Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-02-21

In the american La,D Review for
September October, 1888, in an editor
ial relating to the enforcement of law,
is the following:
"The law is good enough If it is only ad-
ministered. Trial by jury is trial by public
opinion. II the law is not administered, in
nine cases out of ten, it is the fault of the
people themselves. II the fellows who take
part in mob justice could be caught and I'M
masked they would turn out to be the very
scum of society. The wretched part of their
business consists in the part that it Is not
justice which the mob administers. An in
sane negro wandered about the streets of a
town in Iron county, Missouri; an inquest Of
lunacy scds held upon him, and the jury
found that he was sane, on the ground that
If they were to find that he was insane the
county would be put to the expense of keep
ing him in the insane asylum. A day or
two after he was arrested and put in Jail for
making an indecent assault upon an old
lady. A mob broke into the Jail at night,
took him out and hanged him. There is not
the slightest doubt that he would have re-
ceived adequate punishment at the hands of
an Iron county jury, had he been tried-we
mean adequate punishment for Il sane man,
guilty of such a crime. But he was entirely
demented, and the hanging Of him by this
mob was an atrocious murder"
Now, the truth is, Henry Caldwell
the negro referred to-was never tried
for insanity. and consequently no Iron
county Jury found that he was sane
on the ground that if they were to find
that he'was insane the county would
be put to the expense Of keeping him
in the insane asylum" and the Reyieao
editorial in consequence loses the fine,
moral point to its lecture. The state.
ment it makes is false and slanderous
upon our people, who are as intelligent
as those of any section, and as subserv-
lent to the law-taking it by-and-large.
Still, there is perhaps somewhat Of
blame to be attached the citizens of
our little city in that Henry Caldwell
had not, some months before the en-
acting of the tragedy at the railroad
bridge, been made the subject of an in
QUESTION de lunatico inquirendo. He
was known for years to be not of sound
mind, though, up to within two or
three months before the assault, he
was thought not dangerous. But in
April or May of that year-the hanging
was on July 30-he began to get troub-
lesome, and had to be driven with
severe threats from about private
premises, where he would lang around
for hours in the absence of the mem
folk and, in several instances, greatly to
the alarm and terror of the unprotected
inmates. The matter was talked over
by the citizens, but "what is every
bod's business is nobody's business"
and nothing was done. Beside many
were, ard are yet, Of the opinion, that
Henry Caldwell knew right from
wrong, and that the act which resulted
in his removal" was the outcome of
an unrestrained vicious propensity,
and that 1t was very doubtful if an
inquiry into his sanity would have
resulted in his detention. The editor
of this paper knew him for years; and,
while, of course, we always believed
his mind to be "a wee bit agee," we as
well believed it to be difficult to prove
him sufficiently out of the way, men,
tally, to warrant the expense of COM
mission. And herein is not the law to
blame, that, il q jury fail to find the
defendant insane, then the person
provoking the inquiry must bear its
cost?