Omaha daily bee., 1890-08-17
WASHINGTON CoUNrrs TRAGEDIES,

WI SHTNGTON COUNTT'S TRiG EDfES.
The deliberate and unprovoked mur.
der Of n. II. Town, n respected farmer OF
Washington county, Nebraska, and the
probably fatal shooting OF Miss Town,
followed swiftly by the lynching Of the
murderer, have added chapter to the
criminal records Of the state which every
good citizen must deplorc. The shoot
ing of Mr.. Town and his daughter
was most atrocious. 1t was pre-
mcditated, cold-blooded, and so far
as appears, wholly without provo
cation. The miserable porpe-
traitor, evidently Of most malicious ma
ture, proiessed to have had Il grievance,
but there is not the slightest reason to
believe that there was any other ground
for il than the fact that the farmer had
dispensed with his services when his an
noNing attentions to Miss Town became
intOlerabc. This occurred several
years ago, and it would secm that ever
since Pratt had nursed his hatred Of
Town, and with aiicndish determination
to get cven," rs he declared he had
done after the shooting, though his
plan of murder embraced an entire
family, he awaited an opportunity to
carry into effect his bloodJhirsty pur.
pose. Travelling several hundred miles
on his murderous errand, he found Town
and his daughter in the early morn
ing, performing their regular work in
complete Inconsistencies Of impending
danger, and without u word OF warning
the fend shot the father to death and
inflicted n wound upon the daughter
that may prove mortal. And after the
accomplishment of this bloody busi-
ness, Pratt not not only evinced no re-
gret for what he had done, but only
regretted that he had been unable to
carry out his design Of killing the entire
Town family
Such are the salient circumstances of
a tragedy that created the most pro-
found Indignation among the nefghbOrs
of the murdered man and aroused in
them n purpose to visit upon the mur-
derer swift and summary punishme Mt.
Recourse to lynch law, wherever the au-
thority Of established law is in full oper-
alton, is always 10 be deplored. The safe
guard of the state and of society is in
the respect of the people for the
laws and for those charged with their
administration. Very likely there are
| nowhere men who more fully appreciate
this than do the former neighbors of the
Towns who constituted the party who
L. Al.
tody of the Sheriff and hanged him
without the formality and the risk of q
| judicial trial. They are represented 10
be reputable and law abiding citizens.
But there are occurrences which eXas-
pcrate the coolest temper and the
| most conservative judgement, and of
such was the unprovoked shooting of
| Town and his daughter. 1t was crime
so dastardlya and atrocious as in the opin-
| ion of those Washington county farmers
to demand the application of summary
justice. They felt that this was case
which could not safely he given over to
the laws delay and the technicalities of
| judicial procedure. There was not the
shadow of Il doubt of guilt. Themurderer,
taken red-handed, acknowledged the
| crime and only regretted that he could
not have consummatcd his plan of whole
| sale slaughter. From first to last
| he manifested reck lessness and def
ance that were simply fendish. Is it
at all surprising that Il people who saw
respected member Of their community
stricken down without cause or provo
cation and a young girl, innocent of
offense, wounded unto death, should
take the law into their own hands and
visit its severest penalty upon the cow
ardly and brutal assassin ? Did not
every instinct of preservation and
every consideration of handed JUS
tice naturally urge them to this course
1t is sincerely TO be hoped that Ne
braslia may never have another expert
ence of this kind. In all its aspects it
| gives cause for profound regret. But
| none should censure the people of Wash
| ington county who took the Law into
| their own hands without first carefully
considering the circumstances which
| impelled them to this action and the
| danger there is Of the defeat of Justice
from the delays and technicalities of the
| law
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THE SITUATION IN J. UROPE.