Wichita eagle., 1889-06-07
THE TOPEKA MURDER.

THE TOPEKA MURDER
Kansas has strong vein Of the heroic
but Of late years there have been in the
administration Of her affairs, and con
trolling the sentiment of many of bel
communities, too much of the goody
goody, namby-pamby, high-toned, lofty
civilization notion and foolishness
Everybody, at least every Kansan, must
be converted, saved and sent to heaven
by law. This silly, Miss Nancy notion
has controlled our legislatures largely
for years, until the state is becoming
enervated and weak in its laws, and Its
high morality has become high mocking
and hypocrisy. While Kansas, upon
the whole, undoubtedly leads all the
other states fer general morality, her
thieves and thugs, her murderers
and hypocrites are as desperate and as
mean as those of any other state or any
other community in the world. Even
We're it possible to cure drunkards and
inculcate temperance by law, by even
terriffically severe laws, upon the one
hand, you can't upon the other restrain
the thief by mere example and good
counsel, nor adequately punish the MUIR
derer by combining him in comfortable
home for life, though its walls be a little
thick and its windows a little strong.
Kansas has for years made just the mis-
takes cited. She will go to any extreme
in forcing men by law to be good and
pure, in some directions, and at the same
time hedge robbers and thieves and muir
derers about by innumerable court tech
nicalities, not only, but actually pass
laws for the lowest minimum punish
ment possible, for such.
There is going to be a good deal said
about the Topeka murder and the swift
punishment with which it was followed
We witnessed every step of that people
from the time the culprit was locked up
until his dangling corse fell limp into
the gutter when the rope was cut. And
we say that the security of the sleep en-
joyed by the forty thousand people of
that city for the balance of that same
night was worth the cost. And for
three hundred and sixty-five nights per
year of such sleep would not be too
dearly bought if every house breaker as
soon as caught, and whether he had
murdered or not, was served in Just the
way that the desperate Olphant was
served. Every house breaker is a muir
derer at heart. lie may not desire to
murder, but he goes prepared to murder.
He never enters peaceful home but he
calculated the chances or probale neces-
sity of his having to shoot some innocent
party.
Take our own city and own people
There has been probably a hundred
homes entered by night by robbers with
in the past year, to say nothing of the
work of fire bugs. Every night maybe
10000 homes in Wichita are locked UP
with more or less feelings of insecurity
and dread. Our homes are no longer
our castles where we can see our inno-
cent ones lie down to sleep in tranquility
and peace. The cleaning blade and the
glittering eye of the night robber ever
lies in the imag ination Of timid men and
women and children within the very
shadow of their home. Little girls, rem
dered nervous by over study and by the
talk of burglars, start up in the night
with the cry of Mamma, mammal or
show a reluctance to go to their beds
without light or compay. When we have
the calaboose, or the stone pile or even
the penitentiary as punishment it
would be better from every conceivable
stand point that the house breakers
should $50 up one every night the year
round until that crime should cease in
the land and innocence be permitted to
securely sleep within the sacred precincts
of its home, be that home humble or
grand. The man Rogers at Topeks hear
ing the frightened call of his own flesh
and blood, timid little girl, started to
comfort and assure her only to be foully
and Unexpectedly murdered on the floor
of his own home and within the sleeping
room of his own child. The mother in
trepidition follows only TO meet the same
fate. The life of Rodgers may have
been worth nothing TO the world
but it was of value TO himself, to his
wife and 10 his now helpless
and dependent children. The life
of the man who went swinging up that
telegraph pole at Topeka was not only
worth nothing to the world nor to him
self nor TO wife and children, but was
upon the other hand a menace TO other
lives and hurthen to the world. Oil
plant proved intelligent, cool and cour-
ageous, but nevertheless he proved also
a murder of whom Topeka, and the
world is well rid. The same end for
fifty house-hreakers year would be no
loss, but an inestimable gain to Kansas
society, gain in every conceivable
direction, especially in the direction of
security and tranquility TO the innocent
Some one sends us clipping from the
Cincinnati Enquirer which saws that