The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1856-05-14
Congressional Homicide.


The slaughter of one waiter at Will
lard's Hotel, Washipgtonand the wound.
ing of two others, by shots fred from a
revolver in the hands Of the Hon. Philip
T. Herbert Of California, are fresh ex-
empli6cations Of the atrocity of carrying
murderous weapons, and the real absurd
ity Of fancying an insult requires or is
properly resented by personal injury
inflicted on the supposed insultcr. We
trust the House will empbatically purge
itself of the stain fixed upon it by this
tragedy, and will thus preclude the pos
sbility of another outrage so fearful
being chargeable on one of its Membo
1t must nov decide whether a Member
may shoot down fellow man during its
sittings, and thoreupon walk into the Hall
and take bis seat with the blood of hu-
man being red Oh his hands. 1t iswell
for the country that the question has
arisen so squarely: it will be we'll for tho
present House to decide 10 Alright
We print al, the accounts of this hor-
rible affair that have reached US BY tele-
graph, and, through their pointed con-
tradictons, the essential truth is plainly
seen. Wizards Hotel, like ali other
well conducted establishments, is govern
ed by rules and ole Of these fixed the
hours within which brcakf fast is served at
the public table-usually from 7 to 10,
l0k or a. M. Mr. Herbert, board
or at the house, came down after tho
breakfast hours had expired, and order
ed waiter to get him breakfast. Tho
waitor replied, as was his duty, that it
was now too late-that breakfast was
over. This was regarded as insolence"
by Herbert who called anoth err waiter
aud gave him similar command, which
elected like response to the former.
| This was of course more insoence - SO
Herbert undertook to inflict personal
| chastisement on the insolent waiter.
which of course brought him into collision
with the few waters still present-the
breakfast being for the most part over,
but a few attendants remaining to serve
those who had begun their meal before
the expiration of the stipulated hours.
Finding that he was thus getting the
worst Of the fray, Herbert drew his re-
volver and fred repeatedly at his antag.
Oulolo OuS auu tWO OtU-
err. Such, we are confident, were SUBJ
stantially the origin and character of the
fray. The pretense that there was n
conspiracy Of hotel.waiters to kill one of
the bOardcrs at their employers table, is
too ridiculous to deserve consideration.
Walters at a public table are often as
sailed--thoy are rarely or never assail-
ants
We DO not separate the case of Her
bert from that of other wearers of con-
cealed and deadly weapons. Whoever
makes travelling armory of his person
and apparel, lives in a state of perpetual
conspiracy against the lives and safety of
his ne ;ghbors. He may not mean to
deal death but what docs he mean by
thus transforming himself into a copper
head Is he too great coward to trust
himself among his fellow men on an equal
footing2 Hiding pistol or dirk under
his clothes is taking mean and das-
tardly advantage Of the unarmed thou.
sands with whom he is brought into a
contact which may possibly result in col
lision. A manly spirit must disdain
such unfair advantage.
We believe the walters at Wizards
table are all whites but it would be idle
to affect not TO see that the disparity Of
station between waiter and Member
of Congress is very great to the eyes OF
that portion of the latter class who take
pride in their chivalry" The barkeep
err who tells a half-druuk Member that
he can give him no more liquor is guilty
of nsolence :" so would the waiter be
who should refuse to rise at midnight tc
furnish hot supper for the tipsy gen
tleman." That walters have duties il
very generally understood it is not ST
clearly realized that they have rights al
So We trust the issue Of this melau
choly atfray will 60 far to establish it,
". Y. Tribune.