Loup City northwestern
J. W. BURLEIGH, Publisher
LOUP CITY, - - NEBRASKA
BANKING GAINS IN DULL TIME
The statements made by the na
tional banks of the country under the
call of April 28, 1909, show that they
had gained at that date no less than
$774,261,000 in total resources since
the report of their condition made on
May 14, 1908. That means an in
crease of nearly nine per cent, in a
year which was marked by much in
dustrial, depression and no little dis
couragement in business. It might
fairly be called the growth of the
national banks in dull times—a gain
of about $65,000,000 a month in re
sources. Where such development is
possible in a period of depression,
what may be expected when the cur
rent of trade and industry is flowing
swiftly? If that is the way the finan
cial strength of the United States in
creases—and the national banks meas
ure less than half of it—when business
is not considered good; what may be
counted on when things are booming?
It Seems fair to estimate the growth
of the banking resources of the coun
try in a good year at more than $5,
000,000 every busines day, or over a
billion and a half annually, says the
Cleveland Leader. If Americans feel
somewhat conscious of their wealth
and power and prosperity they do not
have to look far for facts and figures
to justify their soaring conception ot
the land they live in and stake theii
future upon.
The American Agriculturist is good
authority, and that newspaper says
regarding the outlook for corn, the
country’s greatest grain crop: "Every
condition, both weather and financial,
has tended to enlarge the breadth of
this cereal, and the result is an acre
age which not only surpasses all pre
vious records, but is the largest area
ever devoted to a single crop in any
country in the history of the world.
The increase was 5.2 per cent, over
the area harvested last year, mak
ing the present breadth 102,750,000
acres, or slightly more than 5,000,000
above the largest breadth heretofore
harvested.'* Other cereals make a
correspondingly favorable showing.
There is no famine in sight this year,
and as usual the United States will
continue to help out the rest of the
world in the matter of food supply.
One effect of the warm weather has
been to promote the fruit and berry
industry. The weather recently has
provided great growing and ripening
conditions, and the effect is plainly
visible. The Delaware-Maryland
peninsula, which is the seat of an im
rnense strawberry-raising industry, re
ports a record-breaking crop. The
shipments have aggregated 16,676,000
quarts, with 2,600,000 quarts more
than for the same time last year, and
this notwithstanding heavy rains that
tended to offset in part the favorable
influence. The supply of material foi
strawberry shortcake and strawberry
jam, to say nothing of just strawber
ries and cream, is abundant and
should add largely to human happi
ness. The strawberry season is very
brief, but this year the fleeting joy
of it should be exceptionally intense.
Some men have the hortatory and
correctional instinct so strong upon
them that they are always wanting to
rush out and expose an error or refute
a fallacy, says the New' York Evening
Post. This goes with a highly devel
oped oratorical temperament. Glad
stone had it. Walter Bagehot de
scribes him as listening to some dull
pated member of parliament, prosing
away with one folly after another till
midnight, and saying to his friends:
"Ijet me get at him. I can show him
what a fool he is and perhaps induce
him to vote with us." But life is too
short, and the fools too numerous, for
such exercises. We should have phil
osophy enough to perceive that some
blunders are too great to require ex
posure, that some men and some news
papers are not worth answering.
The treasury statement shows that
the deficit in receipts of the national
government at the end of the fiscal
year just closed was $89,811,000. The
estimated deficit was $114,000,000, sc
it seems that conditions have im
proved greatly during the last few
months. The discrepancy is larget
than is desirable, but receipts and
expenditures are steadily getting near
er together, and anyway Uncle Sam
has a handsome surplus left from for
mer years to draw upon. And his
credit was never better.
There is a little comfort for friends
of American shipping in the new-s that
a company running steamships to Ha
waii has contracted with an eastern
concern for three new vessels of largi
dimensions. These ships will be o.
American construction, operated bj
Americans under the American flag,
and for this much the American peo
pie may be proportionately thankful
May the new craft be such inspiring
object lessons that more of the sam«
sort will follow speedily.
The great corn states report pros
pects of an exceedingly large yielo
this year. Illinois, which leads then
estimates an increase of five pei
cent, in area, compared with 1908
The wheat harvest is being gathered
and so far indications show a yielo
that is normal, if not a little more
Hay, another leading crop, is in fine
shape and unusually abundant. There
are no signs of agricultural scared
in these United States this year.
