The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1875-01-06


row, sin and suffering. Can mother fail to
have compassion on the child of her own
BOSOM Is q mother ever made a monster
more cruel than beast OF preyS
Under the influence of intoxicating drinks,
this woman, Mrs. Janisch, took her own child
just old enough to speak, and placed it upon
heated stove, aud disregarding its piteous
cries for mercy, kept it there till it was
literally roasted to death. Another woman,
Theresa Donohue, who lives on the same
floor, testified that she heard Mrs. Janisch's
little boy crying Mother take the baby off
the stove," and Mrs, .Ianisch replied, s'Shut
lup." She climbed on the fire escape and
looked into the room, and saw the baby sitting
on the stove aud crying, . Mother take me
off," The witness looked for second and
then ran around end burst IN the door, where
upon Mrs. Janisch cried, Watch murder /"
The witness was afraid to go in, the woman
looked SO wild. She was frothing at the
mouth, shaking her head, and rolling her eyes
about, while her voice was very weak, and she
talked as if exhausted. The boy, Charles
Janisnh, testified that his mother put the girl
on the stove because she had misbehaved.
Carrie cried to be taken of the stove saying
that g she would not tell her papa" but the
mother would not. DR.. Comfort testified that
he had visited the child in September last for
scalds, when the mother stated it had fallen in
a pail of hot water. lie had no suspicion of
anything wrong then, but when he was called
In again last Saturday, the father said to him
that the mother had burned the child and lie
then recalled certain incidents which had
struck him as suspicious. The woman at that
time was intoxicated, and had asked him not
to say anything about It, The father said
that his wife had attempted to kin the child.
The child was burned on this last occasion
Deputy Coroner deposed that the child had
been actually roasted. The jury rendered q
| verdict of . death at the hands Of Mrs. Isn-
bella Janisch, believing that she was sensible
at the time" The woman, in reply to the
usual inquiries, said that she remembered moth
ing about it. She was committed to the
| Tombs.
have given the facts almost in tho words
of the newspaper report of the case, emitting
only those details that are too loathsome to be
repeated. And it is not to tell narrowing
story only, that | have rected this occur.
renee. 1t is not the only Que that could be
related. Perhaps it Is the worst that has Of
late been revealed But it is one of thou
sands Of illustrations of the crime and wretch
edness that are caused by intempcrance, and
for this reason beg of you to look at 1t, Is
there not something in the case that intelli-
gent, Christian philanthropy is bound to Gen.
slider with anxious inquiry as to what is to be
done about It?
If the use of Intoxicating liquors converts a
mother into monster, what evil will it not
cause
And If II is the parent Of such evil is 1t not
the duty of every friend of humanity to do
what he can to restrain it?
There are other vices and other evils be.
sides temperance, but there is no other vice in
the world that bege's go mach misery as this.
And there is no other vice so readily within
the grasp of the civil law, and those moral in
fluences which the friends of virtue and hu-
manity can bring to bear.
Ifa secret of religious fanatics were to come
into the midst Of the city or the country, aud
in the name Of their bloody religion do the
same Il ings that men and women are daily
loing under the stimulating and maddening
fucncc of rum, the Church and the whole
community would be aroused 10 work and to
pray for the suppression of the demoralizing
and ruipous y the strange sect. Law
would be invoked, and If corruption OH the
bench, or In any department of justice, were
50 deep that right law could not be executed,
the instinct Of self-preservation would convert
every honest citizen into judge and execi-
TONER and the evil would be summariIy wiped
out.
But Mormonism firmly rooted among us
and fourshing without restraint, would not
be so great an evil rs is the use, to-day, Of in
toxicants. Last Sabbath day was made more
wretcbcd Ia tens OF thousands Of families in
this "happy land " Of ours than 1t would
have been If without such liquor to drink,
those homes had been filed with pagans, wor-
shipping idols.
The indifference witt, which tllis state of
things is regarded by the community is one
of the most remarkable facts in psychology.
can explain it only In part. But the most
probable cause of this unconcern is a general
feeling that If people choose to make miserable
beasts Of themselves, it is their own business.
As IL we are not all our own worst enemies
Who of us does not need help to be and to
do what he can and must ?. 1t was Cain who
said "Am my brothers keeper?' And the
.,;rt ~ III, frat mn rferer lurks in the heart
Of him who can read the story Of Mrs. Janiscl,
and say its none Of my business" Those
laws which are made to restrain people from
doing injury to themselves are the most diff
cult to enforce. And III free country there
is a deep-seated reluctance to prevent peop'e
from using their liberty when such use does
not Immediately injure anybody else. But
this vice does work untold evil 10 those VIII