Sioux City register. [volume] (Sioux City, Iowa) 1858-1871, 1866-06-09
Sionf Citp:4tgi
SATURDAY ...............jUNE g. 1866.


forced upon Us corroborative evidence Ct
the great wisdom and foresight, of Solomon
wheh he proclaimed that "there is moth
ing new under the SUM-" In the p|oldng
matter-oF-fact days Of our fore
fathers, through the ignorance Of
the wearers Of shoe-buckles and shad
bellied coats, great crimes we're committed
in the name Of the law. In those DAYS
men were hanged for murder, and women
burned for witchcraft. The march of
science, and the light which has been
shed upon the wonderful aud fearful me-
cha"ism Of man by the researches of
modern intelligence, has established be.
yond peradventure that these victims of
the gibbet and the stake were not crimi-
nals-,hey were insane. Thus, by reason
of the bsfoeRing errors of prejudice, DID
ignorance Of the mysteries of the human
mind, our ancestors were the unwilling
perpetrators Of the gross sin of inlicting
the penalty Of death upon unaccountable
beings.
But, thanks to tho developments made
by the advance Of science and civilization,
the present generation is saved from the
commission OF those crimes which darken
the history Of the past, by having revealed
to it the important truth that the perpc-
traitors Of a.! great wrongs are insane
This is no longer mere thcory-t is re
ality established by law, ard ratified BY
public sentiment Illustrations are al
most innumerable.
Sickles shoots down Key cs, and, altho'
nobody suspected it before, jury of his
peers, after diligent research in the
realms Of slowly developing science, dis
covered tina, be was insane, Rl horrible
murder by the operation of the law was
aver,ed. That the finding of the jury in
this case was correct. we have indubi,able
evidence in the subsequent political ca
reer Of Sickles.
A young 'ady buys pistol at her home
in Iowa, goes to Washington, and kills
her old lover. She is arrested aud tried,
but Of course, the lawyers, the Judge and
The jury soon discover that she is insane,
aud Immediately re,invest her with the
precious boon Of liberty. This young
lady IS now The proprietoress Of very
sane millinery establishment in tie re,
Gently insane city Of Richmond.
An Indiana Doctor shoots an Indiana
Professor for being the means of causing
the formers unmarried daughter to add
another member to the family circle. The
law promptly pronounced hin insane, and
be is now iudustriously peddling pills to
accumulate stamps with which to provide
pabulun for the additional m EN- Der of his
family.
We might multiply illustrations, bu,
We have given enough to show that SC;
ence has been vindica,ed by law. True,
there are exceptions, but even in these
the error is not in the principle, but ia
the fact tina. the wrong OK has Leen gored.
For instance:
Brooks softened Summers brain with
. lignum vitae walking stick. His uumis.
table insanity was neser acknowledged :;
on the contrary, he was execrated, aud
invited to indulge 10 bowie knife DISCUS
sions at inaccessible places, until the
grave placed him beyond the reach of
public scorn.
The crazy actor whose diabolical act
filed the natioo with horror aud indisna-
ton, did not stop to have his mental
status established by the verdict Of jury,
but was oyertaken and summary pre-.
pared for An unkn grave BY Massa-
chuse,ts class-leader.
But-and here we come to the point in.
dieated in the caption Of this article 1T
is the exalted privilege of Iowa to still
further roll back the clouds of prejudice
and error, and add new lusre to the
achievements of civilization. A new
phase Of insanity has been discovered,
and its timely PRONUNCIATION will bring
joy-as it insures immunity the
hosts Of divines and others who are peri
odieally subject to its influences. The
circumstances leading to the discovery,
are as follows:
Rev. J. II. Clark was, until recently,
the loyal parson Of q presbyterian church
at Council Bluffs. During the past win
ter a great revival was in progress in his
church. Sinners BY scores crowded
around the desk Of this holy man, and
besought him what they should do that
they might be saved. So large grew the
number Of searchers for truth. that the
good servant Clark could no longer give
personal attention to all who sought to
gain the RICH. way under bis guidance
He was compelled to prepare . private
apartment in The church--a secluded "ho-
IL nf hol;est"-to which HI renaired viii