POLITICS IN NEBRASKA
Republicans, Democrats, Populists and Prohibi
tionists Hold Conventions.
_»_
ALL HAVE GOOD ATTENDANCE
-
Proclamation of Principles as Set Forth by the
Leading Political Organizations. I
i -
The republicans, democrats, popu
lists and prohibitionists held conven
tions in Lincoln on the 27th. with good
representations at all of them. There
were upward of 800 delegates in the
republican convention. C. O. Wheadon
of Lincoln was chosen chairman and
J. M. O’Neill, secretary. Resolutions
herewith set forth the principles of
the party.
The democrats met in Representa
tive hall and adopted a platform to
which only one delegate objected.
Chris Guenther was nominated for
Chairman of the State Central com
mittee. but declined. The matter of
filling the place was left to the state
committee George L. Loomis ol Fre
mont was chairman of the convention
and W. H. Smith of Seward, secretary.
The prohibition state convention
consisted of five delegates, which at
tended to the necessary business. D.
B. Gilbert of Fremont was elected
chairman of the state committee, J. P.
Meald, secretary, and .1. L. Clnflin, vice
chairman.
Resolutions denouncing the liquor
traffic and favoring a law and placing
the referendum in full force and ef
fect were adopted.
In the populist convention at the
senate chamber it was unanimously
agreed that the party organiaztion be
maintained. Chairman Manuel railed
for an expression on this question as
soon as the convention was called to
order. E. A. Walrath of Polk, was
made secretary. Webster. Boone. Dix
on, Stanton. Polk. Saunders. Burt,
Adams, Washington. Kearney, Saline.
Hamilton. Buffalo. Valley and Howard
counties were well represented.
Republican Platform.
Speaking for the republicans of Ne
braska. as their delegates in state con
vention assembled, and reaffirming the
declarations of our national and state
platform of 1908. we congratulate the
country on the magnificent republican vic
tory which- has given us for our chief
executive that firm and courageous states
man pre-eminently fitted for his exalted
office. William Howard Taft. When we
assembled one year ago we were facing
a presidential campaign in which cur op
ponents. with customary braggadocio,
paraded a false confidence in their cause
and proclaimed loudly that republican
ascendency in the nation was at an end;
but again at the ballot box came "he in
dubitable* proof that so strongly en
trenched in the hearts of the people are
the principles and achievements of the
republican party, and so discredited are
the fallacious doctrines and so distrusted
the leaders of the democratic party, that
the third defeat of the democratic stand
ard-bearer was more signal and decisive
than before.
We see only encouragement for future
republican success in the conditions con
fronting us in Nebraska today. La spite
of the tremendous handicap by winch wo
were required to combat a distinguished
Nebraskan appealing to home pride to
support him for president, and notwith
standing the flagrant deception by which
the democratic presidential electors mas
queraded on the ballot a second time as
populists, the democratic leader, for whom
was confidently predicted a 2.>.«KK) maturity
in ills home state, was grievously disap
pointed to find that lie had s *vcd himself
i in Nebraska by a bare 4.000 plurality.
The election at the same time fcy sub
stantial majorities of the entire republi
can state ticket, with only two places
e.xcenteJ, gives us the right to regard the
result as a republican victory.
We approve, commend and unqualifiedly
indorse the stand tak^n by President Taft
in the matter of tari% revision. We are
counting on him to see to it that tin
party’s platform promise of revision is
redeemed by the enactment of a tariff
bill acceptable to the people, and we
would approve the exercise of his veto on
any bill that does not conform to his con
struction of the platform pledge which
he has said means “revision downward
within the limitations of the protective
| principle.” We look to our senator* and
representatives in congress to sustain the
president in this position, and we onm
; mend them for their efforts in support of
i the party's pledges and the president’s
policies.
We approve and indorse the Brown
resolution adopted bv congress submitting
to the several states for their action a
proposed constitutional amendment em
powering the federal government to levy
and collect taxes on incomes.
The republican party in this state
! stands upon its record. While providing
| for a generous maintenance under poo
i nomical administration for the various
state institutions we extinguished a state
debt of more than $2,000,000. We abo
lished the evils of corporate dictation in
politics and abrogated the free p*ss sys
tem under a republican administration.
