Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1888-11-24
SENTENCED.
Rtrsr. xsBss AND RIDDLE SENT ro Ihh
PBNITBlTIART.
By Judge NcIlvaits, at Litas Washington les'''-
dsy-FOur Years and Three Months the
Term Melted 0ut-Addrsssd
The Court

John Rust, Peter Krsss and Frank hia,
die. the Tires Wheeling men c'n'ictea u
voluntary manslsughter at Little WASH
instop, last Sunday morning, were brouRn'
into Court, yesterday morning, and SEN
fenced to four years and three months escn
in the penitentiary.
LAST Monday morning, in discussing she
probable length Of the fentence, the BEG.
IsrER predicted that about five years Would
bs the term for which the three men would
be sent up.
The actual sentence shows the REGISTER
was pretty vel informed s to the pEoO'-
bilities. ,
In moving the Court for Judgment
agair a. the three me1, District Attorney
TAYLOR ask5d that it be borne in mind t1a'
tina defendants were not criminals in ihs
sense of that term ss known to the law'
but men that were the victims Of a como'-
nation of unhsppy aud unfortunate GU
cumstsrcss that rendered. them amenabie
to the Law. ,
M. L. A. McCracksn, ]. NJ. BrSdsn ano
]. L. Judson, attorneys for the defend
ants, followed Mr.. Taylor in short speeches
in which they rtfsrred TO the good cbarac'
ter Of the defendants and the combination
of circumstances that led these men into
| this difficulty, and urged the Judge to DC
msrciful in his senterc'.
Judge McIlvaine requested The men te
stand up, and on btiog asked II they Dau
ANYTHING to cay, all answered no. Int
,Judge then a ei the following sentence
at is a painful duty for me to pronounce
the sentence of the law upop any one con
yicted Of a crime, but 1t is especially so II
this case. You are all young men, JUS
entering that time Of life when its hope
should be the brightest. Heretofore yot
have borne good regulations as psaceaols
md law abidiug cit'Z:ns. And am 10. u
fo,pst st this moment, that during TIT
lime of your tIial three sad hearted moth
ers and q loving wife sat here inside thu
hsr. and that the sentence OF the law tina
( shall pronounce will tall also upon them
Neither can / remove from my mind tn
conviction that hut for the indulgence II
strong drink you would not,be here to-day
and Adam Staub would not lave died Tn
death he did. Truly, in the Language OIL IN
indictment you were moved and seduced b!
the instigstioa OF the devil. And the mean
hs endowed wss his faYo:ite N eans o
bringing the bad in a man TO tbs surface
believe what your tOunssl satd IN open
rpg your case, that no one coui'
oe more sorry than You Gre now for tn
death OF Adam S'aub. Bot aow was II OF
the night of September 5:b, when he wa
shot down in the streets of Taylorstown
At home, pursuing your usual VOCATION
and in YOUR sober senses, you were your
men whose regulations as psacaabie an
law abiding c~itizsns were good, but hoV
was IL on September 9Th when, with heal
I'D blood, You tnrre1 the peaceful ant
quiet villsgs of Taylorstown into q seen
If riot. bloodshed and death. Aud now
after a fair and impartial trial, ably de
Tended as YOU were, we do not sss how o
where YOU have any ground OF complain
against the verdict Of the jury that con
victed you. Indeed, under the evidence
they might have convicted you OF nutde
in the second degree, but IN mercy the!
reduced the grade Of yOur crime to that
voluntary msuslaughter.
After having pas l the crowd that leer
ed at you, 10 or a 100 feet, in pl ace OF driV
ing on you stopped yonr wagon, got on
and came blck; Oae Of your Dumbsr, II
very offensive language, challenged Oh.
one of the crowd to fight; no reply beinI
made TO this, you challenged any two o
them; you were told that no n thtr
wanted to fgh.; then y0u commenced tn
assault which resulted in a general fight
YOUR party was getting the wort OF it wtel
me of yonr number calls out, boys, &c
the guns" and you did get them; whei
You returned from the wagon with the gun
the crowd dispersed and in place Of takioJ
Shaffer, as you could have done, and re
turning to the wagon, you pursue tn
crowd, YOU break in the door of the stor
room where tie crowd, or part Of it
bad rctreated for safety, and yoI
chess this part of the crowd out OF tn
store, through the back door and over To-
fence and fire a shot at 1t rs il retreats
whsn you came upon Mr.. Buchanan, tn
miller, your remarks to him that you woult
beat h,s brains out if you thought be hat
ANYTHING TO do with this or if he Was on,
of them; your remarks when you left Mr.
Curry saying hs was not one Of them an
the declaration of the person who fired tn
fatal shot, Just before or when hes fired
that there is the s. Of a b., wOll'
indicate that you were hunting o rsome on
with your ours upon whom you INTENDED
to wreak your vengeance for what you ha'
suffered 10 the first fight and in no possibl
way can your conduct on that cc'siol
he construed 90 as to make it justin ibi
or ~excusable under the law Of ~stlt-deience
In short, you started and were sclive par
ticipa1ts in O riot and an innocent by
stander WAS killed. We might eel tenC
You to imprisonment in the penitentiar
for the period of twelve years, but You 81
Young men and we do DO. wish to crow
out OF you all hope for the future. On tn
one hard the interest and safety Of societ
and the vindicaiion Of our laws calls fC
severe punishment of the offence Of whiC
You have been convicted, on the other, tn
E fact that you are yonpg men and that tn
is your first 1eoce, are grounds for II
exercise of mercy, and carefully an
thoughtfully considering oil the facts
the case, we have, in the seoteuce we ba'
concluded TO impose, t~ndeayored TO temp
1 justice with mercy. The sentence of csc
OF you is four yesr5 aud three month
J. coats of p%rosecution ard 81 fine.