a story against him which gave a picture of a life crammed with pleasure — but how did Abe do it?

For, on his own statement, after paying for his keep, sending 10/- to his child m England, and paying his wife 30/-, his wages .were gone.

Nevertheless, Pauline stated that her Abe. was not telling the truth. She believed that the woman who conducted the toilet parloi\s was more friendly with her husband than had been shown.

She even went so far as to allege that Abe was living with his employer. She knew that he took her to dances and parties.

When the wife's counsel, Lawj r er Brodie, brought up the question of another woman, the S.M. .suggested that this was a matter for the other court, but Pauline made all she could of this point when she went into the witness-box.

When questioned by counsel, Abe said that it was not true that he had

been going about with the woman who employed him. He had certainly not been living with her. Counsel: Isn't it a fact that you go out to parties a good deal and often ride m taxis? — No. Do you go to Dixieland a good deal.' —No.

When the wife stepped into the box she said that she knew that Abe was going to cabaret parties frequently. She had seen him going out "dressed up" and had heard that he had been to Dixieland with Mrs. Mitchell. She remembered one occasion, last month when Abe went to the Jewish ball at the cabaret.

Counsel:. Who did he go with? — Mrs. Fullock and that crowd. Mrs. Mitchell joined, them later.

Counsel: Who is Mrs. Mitchell?— The woman he works for.

S.M.: Were you there? Defendant said that she had not been at the cabaret, but she had "heard all about it."

"Well, don't tell us what you heard," replied the magistrate. .. Counsel: You saw him go, didn't you ? — Yes. 'TTie S.M. pointed, out that Abe had shown that he received £ 1 a week less now than he had received when the order for 30/- a week maintenance was made.

Complainant: Oh, he does not tell the truth. There are plenty of positions for ladies' hairdressers if he doesn't want to stay with Mrs. Mitchell. •

S.M.: That is always the trouble. When we have a man separated from his wife he earns as little as he possibly can.. , , , I'll reduce the order by 6/-.

began with her being called at 6.20 a.m.

Every morning just after this nurse had been awakened one of the boy patients ' used to bring 1 a jug of hot water up to. her room. Her key of the basin room was kept on a table along-, side her bed. That fact as well as the whereabouts and dangerous nature of the contents of the bottle were evidently known to the boy responsible.

He began putting his plan into action by taking the place of the boy who usually carried i the hot water to the nurse's, room. When he brought m the jug the nurse was apparently dozing and unseen by her the boy tiptoed across the room secured the key. He went back to the boxrrbom where his unsuspectipg victim was waiting, opened the door, poured out a quantity of the formalin- into a cup and told the other . boy that at was something nice for him to drink. >

J The deceased drank the stuff accordingly and "coughed and spat." The other boy led his victim away, carefully locked the door

and returned the key still unobserved.

A nurse soon found the deceased apparently m the grip of some sort of seizure. Dr. Jeffreys, medical superintendent, was quickly summoned, but the boy died within a few minutes.

The boy responsible was eventually questioned about the occurrence and while frankly admitting his act and the reason for it he stated, obviously m the hope of implicating the night nurse, that it was her key he had taken.

The inquest was opened on Thursday and evidence was' given by Dr.; Jeffreys. He said that he and Dr. Sadiier, another member of the medical staff, performed a post-mortem examination on the deceased and found unmistakable evidence of formalin poisoning.

The cause of death was shock from the effects ' of the formalin poison. From what was reported to him, witness later questioned the boy who had administered the poison. The boy then stated that he had slipped downstairs to the dining-room before , the night nurse went off duty, found her key on the table, had gone upstairs again, opened the basin-room door, taken the bottle of formalin and persuaded the deceased to drink it.

The reason given by the boy was that he did not like the deceased as he was no good and he wanted to kill him. "I do not think the boy fully understood the nature of the offence," concluded witness.

bottle. Henry said it was nasty. He coughed. I told him it was something nice for him. I took him into the basin-room. I took him out, locked the room and put the key back on the table; .

Margaret Joyce des'Aunaig, the night nurse referred to, stated that she could almost say with certainty that the boy did not find a key m the dining-room.

Nurse Rosa Marion. Kraig said the key was on the table beside her bed. She did not go to sleep after she was called and was positive the boy could not have got the key.

At this stage the inquest was adjourned, sine 'die, but it was reopened on Saturday ■ to hear further evidence.

Dr. Jeffreys gave evidence that he. had again interviewed the boy . about his actions and. he hud finaily adnuued that he.'got the key from Nurse Kraig's table. He had made a statement to this effect which witness produced m writing.

Nurse Kraig was also called again

and she said that on further consideration she had. decided that it was quite possible that she had dozed off again when the boy came m with the water and that he had been able to get the key unobserved by her.

The boy, too, was recalled and he told how he had tip -toed across the room to get the key from the table by Nurse Kraig's bed. He also stated tfiat he did not iike Nurse des'Aunais and that was why he had said it was her key.

Agnes Louisa .Moore, charge nurse of "El Nido," the boys' ward, gave evidence. as to how the bottle of formalin happened to be m the basin-room since all medicines were supposed to be kept m a closed cupboard.

She said that they had a case of scarlet fever m the institution und sho asked for an extra quantity of formalin m order to disinfect bedding, etc. The formalin was given to her m a Winchester quart bottle which was too big to go inside the poison cupboard.

After consideration, the coroner brought - m the following: verdict: "That the deceased died from shock caused through poisoning by drinking formalin which was administered to him by Frederick King, a mental patient, with intent to kill.

"The mental patient was not responsible for his actions by reason of insanity. The fact that he was able to gain access to the formalin was due to exceptional circumstances and not to tke negligence of any person."

court bound Litt over to leave her alone.

"No .thank you sir," said Harriett, "because he would be an overseer all the time, and my life would be what it has been for the past twenty-nine years — a living hell. And the court couldn't stop his tongue anyway."

William had no further questions for his wife — at least no Intelligible ones — so she stood clown and her tiny lesser half clambered into the box. He launched forth again into the tale of his Auckland trip.

"Fancy, when I got home and arrived on the verandah, I heard her say to the daughter when she saw me: 'Get me the gun,' she sez — 'Get me the gun!' .Well, that was enough for me! Then when her lease was up and I went to see her. 'Get out of it you,' me wife said when i she saw me. 'I won't' I sez.

"Just then me daughter Ethel came round the corner of the house carrying an axe. 'Pass me that axe Ethel,' she sez, 'Pass me that axe!' But she didn't get it and we had a great old barney your worship, and called each other by everything. 'If you don't like it you know what to do' I told her, and she did it. She got out."

In view of the fact that ILitt had been earning very little, and that the hefty Harriet was making something from her cows; as also of the possibility of arrangements being come to between tlje parties, his worship adjourned the application for maintenance m respect of the wife sine die, but made, an order. for 7/- per week for each of three of the children.