Passenger, freight and express rates have
been reduced and an elective railway
commissi''** provided for speedv adjust
ment of differences between shippers and
carriers and the regulation of th«* same.
We provided for a more just and equit
able assessment of all kinds of proper*v
for taxation and the assessment of rail
wav terminals for local purposes and re
moved the bar against recovery of ade
quate damages for personal injuries.
We commend the consistent course pur
sued bv the republican minority in the
last legislature in resisting with energy
and ability the unwise and unconstitu
tional measures of the democratic ma
jority.
We noint with pride to the records of
the judges who for many vears have been
elevated to the bench in this sta“e as re
publicans. but who as judges have known
neither personal favoritism nor political
partisanship hut have fearlessllv and im
partially declared the law and held the
scales of justice even between rich and
poor, high and 1 *w. republican, rle.moe—>t.
ropulist. prohibitionist and socialist alike.
We denounce the eleventh hour nrete^c*.
of devotion to the idea of noroartlsan«hin
by the late democratic legislature, after
running a riot of nartisarshin for threq
months and ruthlessly legislating repub
licans out of office bv the wholesale order
to m**ke room for democratic offi"»-seek
ers. If the r**ssage of their so-called non
partisan judiciary act was intended to
charge by Innuendo that republican judges
;«re not to he trusted to perform their
official duties without political bias ac
cording to their oaths of office, we resent
the imputation. It will become the demo
crats to prate about a nonpartisan judici
ary when the record shows that, when
they hail elected two of the supreme
judges a few years ago, thev left no
stone unturned to elect the third and
make the court consist wholly of their
own partisan judges.
Democratic Platform.
We. the democrats of Nebraska, in state
convention assembled, reaffirm our faith
in. and pledge our loyalty to, the princi
ples of our party as set forth in the plat-’
form adopted by the democratic conven
tion of 1908. i
Wo denounce the republican tariff bill
as a shameless consummation of the fraud
deliberately planned by the republican'
leaders when they promised revision in
stead of reduction; and we call attention!
to tie* fact that it confesses the truth of*
all that the democrats have charged as'
to the iniquities of the high tariff system.
We call special attention to the fact*,
that one plank contained in both the!
democratic state and national platforms!
tor 1908. namely, the plank demanding aj
constitutional amendment specifically in-,
dorsing the income tax. has since been)
accepted by a republican president, sen-,
ate and house of representatives, and.
that such amendment has been submit
ted to the states for ratification.
We pledge the democratic party in Ne
braska to assist in securing ratification
of that amendment and to that end we
ask Governor Shallenberger to call a
special session of the legislature at an
early day. that Nebraska, a pioneer in
tbe advocacy of an income tax, inav have)
the honor of being the first state to' ratify
the amendment.
We particularly indorse tlu* proposition
that the United States senators be elected
by popular vote.
Present day conditions in the senate,
emphasize the importance of this re
form.
Relieving that the people* have a right
to have what they want in government,
we favor the submission at the next ses
sion of the legislature of a constitutional
amendment providing for the initiative
and referendum.
Reasserting our purpose to give the peo
ple of the state of Nebraska a guaranty
bank deposits law. we call attention to
the fact that the suspension of that law
by the federal court emphasizes the posi
tion taken by the democratic party of
Nebraska in its 1908 platform, when it
favored the enactment of such laws as
may be necessary to compel corporations
to submit their legal disputes to the
courts of the states in which they do
business before taking an appeal to' the
United States courts.
We indorse the successful business ad-,
ministration of a democratic governor andi
commend the governor anil a democratic
legislature for the enactment of specific
democratic platform pledges into law.
The democrats of Nebraska, however,
direct the attention of all good citizens
to the fact that the state election to be
held this fall is for the purpose of choos-'
ing three judges of the supreme court and
three regents of the university. No other
offices are involved.
The democratic party, through its legis
lature and governor, sought to lift these
positions of great trust and dignity out
of the embroilment of partisian politics,
to take them out of the hands of pro-,
fcssional politicians, ta raise them above*
the reach of the interests such politicians
serve, and place them permanently and:
securely on a non-partisan basis. Rut the;
republican party held otherwise.
Through its leaders and its press it as
!sailed tiie non-partisan judiciarv law.
Through its state organization it nr-(
ranged surreptitiously a palpably insincere1
but successful attack unon it.
'\ ** submit that this presents an issue’
‘•f great and far-reaching importance.'
