The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-05-09
AND STILL ANOTHER.

About year ago a family by the
name of Frost attempted to take pos
session of quarter section OF land
owned by Mr.. T. F. Baker, near MO
ran. Mr.. Baker brought suit against
them. and at the June term OF court
obtained an injunction, forbidding them
TO po upon the land or in any way in
terfere with Mr.. Bakers possession OF
it until the matter of title had been
decided. Mr.. Baker was required TO
give bond of 1000 in favor OF the
Frosts to cover any damage they
might suffer i'm case Mr.. Bakers title
was decided void.
Under this injunction Mr.. Baker
built a house upon the land, i'm which
his son lived all last summer. The
first of this week he and his son began
breaking up the land preparatory to
putting in their crop, when the Frosts
came, armed with whips and clubs
and ordered them to desist. Mr.. Ba-
ker asked them why they didn't bring
the law against him if he was doing
wrong. They replied, ID the law;
there amt any law" After some
more talk the Frosts went away say
ing that the next time they came it
would be in sufficient numbers to en-
force their demands, and the Bakers
kept Oh blowing.
Nothing more was done until on
Wednesday morning when MIR. Baker
got up he found that the three wires OF
a barb wire fence with which he has
enclosed forty acres of the quarter Sec
ton upon which he lives, had all been
cut between every post, and that the
house which he had built for his son,
upon the disputed quarter section had
been burned to the ground. At one cor
ner of the field was board upon which
was nailed the following letter." This
is only a commencement of what will
be done if you do any more (work)."
Below the letter, the outline of a cof-
fin was carved into the board and be-
low this was written, Bakers and
Edwards coffin"
Now we would like to ask the hon.
orable, justice loving people of Allen
county,wha theythink of such bastard
Nv deeds as that: THE REGISTER has
been blamed for saying hard words
against the Leaguers. But do not the
fact above cited prove that our only
fault has been in not condemning
them more severely? The League
has again and again asserted its will.
ingness to obey the laws. Yet the
very first time that the law is invOk.
ed and they find its decisions against
them, they treat it with utter con.
tempt. They have always declared
that they never molested a man in
the possession of the quarter section Of
land upon which he actually lived
Yet they have destroyed fence cost.
ing $50 in cash-not counting labor
upon land that Mr.. Baker has lived
upon for four years and a half. We
will undoubtedly be told that the
League as an organization does moi
uphold this lawlessness. We reply
that mighty good way to show it
would be to drive the offenders out OF
their order and turn them over to jus.
tice. 1t is no use for an organization
to pretend that it disapproves of the
misdeeds of some of its members, SC
long as it shields and protects those
members. So long as the league re-
mains silent in matters of this kind,
just so long will it be judged by the
worst and not by the best of its men,
bers.
But Infamous as is this outrage
against Mr.. Baker, it may in the end
prove a benifit. "Whom the Gods
would destroy, they first make mad"
and snch actions as the above viii. mot
be without their reward if they sue.
coed as they ought to do, in depriving
the transgressors of the sympathy OF
all honest men and in arousing the
people of the county to realization Of
the injury done our county by this
agitation. With popular opinion once
on the right side of this question it
will no longer be possible for outrages
to be committed every other night