The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1889-08-16
JUSTICE WITHOUT LAW:
A Judge I'm TucsOA Who Sent All Ohen

A Judge In TucsoA Who Sent All Offend
ers to the R"ck Pill.
Capt. Bourke. of the army, is an in
Leresting story teller. and possesses a
rich fund of Renaissance and anec-
dote
Twenty years ago" said the cap
tain, II was in Tucson. No place was
ever worse governed. Outlaws abound
ed and they did about as they pleased.
Finally the good citizens OF the place
merchants and men OF property
determined to bring about reform,
and the way they decided to do it was
to elect Judge who would deal hon.
estlv with the scalawags who were
running the town and cOrrupting the
courts. So they chose man named
Charlie Meyers to be judge. Char
lie was a druggist, who knew moth
ing about law, but he was perfectly
honest, and that was the only qualifi-
cation the citizens desired. Accord
ingly, Charlie set up law dispensary
in the same building with his drug
shop, and dealt out justice and patent
medicines with equal grace. In his court
he established library of calf bound
books, consisting chiefly of the Mate
ria Medica and Somebody on Fractured
Bones. He engaged as an officer of
the court a man who was afraid Of
nothing or nobody - old Jimmy
Douglas, who carried in his leg bull
let that he had picked up at Gettys-
burg, and who walked with some diff
ficulty and with a peculiar though
not graceful limp. The first thing that
Charlie did was to establish chain
gang and sentence to various terms
in its service every offender that was
brought before him. The shyster law
yers who had run the town be-
fore Charles incumbency protested
against this as violation of the con-
stitution of the United States, but they
protested in silence. In fact, the pro
test was useless. The process of the
judge was rather summary, but the
result was very gratifying to the good
citizens of Tucson The wild, rough
characters who had ruled the town
were now engaged in cleaning the
streets, and Tucson was seeing an era
of prosperity that it had not known
since it's foundation But if the bust
ness men were pleased, the lawyers
were proportionately Disguised. The
court refused to recognize them and
their business was gone. One day.
however, one of them plucked up
spirit enough to 60 before the court in
behalf of his client and. demanded 9
trial by jury. The court was about
to sentence the prisoner to term in
the chain gang, when the lawyer in
terposed demurrer. My client, he
said, objects to being tried by this
court, on the ground of prejudice, and
demands to be tried by jury
"'By shury, said Charlie. What
is dot shuryg
HE demands, said the lawyer, to
be tried by his peers.
"'Oh, he does, does he9' said Char
lie. Veil | sentence him to two
weeks in the shain gang and l sen
dence you to one week Now how you
like dot trial by shuryY and into the
chain gang the lawyer went and there
he stayed until his term was up.
Zone day man named Wolf wa:
brought before the court for cheating
some Indians out of S. He was ar
INSCRIPTIONS man but shrewd ont
and he knew all the tricks of tn,
law. Charlie felt that in his case thu
Materia Medica was not sufficient au
thority and SO he adjourned the cour
TO get an opportunity to consult some
books on the law or to obtain advice
from somebody with a knowledge O
it. AS he declared the case postponed
and the court adjourned, however, h,
turned to the prisoner and said: Wolf
it is de unanimous opinion of dis com
munity dot you are a - tief and thi
court comedies fully in dot opinion
"Wolf lost color and raising his ifs
he said: Judge, | don't let any on,
speak to me in that way
Dis court fines you $40 for rails
ing your fist against it, said Charlie
and you stands committed to de SHAH
gang until it is paid.
''Wolf knew that there was no re
course and he reluctantly paid tn
$40. The judge gravely took it AM
after dividing SIS between himself an,
Jimmy Douglas, he gave S. to tn
Indians And to this day, in the an
nails of that Indian tribe, Charlie
Meyers is the most righteous judg
that ever held court, for did they no
sue for So before him and recover $50
Washington Telegram.