The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1882-09-28
THE DOUBLE INQUEST.

procure food. Man is the only animal
| who makes an ally of death and whose
cupidity defies public censure and con-
domination. Civilization does not furnish
aparallel to the proceedings of Manitowoc
law officers in their treatment of the body
of Mrs. Rathsack, and it may well be
questioned if savages could so stihe SEN
timents of humanity at the bidding of
ayarice. 1t is proceeding which is an
outrage on decency, an instance of judi
cial greed of such enormity as to stagger
credulity and make one despise law which
gives the color of regularity to such deeds.
The community which tolerates such
proceedings is destitute of courage and
a reproach to the age. Greed is bad
enough when its victim is the living, but
when it enters the wretched howell of the
murdered mother, whose married life
was cruciixioI, drags her body from
the wretched children whom she had
loved with the tenderness which only a
woman can feel, and with that depth
which braved death for their sa,1es; from
the place which should be held sacred by
the sufferings of that martyr mother who
knew no happiness, but who toiled With
weary limbs and bruised heart to keep
her children from want; when judicial
greed so far forgets humanity as to dis
regard the feelings of reverence which
the woman's life and death would inspire
in the breast of MAN, it sinks to the
level of infamy. That poor, emaciated,
disfigured body which held loving
mothers soul, had to be further mutilat-
ed by the dissecting knife, dragged to q
Justices Office and placed on exhibition,
because the woman was poor and had no
friends. Does any one think if that wo-
man, whom death even could not save
from abuse, had single friend capable
of a single manly sentiment, that any
such thing as now causes such indigna-
ton would be attempted 1t was cow
ardly as we'll as an indecent act; an act
which every one thought Justice White
incapable of; an act which casts discredit
upon his manhood and will be reproach
to him while he lives. Our Indignation
is such that we find it difficult to quit
the language of invective to give partic-
ulars.
When Mrs. Rathsack died the city
marshal directed Judge Smart to hold an
inquest on Sunday. A precept was is
sued, jury empanneled and testimony
was taken. The proceedings were not
completed and an adjournment was had
until Monday evening. The thing to be
condemned in this proceeding was the
unseemly haste in issuing the precept,
and when it first came to our knowledge
we inferred that Judge Smart was party
to the scramble, and we expressed pur-
pose then to denounce his action in terms
as strong as indignation could suggest.
We purposed acquainting him with our
intention, but on the way to his office
learned that he was directed to hold the
inquest, by the city marshal, and for
what were said to be good reasons, on
Sunday. This exculpates Judge Smart
and relieves us of the performance of
disagreeable duty.
On Monday morning Justice White
issued precept. The body was taken
from the house and brought to the jus-
tees office, distance of half mile; a
jury was sworn in and double inquest
was held. This was not the worst
Rathsack confessed to everybody that he
killed his wife. The mother who was
present acknowledged it. Death occur
red within short time after the murder
GUS blows were given. The skull, laid
open in two places, through which the
brain protruded, left no doubt as to the
cause of death. The wounds were neces-
sarily as fatal as decapitation would be;
and still it was deemed necessary to con-
duct an autopsy, open the woman's skull
and carve her brain to ascertain if death
had resulted from any other cause than
through the wounds caused by burying
an axe twice in the brain. The only
wonder is that it was not thought neces-
sary to examine every vital organ with a
view toward reaching the conclusion that
Rathsack's blows were playful taps and
that when PERSONS brains are dashed
out, before death supervenes, apoplexy,
quick consumption or diseased liver
might intervene with fatal results. A
justice of the peace might have no heart
and live, but woman can hardly survive
with two deep cuts in her brain. Under
the circumstances, to cause the brain of
the poor friendless woman to be taken
out and carved was a disgraceful pro-
ceeding, an outrage on humanity and de-
cency. Suppose the physicians had
found that the axe did not go deep
enough into the brain to cause death, is
there any man, knowing the facts, fool
enough to believe them2 There was the
bloodless corpse of the slaughtered wo-
man which said to them YOU LIE, and the
rigid form would successfully refute all
the expert testimony that could be gath
cred.
Here was double inquest brought
about by the hope of getting a few dol
lars from the county. From the time
that Rathsack's murderous arm was rails
ed against his wife to the present, there
have been more disgraceful scenes enact
ed in connection with the case than usu-
ally fall to the lot of community in one
generation. 1t would seem as if the peo-
pie of Manitowoc had grown wolfish and
fought over the dead body of friendless
woman. The term wolf does not fitting
ly express the greediness of appetite for
money exemplifed in this case. One
can only hken the hordes and their action
to the buzzard the most cowardly and
af fho L,,I1 IL E..