Che Conscratt >
ATournnl tlovotod to tlio discussion of political , ) . .
economic nmlBociological questions. 1 FOUNDED BY J. STERLING
Entered at the postofllcc at Nebraska C//y , Neb. , as Second Class Matter , July so , 1SOS.
VOL. IV. NO. 45. NEBRASKA CITY , NEBRASKA , MAY 15 , 1902. SINGLE COPIES , 5 CENTS
As the writer 1ms
ACCESSORY , remarked before , it
is not sufficient for
an editor to write down his meaning so
plainly that any wise man can under
stand it ; he must make it so plain that
no fool can misunderstand it.
Recent occurrences at Chicago con
vince us that judges , like editors , are
unfortunately misunderstood and mis
quoted. Some time ago Judge Tnthill
decided that a. wife was justified in
shooting her husband , should he attack
her. Just why he took occasion to
dwell upon a legal rule so well estab
lished , and generally understood as the
law of self-defense , is difficult to under
stand , but he did so , closing his speech
with the following :
"I wish wives would learn to appreci
ate their rights of self-defense and
would use them , too. If they did there
would be a deal less wife-beating in the
world. Because a woman is married tea
a man , she does not forfeit her right of
self-defense. I should like to impress
upon all women their right in such mat
ters as this. "
Now , if all people could read and
properly interpret evenly such a plainly
written document as that , all would
have been well , but in this case a Mrs.
J. D. Kelsey , who had been neither
beaten nor threatened by her husband ,
shot him because he "humiliated" her ,
and lays the blame upon Tuthill , in the
following statement :
"I read what Judge Tnthill said ,
that women had a right to shoot
Ivusbauds who wronged and maltreat
ed them. "When I read his words of
advice to women I was in a state of
terrible suffering over my own domes
tic troubles. His words preyed upon
my mind , and , when I could no longer
stand the humiliation I was forced
to by my husband , I shot him.
Judge Tuthill's words were in my
mind .when I did it. I tried to kill
myself but they would not let me. ' '
Now comes 'the judge to plead no
connection with the case in the fol
lowing :
"I did not at all intend to advocate
as a right the seeking out of a
husband by an injured wife for the
purpose of revenge as Mrs. Kelsey
seems to have done. It looks to me
as if the woman wore trying to shift
the blame of her act from her own
shoulders. ' '
This is of course perfectly suffi
cient , and there is no reason why he
should be held morally responsible for
the snuffing out of Kelsey , were it
not for the fact that when he gave
that "advice to wives" he was mere
ly playing the gallant , at the ex
pense of judicial dignity.
There were already quite enough
people in the world who thought that
revenging an injury was self-de
fense , and , by an ill-worded speech ,
Tuthill has added to tiiis number an
overly confiding woman , to her own
personal discomfort and distress , and
the utter extinguishment of her un
fortunate spouse.
It is safe to predict that the next
time that Judge Tuthill wishes to
exhibit his sympathy with beaten and
bruised femininity , he will send
along with his speech ( wo find it im
possible to refer to it as a decision or
finding ) a clearly drawn diagram , and
a statement of the class of cases to
which it applies.
The fusionistsiio
THE TABLES' longer have a mo-
TURNED. nopoly of the
commodity which
was at one time their principal stock
in trade. The trust has been
smashed , with no particular damage
being done to the smashee , but with
dire result to the smasher.
Republicans , by putting up the
most gallant and persistent fight ever
recorded in the annals of American
politics , by continuously standing to
their gnus undaunted by successive
defeats , succeeded in turning out the
gang of political mushrooms which
had sprung into prominence in a
night , and stumbled into the state
house scarce knowing how they got
there , and having but a dim idea of
what they wore there for. Probably
what contributed'to the
greatest ex
tent to the defeat of the fnsiouists
was their pretense of saintliness ,
their shallow demagogiu assumption
of immaculate virtue disgusting the
voters extremely.
Now we find the republican press
calling for the nomination of none
but perfect beings. Men who have
shaken hands with railroad officials ,
accepted courtesies from passenger
agents , scolded their wives or re
ceived scoldings from them , smoked
strong cigars , drunk strong ginger
ale , driven horses which looked as
though they could trot , pardoned
criminals , even of the most penitent
and least dangerous kind , need not
apply to the republicans for endorsement
I
ment or promotion.
Such preternatural goodness will
fade in the wash ; there 1ms been but
one such Being on earth , and Ho was
crucified.
The flimsy cloak of imitation saiut-
liness is an armor easily pierced.
Republicans should know that be
cause they have knifed their enemies
through it ; must they have further
proof by' donning it and offering
themselves as a target for the jave
lins of the opposing forces ?
The opposition to
VALUABLE RE- President Roosevelt
COMMENDATION , developed so far en
dears him to the
people of the whole country. Never
demagogic , he refuses to attack
capitalistic combinations of a legiti
mate character ; never truckling
refuses to bow to the will of the
enemies to the "great common people
ple , " who , by the way , are not
necessarily haters of the moneyed
class. Plodding sturdily down the
center of the path he responds not to
the advances of the two aspirants for
his favor : the idolaters of wealth up
on one hand ; the envious and irre
sponsible haters of successful men
upon the other. What wonder then ,
that the "great common people , "
who are included in neither class ,
love him for the enemies ho has
made ?
That press dis-
CONVERTED AND patch regarding the
INVERTED. "turning over" of
a prominent Filipino
pine by reason of his becoming better
acquainted with Americans and
American methods , probably lefers
to the native who was stood on his
head in a bucket of water.
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