River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1881-04-21
A Brothers Inquest.

- AAVAAVA AA.AS9As
| NoTE. - AS Or. John II. Goodwin.
Of Drookyille, Ind. was walking
homeward on the evening OF May Sd,
1880, he was fatally shot by his broth.
er Robert.
This appeal was made 10 the people
of Brookville with a view Of calling
their attention 10 the well-lsnown facts
bearing upon the shocking tragedy
that Indignation and punishment may
be meted out TO the real murderer
Who murdered John r. Goodwin!
When God comes to make inqmsltion
| for blood, lie viii weigh even remote
influences in His impartial balances,
and will. with unerring certainty, say
to the guilty one, "Thouart the man.
In the superficial inquest which the
public has made over the death OF my
brother, the verdict has gone forth,
''Killed by his brother Robert" Let
us, nov that we are further removed
from the frightful tragedy, honestly
traverse this verdict. Ii il he true,
then no punishment known among
men, can be too severe for the
murderer; if it be untrue, then the
guilty party stalks abroad in our land
| seeking new victims; and every con-
sideration of humanity, our own safe
| ty, and the safety of our children,
demand that we suspend every other
pursuit until he is detected, arrested
and executed.
If an Indian only once in a decade
should steal into your streets and shoot
down such a man, we would suspend
blowing and planting, buying and
selling and voting, until the whole
tribe was eXterminated. Shall this
wholesale murderer be alone EXEMPT
from the punishment due to his
crime? Dare we sit down and quietly
see him plan to bounce upon our own
households, and either from indiffer-
ence or cowardice never move Il hand
or foot, or tongue, Or pen 10 prevent
his scheme of death! Even if your
own family is safe, will you see him
murder some other family and make
no attempt to save the intended
victim? But your family is not safe.
No family is safe while this demon is
licensed to live in our midst and gath
er his victims from the highest to the
lowest in our community. In our
inquest thus far we have found two
facts that are indisputable. The first
is that Robert Goodwin is drunkard.
The second is that he became so
entirely through the fundamentally
of tipping houses. Robert began to
drink quite young. He was, indeed,
very moderate drinker; yet it grew
upon him, as ii grows upon every one.
He never intended to become drunk
ard. He only intended to drink
genteelly, and to drink or let it alone.
His first tipping was at the drug
store, that open door to hell through
which more educated and genteel
young men, annually pass to the low
est class of saloons, and thence to the
lowest depths of misery and shame,
and crime, than through ordinary
dram shops. But let lis not allow the
special atrocity of the deed which has
led to this Investigation, to mislead
us to words of reproach or special
censure of the men who gild the
saloons and manipulate the glasses.
Their guilt is no greater than the
guilt of those who accept the money
and legalize the crime by law. They
are no worse than those legions of
towards who witness all this and then
quietly fold their hands and permit it
without one manly protest, dr honest,
earnest effort to prevent il. "In as
much as we did it not unto the least
of these, ye did it not unto Me. De
part therefore" are the words of the
Judge who separates the righteous
from the Wi"'ed. And the deepest
and darkesO abode of the damned is
for those canting hypocrites who, for
the sake of political preferment or
business interests, have sold their own
and their neighbours children gto the
drunkard maker. With solemn mocE.
cry they pray, LEAD us not into
temptation, and then vote for the
men who fasten upon society this
legalized curse, this terrible demon
who gro s more rapacious and defiant
and exacting every year that we allow
him to rule over us and ruin our
brightest and best. And when / see
these men who call themselves
christians, Indifferent to this ruin and
shame, and silent as to the cause of
it, confess that l am mad. and /
most cordially despise the manhood of
any so-called man who, seeing all
this, does not run to the rescue of
these victims of license. And when
see men and women, whose sons and
husbands and fathers are already in
the grasp of the same monster and
notice that they say nothing and do
nothing, but submit to all this with
what they are pleased to call christian
resignation. my anger is poorly char
acterized by calling it inexpressible
indignation. AIadi / wish / was mad
enough to put the thoughts that stir
me into words that would awaken you
from the lethargy on which this
parent of murders thrives. The man
who does not openly and boldly, and
resolutely and persistently fight this
traffic is as guilty of murder as any of
the acquiescing class, and the sullen,
lazy, Indifferent acquiescers are as
guilty as the active participants and
a great deal more contemplate. In
such contest AS this, neutrality is
treason, and he is Il coward and hyp0-
critic Of the FIRST water who ouly takes
spasTns of hostility under special prov
ocatIon, such as an atrocious murder,
or some terrible development Of
cruelty inflicted by the traffic
/ have thus answered the question
started ont with: Who murdered
John r. Goodwin and | have at tie