We are coming to he more and more a
people gov erned by our courts. The court*
are the bulwarks of our liberties as well
as the harbor to which special privilege
'’ies in everv storm, and the instrumental-!
ities through which it asserts, with grow
ing arrogance, its power to defy the peo
ple’s legislatures and the people’s execu
tives. There fever was a time when the
necessity for* keeping courts, invested,
with or asserting extraordinary powers,
on a plane above suspicion of reproach.*
presented itself more forcibly than ifi
doe** now.
We urge the people of this common
wealth to take this question home with
them. We urge upon them that the
issue in this state election is one, not of
pe**tv or platform, but of men.
We urge all Nebraskans in voting for
supreme judges and for regents to lav
aside party prejudice and ties. Wo hop#*
no democrat will vote for a candidate for
either of these offices merely because the'
candidate is a democrat, and that no re
publican will vote for such a candidate
because be is a republican.
We urge each and every voter of all
parties to vot<* for the man when lie
goes to the ballot box this fall, and not
for the partv label.
Resolved. That we urge the democratic
members of congress and those from Ne
braska especially, to use their best ef
forts to r?curo as speedy, a completion as
possible of the government ditch project
now but partiallv completed in western,
Nebraska, assuring those settlers who
have homesteaded lands under said pro
tect that the government will keep good,
fabh with them, and that right soon.
What is here said witli reference to the*
administration of the courts applies like
wise to the administration of the state!
university. This noble institution ha si
grown and prospered under the efficient
management of regents elected as re-’,
miblieans. free from the intrusion of po-‘,
litic'«i partisanship or the application of.
Political tests, in sham contract with the'
time when under a fusion board its man-,
HjfHncnt was notoriously partisan.
The reasons, therefore, are not heard to
find why. for more than a third of a
century, but for one brief trial period.,
the people of Nebraska have continuously
preferred to entrust their highest court'
of justice and their highest institirtion of
learning to officer* presented as eandi-1
dates bv the republican partv. and these
reasons hold good today. The nominees
of the republican party for these respons
ible positions this year will be compe
tent and trustworthy, and should com-1
round the supoort and votes of all good,
citizens who believe in honesty, justice
and fidelity and hate hvpocraey, deceit
and faithlessness. , ,
i
Runaway Accident Fatal.
Sutton.—Dennis Lyhenne died at
his home, southwest of Sutton, from
the effects of injuries suffered in a;
runaway which occured a little over
a week ago. Mr. Lyhenne was 07
years old.
V |
..- ■ ■ — i
Old Corn on Hand.
Nebraska farmers and others have
on hand 10.9S1.034 bushels of corn,
more than they did at the same time
last year. As shown by the reports
of the various county assessors, the
corn on hand last year amounted to
30,556,840 bushels, and this year the
amount on hand is 41,535,874 bushels.
The noticeable increases are shown
in the following counties: Adams, 397,
291 bushels; Antelope, 360,16G bush
els; Boone, 261,632 bushels; Buffalo
290,859 bushels; Dixon, 352,491 bush
Decrease in Wheat Stocks.
One of the surprising items in the
returns of tne county assessors to the
State Board of Equalization is the
large decrease in the amount of wheat
on hand. Compared with the returns
made a year ago, the decrease in the
numbers of bushels on hand is over
70,000. The total amount of wheat
returned last year was 5,766.720 bush
els. For this year, with several coun
ties missing, there was returned
1,285,627 bushels. These same coun
ties last year returned a total of
5,659,419 bushels.
Prosecution Under Food Law. |
The deputy food commissioner has
asked the county attorney of Saline,
county to prosecute Albert Fritz for
the sale of five or six dozen rotten
eggs. This practice is one that Com
missioner Mains intends to stamp out.
State Board of Equalization.
Attorney General W. T Thompson
has given an opinion holding the State
Board of Equalization has authority;
to raise or lower the valuation of real
estate belonging to railroad companies'
No Change in Express Rates.
The request of the American Ex
press company to install rates as spe
cified in schedule 19 has been denied1
by the State Railway commission.
Many Candidates in Gosper.
Walter Tilden. county clerk of Gosper,
county, was in Lincoln on his way;
home from a visit out in York county.)
Mr. Tilden is serving his third term'
as clerk of Gosper county and is not
a candidate for re-election. Mr. Til-'
den said there were fifteen candidates,
for sheriff of Gosper county.
