The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1885-11-12
CHARITY Us. JUSTICE.

| NAA1b14 70. JO6I1CH.
To the Editor OF THE NKwss
As an old subscriber of THE NEWS,
will ask you to give place 70 a few
thoughts that have suggested themselves
to me, and permit me tn say thai In my
opinion more strIking illustration of the
truth that q considerable portion Of the
people at large are easily made victims
to their own charitable impulses, could
hardly be imagined than the one re-
Gently afforded by the accusation, trial
and acquittal of the young and
fascinating widow of the late
j. r. Walkup. The verdict rendered
in this case can scarcely be considered q
surprise wheR IL cannot well be denied
that there are hundreds Of people in every
large community who suffer themselves
to be controlled by sentiment to such an
extent that they are constantly falling a.
dupes to the. stronger and ADLER powers
OF others; and yet this charitable and
uususpicIoUs part of the community
Will eVer.remain ignorant of the real
causes which lead to their ruin, and
hence will continue to be the victims of
their unsuspecting natures, and will
thereby unconsciouslV propagate AMI en-
courage crime.
The ringing down of the curtain upo n
the last act of the Walkup tragedy
screens from the hand OF the law to say
the least, q remarkable woman. The
opinions of the people will however re-
main unchanged. Those who are blind.
ed because they have not learned to IN
derstand people as they are, rather than
as they appear to them, and who being
themselves destitute of the wicked
promptings Of the cold. bloodsd criminal
classes can scarcely be made to realize
that person could mask a vicious,
relentless, and cruel disposition behind
pretty face, large lustrous eyes and q
countenance always wearing a serene
look and q pleasant smile; q person
whose appearance at no time indicates
anger by contracting brow or. tone OF
voice; one seemingly childish and pure
upon the surface, and yet, with the colo
vlndlctive disposition beneath and
whose hatred would be subtle and dan.
gerous In exact ratio 20 the passionate
warmth Of desperate love Against al
such surroundings the honest citizen
should be callOus. 1t is for him to throw
aside all sympathy and to weigh the evil
dence carefully without regard to extranl
Aoua m Attara 0tharuias Il. o,-u.x,t;... -.
of the law comes In unison with the
desperate deeds of the criminal and pro-
vokes the very evils which 1t is Intended
TO correct.
The Law is cold, merciless, cruel, i'm
partial and just. Cold In Its utter dis
regard of all sentiment, ali emotion, all
sympathy, all romance. MeIciless in
its purpose to punish crime without re-
gard to thessocial status, the age and de-
formity, or the youth. beauty and sex of
the offender Without regard, also, to
any surrounding circumstances, whether
voiced in the tender accents of love or
the bitter tones OF Implacable hatred .
Cruel In it's exactions OF It's rigorous de-
mandsi impartial as 10 the rights of the
Accuser aud the accused, and just in Its
everlasting fiat that the guilty must
be punished and the innocent go free.
To the living It m alters not what has
been the character or the previous record
OF the dead victim of this great tragedy.
Sufficient to say that he is dead. What
ever may have been his failings or the
wrongs he may have doLe, let them be
buried with him, for he fell q victim to
these, and the penalty paid by him in the
terrible sgonies of his frightful death,
may well be considered aa atonsment
that the living, be they friend or foe, can.
not refuse to accept. We can no longer
question the character of the man nor dis
! cuss the tollIes that led him to his IN.
timely end. Let Us rather seek TO do
our duty and set our faces against any
crime ;And especially if 1t be one that for
cruelty OF purpose and depth of feud
ish action Is hardly paralleled in the
criminal history ofthe world. Let US for
a'moment conceive the poisoning of q
highly respectable citizen, above
reproach, and let Us suppose . poisoner.
woman if you please, of hoary locks
and s1nken eyes, and wrinklsd skin,
cadaverous of countenance and with
shrunken and mieshapen form, charged
with the crime. Would this unattrac-
tive old woman have touched the chords
Of sympathy in the hearts Of hundreds ?
Would she have found q guardian to
treat her with the tenderness of dotinR
father, or who would haYe hung upon
her smiles and shed tears of sympathy
for the brazen gaze of her hardened
eyes! Would she have found ON.
GERS OF the law eager TO pro-
claim her innocence before trial
and ANXIOUS to turn every point to her
advantage? Crime lie the one foul blot
upon the escuteheon of the social fabric
OF the nineteenth century, aad should be
terreted out and punished whether
rearing its head 10 gilded palace or
poverty corner, and whether appearing
In the garb of angel or devil, in youth
or age in men or women, in Wretcbed
detormity or enchanting beauty.
JUsTIrIA.