Timely Judge

In Vienna, the notably progressive Judge Sieber ("the Judge Lindsey of Austria") ruled sternly last week upon a libel action brought by a young woman against a man who admitted boasting of his intimacy with her.

Judge Sieber delivered his formal opinion as follows: "No one would consider a statement libelous which merely affirmed that a man had overstepped the old-fashioned so-called proprieties. Now the spirit of the times affirms absolutely the equality of men and women. One is therefore obliged to take the view that it is not libelous to affirm that a woman has overstepped the proprieties. To take any other view would be to affirm that all women and girls who do so are deserving of public scorn. This, too, is contrary to the spirit of our times. I therefore declare the action before me dismissed."

Observers recalled the very notable liberalism of the present day Austrian Republic, a state of public opinion which keeps the So- cialists overwhelmingly in power, though the Roman Catholic element among them has effectually blocked the emergence of anything resembling Communism.

Psycho-Excuse

Also in Vienna, where alert judges have accepted the evidence of blood chemistry in determining paternity, the court last week accepted the psychoanalysis of Dr. Sigmund Freud. Singer Richard Gauber, contracted to the Vienna Opera Company, refused to return from leave of absence in Berlin because, as he explained, "he could not stand traveling and because he was able to act and sing much better before a German than an Austrian audience, as the latter affected him mentally." In evidence he offered Dr. Freud's analysis of his mental eddies. The judge gravely studied the report and decided that it was quite proper for Singer Gauber to break his contract and stay away from Vienna.

Golem

At Ilkeston, England, one William Knighton, miner, killed his mother with unwonted despatch and skill. He knew neither how nor why he came to kill her, he explained to the officers who arrested him, only that he found himself committing the murder. Because his explanation jibes with psychologists' theory of "automatism,"* British Home Secretary Sir Joynson-Hicks last week canceled the man's execution and ordered the Criminal Appellate Court to search for extenuating evidence.

Drunk

In London, Justice Roche set a new precedent for English insurance law by ruling that an insurance company could not refuse indemnity to one Frank James who, while drunk and driving his motor car, killed one pedestrian and hurt another. Said the judge: "Drunkenness is a folly, not a deliberate offense."

On the Grill

Aaron Sapiro, Jewish lawyer and organizer of farm cooperatives, is suing Henry Ford for $1,000,000 because of certain articles which appeared in the Dearborn Independent (TIME, March 21, 28). But, as the trial entered its fourth week, it seemed as if Mr. Sapiro were defending himself. For five days, he was put through a thoroughgoing grilling on the witness stand by Senator James A. Reed, chief counsel for Mr. Ford. He was forced to admit that many of his farm organizations had failed, that he personally had received fees of $400,000, that he hoped some day to market the wheat of the world.

Hoax. During the early part of last week, the Detroit courtroom buzzed with rumors that Mr. Ford would soon appear, although the judge and the lawyers knew that he was lying in a hospital with painful injuries and that he would not testify for at least two weeks (see p. 34). Suddenly, a U. S. deputy marshal escorted a man who he thought was Mr. Ford to a front row seat, while photographers set off flashlight powders. The man laughed, admitted that he was James G. Goodrich, treasurer of Lockmoor village, double of Mr. Ford. The U. S. deputy marshal was vexed as well as hoaxed.

And so the trial continued, with Mr. Sapiro hoping that the real Mr. Ford would soon mend. . . .

Hairy Face

In Philadelphia, one Jessie M. Hodges, trying to remove hair from her face, used a preparation bearing the picture of Edna Wallace ("Eternal Flapper") Hopper. The chemical removed Miss Hodge's skin and pained her. She has filed suit against Mrs. Hopper.

*The victim functions, acts without thought or will. He becomes a Frankenstein, a Trilby, a Golem fortuitously set a-going.