IaooooooewoooooooooooooQt
AUTHOR’S NOTE. 8
The material facts in this 8
story of circumstantial evidence
are drawn from an actual re- \
corded case, only such change i
of names and local color being j
made as to remove them from i
the classification of legal re- ]
ports to that of fiction. All the i
essential points of evidence, j
however, are retained.
_ '
3 the members of the Call
Skin club dropped into
their accustomed places
Judge Dennett entered
with a stranger of distin
guished mein, and dignified
bearing. His white hair
andwhite mutton-chop whis
kers betokened the coun
try jurist of long experi
ence whose reverence for
the English bench caused
him unwittingly to assume the person
al appearance of a wearer of the wig
and ermine of Hlackstonian days.
Judge Dennett introduced him as
Judge Tanner and assured the club
that his guest was primed with many
a reminiscence of his long career and
would gladly furnish the story of the
evening. After the pipes of good fel
lowship had been burned for a space
Judge- Tanner arose and began his
story of circumstantial evidence.
“I often wonder,” he said, “if there
is a trial judge of any considerable
experience who has not carried some
one case as a load on his mind and
conscience for years after the verdict
of the jury is in and the condemned
led away to execution. It is a wise
provision of the law that makes the
jury the judge both of the law and
the evidence, and the judge but the
medium through which the law
reaches the twelve; and I cannot con
ceive the condition of mind of those
early English judges, before whom,
when they had arrived at a conviction
of guilt, even the jury was power
less. It was from their arbitrary and
unreasonable rulings, now happily not
held within the power of the judge,
that most of our records of miscarried
justice have resulted.
"Within my own experience there
has come one case which I believe is
as strange as any of record and which
for years, as 1 looked back upon it,
caused me to doubt the ability of man
ever infallibly to pass judgment upon
a fellow creature. The parties now
are all dead and I tell it for the first
time. Hut to the story.
"In a little- city on the circuit in
which I have held court for more
years than I care to think of there
was at one time a hotel kept by a
very respectable man named Jona
than Miller. It was the favorite stop
ping place for commercial travellers
and thus the most prominent and best
paying hotel in the city.
une evening a jewelry salesman by
the name of Robert Conway arrived
at the hotel just before supper. He
instructed Miller to send his grips up
to his room and remarked in the hear
ing of several at the desk that he did
not care to have them left in the gen
eral baggage room as he was carrying
a far more expensive line of samples
than usual. He also asked that the
door be carefully locked and the key
brought to him.
"Supper over, he fell in with a
salesman for a shoe house and one
for a clothing firm and they repaired
to the bar where they played cards
and drank until 11 o'clock, when they
all retired, it happened that the hotel
was well filled and the clothing man
and the shoe man had been forced to
take a double room together. This
room was directly across the hall
from the one occupied by the jewelry
salesman.
"About two o'clock in the morning
the two roommates were awakened by
groans which seemed to come from
the room of their companion of the
evening across the hall.
"They arose and without stopping to
dress hurried out to see what the trou
ble was. You can imagine their hor
ror to find Conway, the jewelry man,
dead, the bed blood-soaked, and stand
ing over him, a dark lantern in one
hand and a bloody knife in the other,
Jonathan Miller, the landlord, who
trembled violently- and gasped inco
herently when they burst into the
chamber of death.
"The case seemed black enough
against him. There was not a sus- j
picion in the mind of anyone in the
city that he could be otherwise than
guilty. Yet when taken before a jus
tice for a preliminary hearing he most
stoutly maintained his innocence and
told a story which had it not paled
into improbability by the side of
damning -?trcumstances against him
would have been plausible in the ex
treme.
“He said he had just reached ills
room after, as was his custom, sit
ting up until a train due at half past
one, came in. He had not had time
to remove his clothing when he, too,
heard groans coming from the neigh
borhood of Conway's room. Like the
two salesmen, he had hurried to .in
vestigate, and as a weapon of de
fense he had taken the knife. He
also picked up the dark lantern which
he always used in making his last
rounds of the hotel and which was
still lighted
"When he reached the jeweler’s
door he was surprised to find it stand
ing open. The groans had ceased.
and he entered, and going up to the
bed. flashed his light upon the bloodv
spectacle of the murdered man's
body. So great was his horror and
surprise that he dropped the knife
upon the bloody sheets, and had only
just picked it up again when the two
traveling men entered.
