The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1876-12-21
ALEpo, Dec, IS, 1876.


weeks, and will continue during the pres
ent week. Much of the time of the court
was taken up in the prosecution of persons
for selling liquor to minors, and for sell
ing without license. Some of these parties
were saloon keepers and some were drug
gists; few were convicted and the rest
acquitted.
If the sum total of money expended
annually in this county could only be
paraded before the public, in the prosecu-
tons of whisky cases, think there would
be correction somewhere. What mean is
this:-As each court commences, the
crusaders begin their work. Hundreds of
witnesses are subpoened to appear before
the grand jury, and that august body.
anxious to make a reputation for the
amount of work performed, proceed to a
wholesale indictment of everybody COM
planned of. When brought before the court
for trial, many of these cases cannot be
sustained. and should never have been
put on the trial docket. Innocent parties
are stigmatised. and put to the cost OF a
defense, through the laundering ignorance
of an incompetent grand jury. To illus
trate: will give the case of DR.. W. d.
Craig, q physician and druggist of excell-
eut reputation in Aledo. He was brought
up before the court on the charge of selling
liquor. The only witness against him was
a gentleman, a resident of the town who
swore that he had gone personally to Doct.
Craig. stating that he was sick and would
like TO have little whisky. He had got
whisky twice, a half pint each time.
With this presentation of the prosecution
to the jury Doct Craig was promptly
acquitted. The prosecution never should
have been made, not alone because of the
expense attending defense, but because
OF the scandal attaching tol the charge,
But then when the crusading fanatics are
seized with q sudden spasm of religious
and temperance fervor, they arel bound to
have a victim. Rather than be cheated
out of the spite Of prosecution, in the
absence OF drunkenness or violated law.
they would hire a man to get drunk and
make case for them.
The people of this town and county are
constantly irritated by these whisky prose
cutions. They are prolific source Of bad
feeling, arraying one part of the community
against another part, and this bad blood
engendered by the whisky business, is
carried into everything. Ii breaks out on
and cooperation, especiallyin business enter.
prises, are essential to success If Mr..
Smith, who is an enterprising bushes man,
and leading capitalist, but who favors a
system of license for the town, goes to Mr..
Jones, " no is strong temperance advocate
to enlist his aid and influence
in matter Intended solely to enhance the
business interests of the town, Jones will
,s,ko L. c. L
estly differs with him in purely persona
matter. This contentious spirit is rife fol
an outbreak at any time and in any place.
1t enters the churches as well as the
stores and Offices, and casts a black cloud
of defamation over the social horizon of
the village.
believe l have already furnished THE
ARGUS readers with brief account of the
trouble between Rev. Robert Nourse and
Doct. Rev, j. +. Cook, resulting in a sui
at law for SANDER and libel, The cast
was tried before the circuit court las
week, and resulted in a verdict of guilty
the jury awarding damages in favor Of
Rev. Nourse, at $4,000. l will give b;
concise recapitulation of the case:-Sev
eral years ago the Congregational church
of Aledo was without a pastor. Anon.
the applicants for the vacancy were Rev
Cook and Rev. Nourse. At the time thu
latter put IN an appearance, the COngrega
ton Of the church had had Cook on tria
few weeks. After Rev. Nourse haC
preached a few trial sermons, he was s,
well liked that he was Immediately engaged
as the pastor. The Doct, Rev. Cook
could never see why the Congregations
society should prefer Rev. Nourse to him
In his opinion it was an evidence of ute
depravity on the part of the society, ant
he has eyer since been trying to prov
that the church was not orthodox in it
teachings, andthat Rev. Nourse was guilt
Of all kinds of misdemeanors unbecoming
minister of the gospel. He first com
menced his work of defamation by writ
ing anonymous letters in a disguised
hand, slanderlng the pastor and his con
gregation. These letters were afterward
proven on him. He used the local paper
to vent his indignation, until the proprie
tors of both papers refused him furthe
use Of their columns. But on the stree
he was necessarily shooting off his
mouth, whenever he could find audi
tors.
Rev. Cook is a physician, of the homeo
the pastorate, he hung a shingle as cure
of physical ailments. His time was ex
clusively devoted to his patients and t
the abuse Of the Congregationalists. and a
his practice was quite limited, he ha,
plenty Of time to devote to the latter.
the congregation and pastor had not proven
impregnable, such herculean efforts a
those of Cook must have ended 10 tota
discontinue. As a slanderer Cook ha
few equals, lie is master of the art
To achieve his purpose, when bent Of
mischief, he would stop at nothing. Witt
some people, even when mad, there is
line of demarkation beyond which it is re
garded as not honorable to 20. Not s
with Cook. His conscience never SCENE
to trouble him on such little matters
And so ne just kept pitching in" unmer
ciiully. Finally he went to the troutl
and expense of getting out pos
ter as large as an average count
newspaper, in which he gave Rev
Nourse and his congregation u most on
landish scoring. Determined to put
stop to this eternal annoyance, the Re,
Nourse and some Of his church member
had Cook arraigned for SANDER and libe
Before circuit court convened, Doct. Re-
Cook silently folded his tent and departe
for regions unknown. Inasnuch as he
not worth any property, the award
damages against him amounts to nothin
more than a victory for Rev. Nourse,
driving Cook from Aledo. For this /
deserves the gratitude Of the entire peopl
In the few years here in Aledo, Coo
kept the town in hot water pretty regularl
he was eternally raising a disturban,
with some one.
Circuit court will adjourn on Saturda
A great many cases have been tried, b.