, * M * , rtT 4
'Cbc Conservatiw ,
All uion admire a
STABILITY , stable character , but
are not convinced
that a man possesses one , simply be
cause lie occupies a stall next to a
high-priced heifer , and eats his
meals off a peck measure.
The State His
SOME RELICS. torical society is
to be congratu
lated if the story reported in the
city papers is so , about its hav
ing acquired the Hempel collec
tion of relics , formerly stored in
the basement of the courthouse at
Plattsmouth. Comrade Ben Hempel
busied himself in his old age with
collecting curiosities of all kinds.
Many of them had reference to the
soldier's life , particularly to the
Civil War ; some were connected with
the more peaceful occupation of the
hangman ; ho had a number of in
teresting ropes that had seen service ,
both in executions and in lynchings ;
and lie had several Indian and other
relics which the writer would gladly
have stolen at any time. Some of
these the old gentleman had bought ,
some he had begged , some he had bor
rowed ; we shall be glad to learn
just what the society has acquired.
There is one little three-pointed
spear of wrought iron , of exquisite
workmanship , which was dug up in
making the cut for the Missouri
Pacific line to the Platte river bridge
about ten years ago. How such an
implement as this came to be buried
in the bluffs of Nebraska , who made
it , and what it was for , are questions
that nobody has thrown any light on
yet , so far as we know.
Decisions of courts
WITH DUE should be criticised
RESPECT. with caution ; not so
much on account of
the danger of being cited for con
tempt , as through fear of making
one's self ridiculous , by attempting
to teach a judge the law. Neither
punishment is sufficient to deter us
from asking for more light upon the
decision of a federal judge who
held that a minor may be punished
for desertion from an army which he
never was qualified to join , consequently
quently never had legally joined.
The San Antonio youth whose case
called forth this extraordinary de
cision chances to be sixteen years of
ago ; according to the findings of the
court , it would have made no differ
ence had ho been but ten. Among
civilians it has boon supposed that a
contract calling for the performance
of an impossible or illegal act , is of
no effect , and binds neither party ,
and it takes the superior perspicacity
of a federal jurist to discover that
au infant can bo forced to fulfill a
promise ho had no right to make ,
given to persons who had no right to
receive it. Without attempting to
question the soundness of this judge's
logic , and with no intention of ridi
culing either the court or the deci
sion , wo suggest that if said decision
is allowed to stand , mothers will do
well to keep a close grip upon their
infants when the smiling countenance
of the industrious recruiting officer
is seen in the neighborhood.
W. V. Allen , the
POT AND indigestible popu-
KETTLE. list who edits the
nn s w a 11 o w a b 1 e
Madison Mail , and warns democracy
not to undertake to "dissolve and
absorb" himself and his followers ,
refers to the recently organized Al
lied Party , as "Jo Parker's political
traitors and renegades , " which BO
nearly tallies with what most men
consider a proper description of the
populist party , as to give color to the
report that the editor of the Mail
contemplates joining the Parker ag
gregation. How beautifully consist
ent of the man who applauded every
sore-head and jobless heeler who
left the democratic and republican
parties to form the nucleus of the
army of political castaways who call
themselves populists , to now refer
sarcastically to men who leave the
populist party for one that can be no
worse as "political renegades and
traitors ! " After all what matters it
to the indissoluble guardian of an
xiuabsorbable clientele what name
is given to his wards ? They could
be dubbed ' ' ' '
appropriately agitators ,
' ' " " associated
whimpering patriots ,
job-seekers , " " perpetual candidates , ' '
" ferninsters , " or any other title
which adequately describes the
conglomerate mixture of fanatics and
scheming adventurers which masses
under the dodocralic banner , and
attacks the dominating party , what
ever it may chance to be. There is
nothing in the name , as the public
can smell it whenever it is uncorked ,
no matter what brand be upon the
bottle. As to "renegades and trai
tors , ' ' that reminds one forcibly of
the traditional pot which called the
kettle black.
In order to ao-
FIX THE REquit Major Wal-
SPONSIBILITY. ler , the court mar
tial must have ac
cepted the only defense that was
offered ; a defense which did not deny
the facts alleged by the prosecution ,
but maintained that Major Waller
could not bo hold responsible , as he
was acting under the orders of a
superior , General Smith. By ito ao-
quittal of Major Waller upon such
grounds , the court throws a certain
responsibility upon General Smith.
It follows that inasmuch as the
matter was thought of sufficient im
portance to justify the arrest and
trial of a major , it is of even more
serious importance when the name
of a general officer becomes in
volved , and it is imperative that the
propriety of General Smith's order bo
established , if possible. Military
rank ought not and cannot license
murder , nor should a difference in
rank cause any variation in the
treatment of officers charged with
heinous crimes.
This trial has in no manner dis
proved the contention that the mili
tary machine has been converted into
an instrument of torture ; it merely
raises a question as to who operated
the machine.
General Smith should bo called
upon to explain the circumstances
and conditions which prompted him
to draw such an extreme order as the
court seems to have believed he is
sued to his subordinate. If he is able
to prove that the course adopted was
necessary and justifiable , those who
hold dear the good name and reputa
tion for generosity and humanity of
the army , will rejoice to hear the
explanation of these seeming atroci
ties ; if ho has no such explanation to
offer , the position he holds will not
vindicate him in' the eyes of those
who venerate the laws of Christian
ity , which ho has outraged , neither
should the armor of his rank shield
him from prosecution by those whose
duty it is to uphold the military laws
which he is alleged to have
flagrantlv violated , in a struggle
which is a sequel to ' ' the war for
humanity. ' '
At this particular time , when
England has not hesitated to convict
and punish her officers who have
been guilty of committing atrocities ,
it is important that the United States
should be no less conscientious in
its treatment of similar offenders , but
more important that , if General
Smith is innocent , the world bo so
informed and a black stain be re
moved from the otherwise clean
record of the American army. In
America , it is impossible to believe
a countryman guilty of the wanton
murder of half a hundred human be
ings , but abroad a cloud of suspicion
will appear over this general and his
countrymen , unless that cloud is dis
pelled by a thorough and searching
investigation. If , on the other hand ,
his guilt should be established , the
country could only acquit itself of
the charge of being an accessory after
the fact , by insisting that he be pnTi-
ished to the fullest extent of the law.
