The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1879-10-09
THE BUTLER -ABDUcr1oN CASE.


heeu arrested for.the abduction of Miss
Mary Leary. the handsome organist of St
Marys Catholic Church. It seemed to
give tangible form to unpleasant rumors
that had been in circulation for some time
past, and everybody seemed anxious to
learn the full particulars and on what the
prosecution relied for so grave a charge. |
Il seems the complaining witnesses are a |
committee of the society for the s'Suppres-
sion of Vice" and their zeal in the cause is
the only motive for the prosecution instead |
of its being ipstigated by any of the So
called personal enemies of the defendant
Neither is il probable, as has been freely.
intimated on the street, tina! hostility to the
Catholic church on the part of the COM
mittee figured in the matter, The general
opinion seemed to be that the misguided
zeal of the society, some of whom il the
past have not been above suspicion OF i'm
morality, is the sole cause Of the arrest.
Be these speculations as they may the
conn ittee have taken bold aud danger
GUS stand which, If true, brings everlasting
| disgrace to the parties accused without
any consequent advantage. As far as the
charge Of abduction is concerned,it matters
not what relation the two accused parties
may occupy to each other, or whether the
| facts alleged to have transpired at the
house of designation 10 Davenport be true
or false, it will be difficult, 10 the absence
of rulings upon this statute, to convict the
defendant of the felony charged Ordi
nary people will fail to see what good has
| been accomplished even in the event OF
conyiction.
| The statute under which thei complaint
is made is as follows:
| Whoever entices or takes away any unmarried
| female of chaste life and conversation from the
parents home or wherever she may De t0uno' lot
whoever aids and assists in such abduction Tor
such purpose. shall be imprisoned IN the pehlteh-
tary not less than one, nor more IMAM ten years
The only reference to this statute by
the supreme court and on which the pros
ecution rely for conviction is that of Slo-
cum ct al Us. The People, fled Jan 25
ilS79 wherein the supreme court first
defines what constitutes .enticing, and sec
ond. the purpose of such enticing, in order
to bring the crime within the purview of
the statute upon this point The supreme
! court says
The Legislature. in passing the statute
under consideration, bad undoubtedly IN
, view the punishment of pinps and pro
, curers who entice aud carry off young girls
, and induce them TO abandon for once and
all their homes and the control OF their
parents, for the purpose of becoming per-
manent inmates of houses OF Ill tame or
0 living as concubines; bat 1t also had IN
view such persons-more especially IL
large towns and cities-as entice girls from
o their parents house to den OF infamy IN
Q the Immediate neighboraood. for the pur-
pose of prostituting them for pay to who
: ever may come, even though the absence
from the parental roof are of but tenn
II porary character. The latter evil is not
only as much within the terms OF the
statute as the former, but it is equally
within the evils intended TO be remedied.
: We are not inclined to explain away the
d meaning of a wholesome and remedial
: statute ia order to make an exception OF
, that which is plainly within the mischief
i intended to be cured. At the same time
e we do not wish to be understood as holding
r that it was the intention OF the General
+ Assembly to make seduction, adultery or
:. fornication a felony, and crime punish
y able by confinement in the pepitentiary,
d The case suggested by counsel. where 8
d young woman living with her parents is III
ls duced or enticed by man to leave home
u and meet him for few hours and have il
q licit intercourse with him, within few
Is rods of her home, after which she returns
o to her parents house as usual, is clearly
y not within the scope of the statute, as il
= lacks at least one Ingredient, if not more
necessary to constitute the offense. L
lacks the Ingredient of an intention to re
,, duce the female to condition of either
d common prostitution or concubinsge.
= the case last night was postponed unit
= " ednosday October 18th at o'clock a
N. bail being fixed at $500. r. r. Cabl,
becoming Mr. Buffers surity.
Re There seems to be misunderstanding!
'e as to the part taken in this matter By tn,
Society for the suppression of Vice" tn,
assertion that this is "a part of the socie
fty's general plan Of reform, as the Unio7
It states, which will necessarily lead to othe
complaints of a similar nature agains
other men whenever evidence is secured
* tending to indicate their guilt" is not trut
% as an ARGUS reporter was informed to-day
), by Mr.. Il. w. Spencer, one of the com
l. planning witnesses in the case. Thi
gentleman says that it is not the purpose
,, ofsthe society to make itself smelling
:. committee or to dog the footsteps of CHI
}, zeus who walk 10 by and forbidden paths
r That 10 this case they are only the figure
d head-the formal comp lainants-th that they
:. knew nothing about the case until it was
0 laid before them by friends of the family
!. who were in possession of the facts, who
D felt that the accused was committing ar
0 outrage upon the family of poor widow
!. who said it was the second case of the
kind and ought to be stopped; and that il
!, the society was all that it claimed to be il
: was their duty to become the forma
complainants. This, Mr.. Spencer claims
is the position OF the Society for the sup
g preston of Vice.
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