SILENCING THE IDLE TONGUE OF SCANDAL

NZ Truth, Issue 1200, 29 November 1928, Page 8

SILENCING THE IDLE TONGUE OF SCANDAL

IN fully reviewing the ..complete details of Nurse Cullen's untimely end, it may be seen that busy-body scan-dai-mongers ga.thei.ed the seeds of supposition from the very door of eitner the authorities or the daily press. For a man to have to make the announcement that his wife's friend had died during the night on the only bed m his own apartments, while his wife was away and he the only other person m the tenement at the time, was an unenviable predicament. Together with other circumstances, it presented j an element of significance upon which the loose-tongued ravenously seized. However a searching inquiry by the police, and a thorough medical investigation from every aspect, followed by a post-mortem examination, enabled a coroner, by his verdict, to make an effort to frustrate the ravages of rumor within 30 hours of the woman's death. In view of the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the sad affair the authorities are to be commended Tor taking expeditious steps to rip m the bud the foul upanoots vt unfounded rumor and conjecture which were destined to blacken the name of the dead, and bring- cruel reflections upon a young man happily married. But either the authorities failed to call, at the inquest, evidence wnich

was of crucial importance to the displacement of any such unsavory constructions, no eagerly grasped upon by the sordid-minded, or cisc certain of the local representatives of the press failed miserably m giving' the matter- discretionary consideration before writing their reports. There appeared m the North Otago notes of a Dunedin daily newspaper, a thrce'-quarters column report, which, though mentioning certain of the medical evidence, left an unhealthy taint about the whole business which could easily have been remedied by a iittle private inquiry if it nud nappened that this phase of evidence — unimportant to the verdict, but vital to Spiers' honor — had been overlooked at the inquest. It was mentioned that Spiers and his wife rented two rooms at 26 Nen Street. On the evening of Monday, November 12, he returned from Kurow, whure N he had left his wife. About 11 p.m., Nurse Cullen, whom he had seen on only two previous occasions, when, she visited the house as his wife's friend, called at the door, and, stating that she felt unwell, asked if he had a "spot." Spiers remarked to deceased that she was a late visitor, but invited her inside and gave her a nip of gin and ginger-ale. '1 The couple conversed m the sittingroom until midnight, when the woman again said she felt iil, and asked if

NURSE'S_DEATH ' No Ground For Rumors About Miss Cullen s Untimely End YOUNG MAN'S NAME CLEARED

(From "N.Z., Truth's" Special Commissioner). There is nothing 1 about the" appearance of self -contented, bleak-coated Oamaru to suggest any social disfigurement, but like most small provincial townships, its cultured sedateness can be merely the floating veneer on a cess-pool of scandal, wherein vicious tongues revel m the misfortunes of others. Even m defiance of medical testimony, a coroner's verdict and commonsense judgment, Oamaru prattlers, during the past couple of weeks have created a hush-word sensation throughout Northern Otago— defiling the character of a dead woman, Nurse Ellen Mary Cullen, and intriguing the name of a young married : man, Stanley Dominic George Spiers.

she could rest on. the couch. At Spiers' suggestion, Nurse Culleh decided to go into the bedroom and rest a few minutes on the bed, which she did after partaking of a second taste of gin and ginger-ale. ■ ; . After about ' half an hour, Spiers visited the room and observed the woman to be slumbering', on which he blew out the candle and retired for the night on the sitting-room couch. A few minutes before five m the morning, the woman's apparent snoring attracted Spiers to the room, and to all appearances she was sleeping normally except for heavy snoring. At 7.30 Spiers again, visited the bedroom to call his visitor and it was then he made the dread discovery which prompted him to summons Nurse Raven from a maternity home next door. Nurse Raven soon realized that the woman was dead. The ■pobt-moriem examination revealed a large clot of blood on the brain, caused by a rupture of a bloodvessel, which m turn might have been caused by some diseased condition of the brain vessels and would be accelerated by undue excitement. The taking of alcoholic liquor would bring about such a condition. There were no signs of a struggle or external violence, nor did it appear that deceased had been interfered with m any way. Other minor details of the evidence leading up to^the coroner's verdict were recorded by the newspaper account, and hot m the most vivid imagination could there be conjured up any mystery as to the actir&l cause of death. ' But m the absence of some very im-

portant facts concerning other features of the case the seemingly unorthodox movements of the deceased Immediately prior to her death and the apparently indiscreet actions of the young man, were left open to the devastating tides of suggestiveness. What was Nurse Cullen doing at Spiers' apartments at 11 o'clock oh the very night his wife was away? asks the scarlet-tongued scandalizer. Why did ne leave his wife at Kurow, and why didn't he send the woman to her own place of residence, or call m a neighbor? So long as these questions remain attached to the memory of Nurse Cullen's death, so long will her name be the subject for subtle inferences, and the finger of uncertainty shadow the pathway of Stanley Spiers. Ever anxious to protect the individual from unjust persecution, and guide the public m the way of fair judgment, "N.Z. Truth" here endeavors to remove the slime of the serpent Scandal from a woman's grave, and unfold its coils from the character of a young life which fell foul of the blundering track of coincidence. The late Nurse Cullen's people reside at Ashburton, and prior to her accepting an appointment on. the staff of the Nen Street private hospital, some seven and a-half months ago, she was stationed at Waimate. In a professional capacity, the nurse made the acquaintance of Mrs. Spiers, (\nd the pair became friendly. Miss Cullen paid frequent visits to Mrs. Spiers' residence, tfte house being only a few doors away from the hospital.

The nurse was a quiet type of womaii, 44 years of age, who did not bother about making many friends m Oumaru. In fact, it Is thought by Mr. and Mrs. Spiers that their house was, the only one m the town which the nurse was accustomed to visiting. 1 She made herself quite at home at 26 Nen Street, and as a result of her friendship, Mrs Spiers became more or less her confidante. A little over a week before her death, Nurse Cullen had notified the hospital authorities that she would be leaving on Saturday, November 17. Fate, however, took a hand by severing her connection with all earthly worries five days before her resignation would have taken effect. It had been arranged between the Spiers couple and Nurse Cullen that the latter should visit their place of abode on the evening of Monday, November 12, this appointment to be subject to alteration by telephone. On the Saturday before the fatal day, Spiers, who is a salesman m the employ of Dewar & McKehzie, garage proprietors, had the task of taking threes' new cars to Kurow, his wife driving one of the machines, and an apprentice the other. The week-end was spent at Mrs. Spiers' people's place, just outside

Kurow, which is 42 miles from Oamaru, and the home town of both the young folk, who were married three years ago. • Taking: the return trip, on the Monday. Spiers drove a solid-tyred truck, loaded with a broken-down car. The road not being m the best of condition, it was decided that his wife should remain at her home. One thing was overlooked — no telephone message was dispatched to Nurse Cullen cancelling the arrangement made for her visit to the" Spiers' | home. . Thus, .the nurse' had no reason to suppose that the Spiers couple would not be at home that night, and this fact provides a feasible explanation of the dead woman's presence at the house. As to Spiers' foolishness m not casing m assistance, or endeavoring to get i the woman away to her own quarters, it is not unusual for a person to commit a breach of convention m extending whole-hearted hospitality to an intimate friend of the family. Stanley Spiers' good nature, it seems, has cost him much worry. Nobody seems to know where Nurse -Cullen was from the time she left the hospital, about 9.30 p.m. until her arrival at the house m Nen Street. It was knoAvn that she had a male companion with whom she was very friendly, .but the question whether she had been m his company a. few hours before her death remains obscura.