New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-11-29
Mr.. STEADS CASE.
HIS PROSECUTION FOR ABDUCTION-THE
history OF His GREATER OFFENCE


Editor OF The RAJ Mall Gazette, has been found
guilty OF the abduc ion of Eliza Armstrong. lie
has since been tried again for an indecent assault
upon the girl aud second jury returned
verdict of guilty upon that indictment also. For
the double Oieuce he has been sentenced To three
months imprisonment without hard labor So ends
for tho present a business which has OccasOncd no
little excitement IN England. The publication or
the so-cdllcd MAIDEN 1rib lte" in Mr.. Ste1ds
paper vas, from whatever point of Wow you look
at it, a very gross event. The prosecution IL but
one incident of ii. There are people. great numbers
Of people who look upon Mr.. Stead as mn
apostle aud martyr. There are Others, innch
more numerous, | think wnO regard HIM and his
work as aINc mischIcvouF. Tho subject ~ one
have hitherto preferred 10 let alone. Now that an
end of the whole matter has been reached, IT -
perhaps desirable to give som1 account of II and oil
the light In winch sober minded people regard the
facts. Ot the party bcnlnd him. applandlng ana
urging him on, II is enough to say that 1t Is COM
posed III great part of well meaning people incapa-
bic of forming iud smen, They are men ana
women Of COOL impulses, with most deplorah
methods of giving effect to them; many eccieSlas-
ties, many women. many of the sttaiter sect OF
non confornis.s few indeed with any capacity ioF
seeing things thay are, or who know what ITO IN
great capital realIyis.
Thc history of tla sO-cllled Secret Commission
cannot he understood witnou5 50 M knowledge Of
me idIosyncrISIes of its Cef Director. Mr.. stead
Is 4 man in whom the sensational Journalist the
religions z'alot and tho socialist are COMBINED IA
pref ty nearly equal proportions. AZ 4 journalist,
or RAJ II r "a - iI l stic writer, he has brlnnt
abilities and caplcIiy for taking novel views OF
things. II eXcics curiosity, and people look INTO
lis paper to $40 what Stead will say next His
abilities, however arc coupled with dchcIcA-
which seriously affect hs fitness
to be the responsible editor Of paper
lie Is w1nting In Judgment. IN discretion. In COM
mou sense and cmHrl knowledge of the world.
lie is creature Of I'm Jusc, OF hysteTlca sentiment
aaI, fear il must hr added. az 0vrrwrcn'ne alnDl-
ton AMI vaMty. His concc llion OF journalism Is
s,rIca of sensations lIo has used the paper he
edited a. y means Of setting night tn several prairie
irce Hc caught NJ ths Gordon cn;hu$Iasn. He
urged last year rhc abolition of the House % Lords
with cx trcm, ycIc ncnor, only to drop II a month
or two later as snddcnIy rs he had taken it 'Ip
He started the scare about the Navy. lie took mp
the cause uf IN ..a against england aud became
the mere tool o; Nine. do NovIhuf and u. LcSsar.
Unable to b. moderate IN any canso he cspousrS.
he showed himselfin The Afghan dispute not merely
pru-Rus3lJl bat ant-EnGlisn. In the intervals o.
thas, ps.furnJucos no devote h., energies largely
10 Interviewing, moro or less commercial III
character. aud 10 tn dohJsr ncnt OF journalism IN
various other ways.
Finally clmo the Secret Commission. Mr. Stead
ha. INN 81 r'I1'cd how for yrsr', IN tho loneliness
If the rcmnt North, ne b.ooicl over the subject of
vice in is relation TO women. aad especially to
;ouug gu, ANY phys,logIst would have toId him
that morbid cXclicnou. wa' tho sure rssut Of such
brooding.. 1omlhc matters worse, tho Salvation
Amy g,t hold % han. Tao SIlyhti1n Army II led
hy the two 3 lotiis calculating fIustic5 II IL sad
a description of whI,h the first half ~ probably
ourItc. Salvation by -cI-t'iO1 IL their motto, and
they were enchanted a. Lying hands on such an
instrument Il, Mr. stead. Mr.. Stead bal convinced
himself niorso Ter. that the decentralization Of the
lower clas.", has b,cH the work of tie upper. and
the hope " dirrciIn1a fresh attack against ID"
upper cit--e, heated his Imagination suil further.
Under the stress OF all tIesa motives he set on
foot what h. called an Investigation into tnc vice
u London. Persuaded n advance Oi tho existence
4 particular torn u horrors lac entered upon
this tasA no. in -clc I;i' SPIRIT nor by anv sc'en-
tine or practical mc.nud What hc wanted was
not the nero truth. at evidence 10 support pre-
conceived opinion. Aul to suppl. material Tor a
fresh sensation 10 The raj Ndi Gd.ciic. Much has
been SAID about Mr.. stead, motives hy himself
aud by %, hcrs. The Attorney General aud the
Judge wno tried the indictment aEllnt him, and.
above all. tho jury. thi1< these good. or assume
them 10 be good. II nod not be disputed bnt II
Mr.. stead over looa d"'pcnorgl INTO hi-own soul.
he VII probably be ,nr ti.ci 10 perceive how mixed
his mot Yes were. II might be- dl1icult 20 deter
mime the cNact proportion which sensation boro to
sincerity. bat by all means let MIN have all the
benefit OF tie plea of good n:'ation-. lie well
knows what place IL is OF when thcy are tho pave
mcnt
allow Le wrought hc has himself told ne and there
-. ,.s,,ro
gloom than that whicn SHOWS Us n GIttcl writer
aud thecag.r r. ,ormcr spending his nights in the
brethe.s of London The tce;0talcr mudd I'd with
had caampIguc, sICkruIpg with tobacco the bad
mime 81 a sa,cd debaHchee. tho boon companion
Of blwd, The creatures 10 whom he went
seem 20 have seen tiuoI.h from the first ms lm,y
pretcXt Of debiucuery aud cnt them elves readily
TO hi. fancy for tales o horrible vice They piled
him with VINE and lics, each 1t price. and for
cicil he wag mole 10 come Ieln and again during
the weeks which b. devoted to this industry. II
hedrank the wi 10 with reluctance he ~ allow" the
GctIous grccdlly ald .e, FOR more. He collected
much Of this glib gossip Of tho s:cw3 which he
calls evidence Then ne bethpughl himself OF VERT
fying the story about the slo of vOu1g girls who.
as nc cvol wsro kept ia stock for purchaP3fs.
He disDltc lod RJDeeca jarrett On this mIsNon;
an cx brothcl keeper, whose reform dates back
somo SIX months and il ce-t,i,d to by Mrs. jose
phine Butler jarrett told him, or somebody had
told hin, that young g,Iis Of tender ago worc kept
I'm stock to be sold. He charged Jarrett to buy
one jarrett an old hanl at an infamous business.
could find nono and the fact that she could not dis
poses once for all Of the theory that there was
market and a market price for girls Fooled in her
search for an Opcn market she bot0ok herself to
Mrs Broughton and through hcrto Mrs. Armstrong
Sho agreed with Mrs Arm 'trcng that her daughter
Eliza, thirteen years DID, should 90 10 service. ana
took the gr, away. Mr.. Stead was told that Eliza
had boon bought for prostitution. BY his orders
she was taken TO a brothcl, subjected to an in
decent examination, put to bed, drngged with
chlnr, fnr1n drnrrcd araln. examined nNan. and