"His trembling and fear at their
arrival he attributed to the natural
horror of the situation and the ter
ror of the instant thought that guilt
might point to him.
"With such a degree of sincerity
was his story told, and so firm was
the landlord's bearing before the pre
liminary court that he attracted many
sympathizers who believed his story
and looked upon him as the unfortu
nate victim of a most peculiar com
bination of circumstances.
“But these circumstances were too
patent to be ignored and Miller was
bound over to await the action of
the grand jury, indicted and in due
course of time brought to trial be
fore me.
"In the time intervening between
his arrest and his trial the landlord's
attitude was a mixture of terror and
bravado which did not tend to in
crease the belief of the general pub
lic in his innocence. I myself, al
though I have alwrays endeavored to
enter a trial free from prejudice,
had I been a venireman, should have
been forced to admit that I had
formed an opinion concerning the
guilt or innocence of the accused.
"The state naturally rested upon
the testimony of the two salesmen
who swore to the events of the fatal
evening and to entering the room
just in time to find the landlord bend
ing over the body. They were both
firm in the conclusion that his terror
upon seeing them was the terror of
discovered guilt. 1 admit that de
fendant's counsel should not have al
lowed this portion of tlfcjir testimony
to go to the jury, but no objection
was made to it.
"Also further damaging evidence
against him was produced to the ef
fect that he had a short time before
become liable through indorsing a
note for a large sum of money and
that his ownership of the hotel was
threatened in case he was not able
to raise the amount. This seemed
to furnish a powerful motive for 'the
crime. That he had always borne
a good reputation, that his record for
honesty was such that he might eas
ily have raised the sum of money he
required on a loan, and his own story
of going to Conway's room and find
ing the body were all that the unfor
tunate landlord had to offer in his
own defense.
"There could have been but one
conclusion as to what the verdict of
the jury would be, although I am sure
that i gave them the law without par
tiality. Miller took his sentence with
resignation and when I asked him if
he had anything to say, he arose and
addressed the court as follows:
" ‘Your honor, it comes to every
man once to die. For the sake of my
dear wife who stood by me so nobly
through this terrible ordeal I should
have chosen for myself a different
end from that which is to be my lot.
I have no fault to find with the view
the jury and this court have taken of
their duty, but you are making a
terrible mistake. You have convicted
an innocent man. I am not guilty
of the death of Robert Conway. I had
nothing whatever to do with his
death. Some day the truth will come
out, but I.fear it will be long after
I have done with this world. I have
no more to say but that I am inno-1
cent, and this I will declare to the
end.'
"How many men when facing death
on the gallows have said the same.
I wonder how many men have said
it truly. It is true, as Pope says,
that hope springs eternal in the hu
man breast, but I often wonder iT we
do not make a grievous error in not
giving greater credence to the dying
statement of a condemned man.
"Jonathan Miller paid the penalty
of the death of Robert Conway with
the same stoical resignation which
bad marked the end of many a man
in the same extremity. With his
death the case seemed at an end and
t it passed from my mind along with
| many other cases which have arisen
I in a long and busy career. I probably
never again would have recalled it
except incidentally had it not been for
a strange occurrence.
"I was just retiring for the night
one evening about two years after
the execution of Miller when I was
startled by the sound of a horse dash
ing madly up to my gate. There
was a loud rapping on the door and
upon opening it the panting horseman
cried :
“ ‘Buck Everett s just been shot
down in Kiley s saloon. He's dying
and wants to see you right away.
Says he's got an important confession
to moke.’
"I hurried out, and mounting the
messenger's horse, spurred full speed
for Kiley's place, which was a disrep
utable roadhouse about a mile dis
tant. On the way I tried to recall
who Buck Everett might be, and at
last remembered him as the porter
in Miller’s hotel at the time of the
Conway murder. When 1 arrived at
the place he was almost, gone, but
with the aid of a stiff drink of whisky
he revived sufficiently to make the
following confession:
" ’I’m a goner, judge, but before 1
cash an I’ve got to get something off
m> mind. It s Conway. I've seen him
day and night. M.v God, judge, there
he is now pointing his bony linger
at niel Take him away. For God’s
sake take him away.’ He gasped in
terror and the froth upon his pallid
lips was bloody. We thought he was
going before his weighty secret was
told.
