Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-03-13
WAS r.rRuE OR uNrRuE2

A letter from this city, to the Common-
sseG'fh, touching the pardon OF Mohen and
Gardner has called out both criticism and
denunciation. The writer In less than one
fourth OF column makes eight broad and
specific declarations, which we set out I'M
der as many different numbers below, with
a running comment OF cur own attached.
The writer charges
i. That "these men incurred their respec-
tive penalties with their eyes wide open."
or course that is false, for no one dreams
that either Mohen or Gardner ever had the
least idea that they were violating any law
=. That ''the sheriff, and his deputies and
the county attorney are all opposed to the
law and its enforcement" OF course that
is false. John Fisher and Derby would get
up at midnight to catch back.door whisky
seller in the act, AID as for Dave Dale, he
would navigate the purlieus OF this city in
cycicae TO find single witness who would
swear straight out that he had bought and
drank whisky in this town within the last
two years, for weren't these officers elected
by prohibition votes!
). That ''the accused and their attorneys,
with others charged with the same offense,
sought to delay justice and clog the wheels
OF the court" OF course that is false, for
does not everybody know that Ruggles and
the Others rather than take up the time OF
the people and the judge neglected to ask
even the customary questions ia testing the
competency of juror.
A. That ''the names returned to the Jury.
box were selected with reference to their
opposition TO the prohibitory law" OF
course that is false, for where will YOU find
brighter or more unflinching prohibs than
Sehwerdfeger, Maddux, H. +. Butler, Goer.
mar, Dittmann. Charley Norris, Whitley
Rupp. George Z. Harris, Coplin, KLAUS,
Child, ct al, ct al. and forty others, whose
names were drawn from that jury-box since
it was last filled.
3. That "the term was a very expensive
one and that three -fourths of the time was
taken up by the whisky cases. OF course
that is false. for the jurors were SO few In
number and SO satisfactory 10 the whisky
men in their answers that this expense was
mere bagatele, and scarcely any time was
taken up by these cases. The sole reason
why no civil cases were reached was because
Judge Sluss kept insisting that the saloon
attorneys were unnecessarily rushing their
cases in a manner un5ecoming a dignitied
court of justice.
6. That 1.-THE peopleof this city and coun-
ty fully concur in Sluss' judgments" OF
course that is false, as the many public in
dignation meetings, Immediately thereafter
held in which he was denounced us seeking
to trample upon and ignore the rights and
the personal freedom of American citizens,
free born or naturalized, fully attest,
!. That "should Gov. Click annul by a
pardon that which was done under the war
rant of law and backed by overwhelming
proof, he would forfeit the respect of very
large number of people, and earn the corr
tempt of many who have no more use for
the prohibitory law than himself" OF
course that is false, for what do the law
abiding people OF this city and county care
for law, or the judgments of their courts, or
how quick the supreme executive of the
State tramples upon the one or slaps the
other in the face!
8. That "Judge Sluss' court opens again
on April first when this same class of cases
will be up for hearing again and that every
conviction will be followed by no mere
nominal penalty OF course that is false.
! for all concede that Judge S,uss, having
| giutted his personal hatred and vengeance
upon Mohen and Gardner, will not permit
the other eases to come up in their order.
but send word TO all the boys 10 go ahead
! for another year, as he proposes to skip the
criminal docket until the civil cases can be
disposed of,
Having thus plainly shown how weak.
! frivolous and wholly unreliable the entire
eight declarations of the Commonwealth
correspondent are, how foolishly filed with
mischievous lies, personal spleen and fanat-
zeal bias, we take occasion, in closing, to
say, and we have been charged with its au-
thorship, that we are prepared to defend
that letter in every word and line, except
where imperfect punctuation misrepresents
the evident intention of the writer. The
letter bristies with disagreesble facts, and,
uneanny as they may taste, must be
swallowed. The makeup of that portion
of the jury coming from this city was SO
glaringly evident as to call forth comment
from the judge, provoking jokes from court
loungers when their names were called, some
of whom were excused time and again with
out so much as question. That John
Fisher and David Dale honestly aud earn.
estly endeavored to discharge their duties
under their oaths is not denied by us, but
that both of them have been openly opposed
to the law and personally against its enforce
ment, will not be denied by them, for upon
this platform did they both receive the SOL
i'd anti-prohibition vote of the county. Ey-
cry other point made in that letter is just as
self-eyidently true, if We except, maybe, the
last one, touching Judge Siuss' future judg.
ments; still it is fair TO measure these by
the ones he has already delivered. The
april FOOLS Day. was an expression OF
his own, made upon the last Friday even
| ing Of court, to number, some of whom
were attorneys, in contemplating the man.
ner that time had been squandered and his
own honest desire that the business of the
people should be rapidly transacted, had
been baked by a systematically planned
course of delay and obstruction.
/