Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-07-23

nuer TINS heading the Boston f0SL gives
its editorial endorsement to the gross SANDER
Of Vermont recently contributed to that
paper. 1t declares that the stories related by
Mrs. Blank" constitute "a well-authenticat
ed list OF outrages upon women" II is not a
well-authenticated list of outrages, and the
Post has no business to call il such. Mrs.
Blanks letter, thoug h claiming to be 4 rela-
ton of personal observations, was, as any
one can see, largely made up from irresponsi-
BILE rumors. When one describes personal
observations" they are commonly able To at
tach dates and TO give the exact number of
persons murdered Mrs. Blank" could do
neither Her list began with case which
occurred Sin st. Albans about twenty one or
two years ago" in which "a courtesan was
tarred and. .feathered, i, was alleged, by some
Of the young gentlemen Of the town.
Whether any such thing happened, we
have no means of knowing but it
is quite plain that it was not IN
der the personal observation of Mrs
Blank, and that it is not ''well authenticat-
ed" The next is the numbering Of -'one or
two" public women in st. Albans in the
camp of the Fifth Vermont regiment. No
such thing took place under Mrs. Blanks
observation, or under any body's. The editor
of the Rutland Herald, who was member
of that regiment when ii was quartered in
st. Adams, gives his responsible testimony
that the statement is wholly false, and hun
dreds of others would bear the saline tesli-
mony if needed mo investigation, say4
Mrs Blank" OF course not, for there was
nothing to be investigated. Will orwillnot the
Post take back its assertion that this WAS a
well authenticated outrage, resulting in
death !:
In the case of rape in Springfield, last
year, Mrs. Blank" says there was no arrest
of the principal criminal. If We recollect
arislt two or three persons were arrested ior
completely With that crime, and if the pria-
cipal criminal escaped, it was by fleeing the
State. In the Woodstock case cited, in which
a jealous husband knocked down and beat
his wife, no punishment followed because the
wife refused to make any complaint. Such
cases are not uncommon in every State.
Do they furnish ground for nlaligning au
entire community rs one that refuses To pTO-
tect women's Me and womcn's honor:
In the Burlington case cited by Mrs
Blank tramp, an Engishman passing
through our neighboring town of South Bur
lingtcn, with woman whom he had picked
up somewhere. brutally beat his mistress
He was promptly arrested and tried for as
sault with intent to kill, was convicted Of
simple assault which was all that could be
proved, and sentenced to a year, ii We recol-
lect Alright, in the State Workhouse Vas
there no attempt to protect society, or pun
ish brutality, in this case:
If the Post had confined its structures to
the recent MiddletOwn case, We should have
little to say. That appears by the published
accounts to have been a case of abomnable
insult and abuse inflicted on a woman. The
woman's character, whatever it was, afforded
no justification for so shameful transaction
and the States Attorney of that county Is
his best to discover and punish the peIpetra-
tors. We agree with the Post that the ma
chinery of justice should work as promptly
and efficiently in behalf Of wanton and de
submit that this single case, whatever the
facts are about it, does not afford sufficient
ground for arraigning this entire common