Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-05-09
THE OAsHAWAY SHOOTING.

The recent attempted assassination Of
Ashton by Eagan in San Francisco is the
second bloody fruit of the Dashaway steal.
A small body of men happened to be men,
bers in succession of an old-established
temperance socicty-the Dashaway Asso-
citation. 1t had not been endowed under
specific trusts that could not be squandercd
but had gathered its money by small do
nations made by the public. These men
concluded to close out" the society and
divide the money and property. As the
organization had numbered in its member
ship some tens Of thousands of citizens in
the last twenty five years, a great deal of
indignation was felt and manifested at this
divide, and resort to the Courts was had to
prevent it, not, however, until one man
had been killed and the conspirators had
divided 81 800 each, and arranged for a
further dividend of about $1,000 each.
Among the remaining members, however,
was Ashton He refused to be party to
the swindle, declined to receive his divi-
dend," and invoked the aid of the Courts
of equity to prevent the full consummation
of the steal Exasperated at this mans
courage and honest front, and he standing
alone in the way of the final division,
Eagan on Thursday, declaring that he
believed in the Southern mode of re-
dressing wrong cowardly shot Ashton
in the back as he sat in his place of bust
ness. The man admits freely these facts,
and that he armed himself for the purpose
of murder, because his victim refused to
be party to a piece of rascally jobbery
As the assassin himself says: "Talk about
the Cox-McLaughlin affair, why, it isnoth-
ing to compare with this case, and | know
it. Ashton kept suing and suing, and
had to put him out of the way" Of course
this cowardly cutthroat who takes human
life to satisfy his revenges, and carry out
systematized theft, will set up the plea of
irresistible impulse. Indeed, he is shrewd
GiOuSh 10 ldN HlH BLliLS dIcduN III lHdt
direction, for he tells the reporters that ne
felt " as if a house" was on his heart And,
again: The desire to put him out of the
way was irresistible, and when | saw him
today | had to shoot him" fashion
dies the chances are that Eagan will
go free. The plea Of irresistible impulse,
stimulated and comforted by the precedent
OF the Mclaughlin murder case, to which
he refers, viii be fortified by these very
expressions made at the time of the kill
| ing, and appearing very much as if pre-
conceived. lie will point TO the fact that
he took a small quantity of poison after
the shooting, and will set up that fact, and
| all these others, to show that he could not
help shooting Ashton. 1t is evident that
this planning to do murder and escape its
consequences by aid of the law and sympa-
thetically cowardly iuries is INDUCED in
by shrewd rascals We have not the
slightest belief that Eagan was irrespon-
| sible when he shot Ashton. He was sane
enough to arm for the assault, to shoot
with perfect safety to himself, and to
shoot the man who was preventing him
from consummating public outrage. All
such men are sane enough to punish to
the full extent of the law. Even if they
may be declared to be somewhat unsettled
in reason, still their punishment is best
for society, for it has tendency to restrain
other cranks in whom the love OF life and
the fear of punishment are still quick. Ii
Ashton dies, Eagan should be legally exc
cuted, for the method of his madness fits
him for the scaiiold. If Ashton lives,
! Eagan should not be permitted to cool his
heels anywhere else than within prison
walls Such an example made will do
much to neutralize the bad effects of many
clearances obtained by the aid of the plea
of irresistible impulse or partial dementia.