Monday, Jul. 25, 1955

Forked Tongue. In Charlotte, N.C., after he was arrested on a forgery charge, James William McLilly Jr. told police that he had been tempted by his cousin's claims of easy money, was asked where his cousin lived, explained that he was serving 12 to 18 months for forgery.

Witness for the Prosecution. In Mulhouse, France, Joseph Pradier, 37, was charged with attempted murder after he angrily complained to police that the gun he had bought from a local gunsmith would not fire when he tried to shoot his wife and her lover.

Wish Fulfillment. In Irricana, Alberta, Storekeeper Hessel Dejong was charged with arson after police discovered that before his store burned down he had pinned notes to the door reading, "We love a fire some day" and "Look out, we like fire."

Technical Difficulty. In San Mateo, Calif., baffled by 20 minutes of silence, listeners to radio station KVSM finally called police, learned that Disk Jockey Red Ladner had stepped out for a breath of air, locked himself out.

The Big City. In Detroit, Railroad Section Worker George Watts, 35, explained to police why he had jumped through a $250 plate-glass window in the new City-County Building shortly after his arrival in town from Pulaski, Tenn.: "We don't have any pretty buildings like that where I come from; I never saw a window that big before; I just had to hop right through it."

How Do I Love Thee? In Palisades Park, N.J., John Burns explained why he had taken his wife on 66 consecutive trips through the amusement park's Tunnel of Love: "It took me 66 trips to talk her into giving me a divorce."

References. In London, Norman White, 29, was sentenced to eight months in prison after police told in city court how he had taken five jobs in three weeks, got himself fired from each within two hours and collected a week's pay by phoning his new employer: "Get rid of that man White; he's a homicidal maniac."

Grand Alliance. In Evansville, Ind., after a fist fight, Steeplejack John Bice, 29, refused to press an assault charge against Partner John Mervin, 36, explained soberly: "We work together on tall buildings and have to depend on each other."

Bureaucracy. In Paris, after she discovered that a body pulled out of the Seine had been identified as her, Mme. Marceline Marne angrily tried to stop her own funeral, was told by an official that the papers had already been signed and that "no force in the world can prevent us from performing this ceremony."

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