Idaho news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1887-1891, 1890-07-26

~. gGE a.r.P Pao !.
49, for pessimism
"a dose OF the last century.
Ibelieve it; but it is hard TO com
press the last century into CON
yenient dose for the healing OF a sick .
and discouraged soul. It Is not diln
cult to learn many bad things otthat I
century. Bad things, such as crimes .
and disasters, being exceptional are
ant to be recorded nnd repeated,
while yirtuous deeds and orderly iy-
ing, being the rule all over the world
and in every age, escape notice and
pass into oblivion. In the middle Of
Africa, despite the sayagery Of which
we hear so much, there must be long
intervals OF comparative peace and
tolerable behavior; else children
could be reared and the race preserv-
ed.
! In some particulars all the centu-
ries are much alike, even in features
supposed to be pGsnlinr to our time.
/ Always, for example, there have been
what we now call labor troubles, ! g.
sharp contentious between those who
pay wages and those who receive
/ them. From the pyramids TO
the Eiffel tower, we can not
find century free from that
painful antagonism Of interests.
1 In Henry the Eighth's time, the tramp
question was, perhaps, more omin.
Gus and difficult than it has ever
been since. In 17T0, a crowd OF
hatters in London. