, 1870-02-26
TIE VlADICATlOH OF VIRTUE,


gain soue ecluf and vindicats her reputa-
ton by an assault on the editor Of the Chi
caRo Times lncks the elements which would
enlist public sympathy either for the assail
ant or the asaailed- In the first place, the
attack Of the Times on the "bloude9 IL q
clear case Of pot calling kettle blafk. The
7tmts p1umes itseH upon its superior vir-
tue in excluding the advertisements Of she
Opera Honse, and Jet in ita last Sundays
issue gave an elaborate aud, we presume,
gratu1tous whole-psge advertisement Of the
prostitutes of Chicago and their business,
published in the same issue in which it dis
coursed on the moral reputation of the
t'blondes." We do not regard The private
morals Of actors OF actresses as leR4ti-
mate subject Of comment BY the press, uu-
less such degree Of publicity is given to
tbair immortality, by the parties themselves,
as renders their example public nui-
sauce. We commend to all the parties to
this controversy the modest demeanor Of
those persons described in the New Testa-
mant as sitting in judgment upon an erring
woman, and who, when they received the
verdict, Let him that is without sin
among you cast the first stone, appreciated
the dellcacy Of the situation, and retired
without throwing any stores whatever. 1t
is much to bo regretted that a like amicahle
policy could not have been pursued on this
occasion.
On the other hand, Miss Thonpson's at
tempt to cowhide IN editor is in itself proof
neither Of virtue nor of indignation. In
this Instance it failed even to illustrate
courage. For lovely womnn," or for
women Who can be made to appear lovely
behind the footl'ghts by dint of paint,
powder, and padding, to assail man in
public and use rawhide on his person, is
an act which, when bravel5. and inssinctiyely
done, inspires the respect due to good
fighting animal. But where two or three
women are backed by an equal number OF
men with pistols, and thus secured from
real danger, commit their assault on
single person, it Is difficult to see where
the proWess Gomez in. Such an outrage de.
serves only to bs handed over to tho courts
and treated with whatever degree OF severity
the technical crime committed-that of Q
riotoua assault with deadly weapona-ma,
deserve. Tho effort to make sensation,
first BY placarding Mr. Storey as "lia1,
coward, &C., upon the dead-walls Of Chi
cago, md then to still further advertise
their business by public street rencontrt
that might very easily and naturally have
proved fatal to one or more Of tho parties
In considered ...-.-I, - k.f.h u d1aw full
houses,-oue with which the uls-
eliminating public can have NJ
sympathy. Instead Of vindicatine
the virtue Of those engaged in it, it dis
graces them. Such assaults re character
| lstic OF but tuo classes--those whose limo.
cenco is 80 'lnsullisd that they are driven IL
frenzy by the breath Of slander, and those
who have SO little character that they car
afford to risk it in street-6Rht. The plea
Of frenzy in this cssa, when We consider
tho careful preparations made beforehand
would be entirely fanciful Whether, as Al
advertisement, the affair pays expenses
will depend partly upon the size Of the
audiences, but chiefly upon the rigor Of tht
prosecution.