The Hartford herald., 1880-03-03
Grnyson Connty.
LITCHFIELD, KY, Feb. p.

LITCHFIEI.D, KY, Feb. p.
Editor Herald:
The meeting at the Methodist church
still continues and IL very Interesting.
Rev. B. A. Crm,iiff, Of Long Grove, was
here two or three days last week, and
preached several very able sermons.
Rev. Mr.. Muriock, of Meade county,
was here several days this week and
last, and preached two sermons at the
Christian church.
Young Pruit, who was serving out u
term of 100 days work on the streets Of
Litchfield, the penalty for petty larceny.
took french leave yesterday. He had
been ut work for two months, or nearly
so, with ball and chain to hold him.
The jailer had been allowing him to
take up his ball and go out to Beau
champs tobacco factory to get tobacco.
Yesterday he went out there, got his
weed, and suddenly vanished, but was
kind and honest enough to leave his
ball and chain, having picked the lock
with II nail. SO much for the reforma-
tory pOwer-of law. This fellow, in all,
has no doubt cost the county 500 or
more, and in the two months we have
been boarding him he has perhaps done
So worth of wOrk-certainly not more
and now he IL gone, escaped from custO-
dy, which will encourage him to try the
experiment again. Give US the whip
ping post again, or some other penalty
adequate to the crime, and less costly to
the Commonwealth?
I.gst Monday was county court day.
The town WAS full of men, and the old
stone jail, occupied now by family Of
the "baser sort" was full Of mOOnshine
whisky, and in some way so as toevade
the law, il was being regularly disposed
to the professional punchguzzlers" who
were in town. They were going I'm and
out in crowds, and rs they came out
they gave unmistakable signs of having
imbibed freely Of the ObejOyful; but If
they had been summoned before court
of justice to testify as to the sale of in
toyicating liquors they would have been
as innocent as lambs, and rs ignorant Of
facts as the man i'm the moon, or Mt least
they would by prevarication in some
way have avoided the truth. l say
this because prosecutions have more
than once been instituted against those
parties in the old Jail, and have failed
simply because the witnesses have either
avoided the summons tOappear, OF have
on purpose procured the liquor under
such circumstances as that they were
ignorant Of who the person selling it
was hence could not testify directly rs
to any ones guilt, but by this they
themselves become pdrticeps criB,i,is,
and equally guilty with the whisky
vender. And what shall SAY Of the
character who il 40 lost to all self re-
spcct, or regard for good order or good
morals rs to become n partner In a
crime of so low grade as this. The
persons vending the liquor here do not
pretend to be anything but prostitutes,
and hence nothing better could be ex-
pected Of them; but those who go there
to procure whisky, some of them at
least belong probably to good families,
by this conduct they join IN with those
Infamous characters to violate law, and
then help them to shield themselves
from the penalty Of the law. But is
there no help for all this? Must conf
munity Of good and respectable citizens
continually be outraged by an institu-
ton of this character and have no
means of redress? Ii seems to me some
thing might be done, but who Is to
blame: Echo answers who? But there
is one individual certainly who might
do something to redress this grievance.
The property, where this family who
sell the liquor live and practice their
infamous crimes and indecencies, belongs
To private individual, and suppose is
rented by him to those characters; but
II may be asked, has not a man the
right to rent his property to whom he
pleases: Not always. His property Is
protected and given value by the char
acter of the community 1t Is located in
So he owes the community something,
and hence ought not. ut least to, with
his consent, allow the whole communi-
ty outraged by the establishment of
such an institution as this upon his prop
eriy. Pro Bono PrBLICO.