“ ‘Come, Buck, have it out and
you'll go easier,’ I said as I held his
head.
" Yes, judge, I’ve got to tell it,’ he
whispered. ’It was me that killed Con
way. Miller never done it. The
thing took hold on me when I took his
grips upstairs and be said they was
full of jewelry. I slipped in and
knifed him as he slept and got what
there was in his pockets. I was just
turnin’ to the grips when I heard
the landlord cornin’ down the hall. 1
slipped out and got past him. and
T never could understand why he
didn't see me. When they put i’
on him I hadn't the nerve to speak
up. My God. I've got Miller on ar
son!, tool There they both stand
Take 'em av.ay,’ and he went inn*
unintelligible ravings which finally
ended in the gasp of death.
-You can imagine my state of
mind upon hearing this terrible con
fession. Was not Miller's death
upon my soul as well? Was I not
equally culpable for not having a
keener insight into character that i
might have read his innocence in
his steadfast attitude? Many a long
night as I walked the floor of my
chamber 1 turned these questions over
ing my mind, never finding an an
swer that was satisfactory to n.v
conscience. I seriously considered re
signing from the bench. My faith
in man's justice had received a crush
ing blow. For five years I carried
that weight of'self accusing guilt, and
only the sympathy of my friends and
the loyalty and trust of my townsmen
sustained me.
‘One night I was seated in the study
of Rev Charles Poindexter, the rec
tor of the Episcopalian church. lb
fore a cheery grate fire we talked into
the night and to him I unburdened my
soul.
“ 'My heavens, judge' he said to me.
laying his hand on my shoulder
'Why haven't you told me all this be
fore? I might have saved you these,
years of troubling. Never before have
1 disclosed that which has been Im
parted to me in the confessional, but
in this case I believe my duty to
the dead is outweighted by my duty
to the living. When you sentenced
Jonathan Miller you condemned a
guilty man. You remember that 1 at
tended him as a spiritual adviser in
his last hours. To me alone he told
the true story of that fatal night. H.
was guilty of Conway's death although
his hand did not Strike the blow
He went to Conway's room with tin
intent to murder him and rcb him of
his wealth. It was for that fell pur
pose that he took the knife and lan
tern. When he reached the room
he found the deed already done, and
even as the two traveling men er
tered the room he was meditating
upon how he might secure the cot
tents of the satchels and hide them
Let your mind rest, judge; his ham I
was as guilty as the hand that struck
the blow!
"Thus was the weight of years lift
cd from my mind, and this, gentle
men, Is my sr.ory.”
Amid the congratulations and
thanks of the members of the Calf
Skin club Judge Grower from the
chair announced that Judge Sturgis
had a story for the next meeting.
(Cooyright. litre., by W. G. Chapman.)
Used His Victim*s Care
“It’s & good rule never to give your
card to a beggar who promises to re
turn your loan of 50 cents or one dol
lar," remarked a New York clergy
man the other day. “Not long ago,"
he continued, "a man in clerical clothes
called on me, presented the card of a
minister out on Long Island, and bor
rowed enough money ‘to get home on.’
He asked for my card, promising to re
turn the amount promptly, and that
was the last I heard of him until I
learned that he had been arrested in a
near-by town for swindling. As my
card was the only one found on him,
he was docketed in my name. I dis
covered in the newspapers that I was
behind the bars without knowing it.”
Did a man ever ask you to go on a
fishing trip with him but what he
asked' you if you could row?
America's Famous Song.
1 he author of "The Star-Spangled
Banner” was Francis Scott Key, who
lives in American history as one of its
notable figures. The inspiration for
the song came from the bombard
ment of Fort McHenry, near Balti
more, by the British fleet.
Key had been taken prisoner and
witnessed the bombardment from ont
of the British men-of-wa.r on which
he was detained. As the battle pro
gressed the American patriot could
catch fleeting glimpses of the Stars:
and Stripes waving defiance at th.
British guns lrom the tall staff on the
parapet of the fort.
1 his suggested the song to Key.
and almost before the guns had been
silenced he had written some of tl>
inspiring lines which later were coni
pleted.
Of Course They Are.
"Shad is a fine thing."
"So is marriage. Sometimes 1 won
der if either is worth the trouble.”—
l.ouisvile Courier-Journal,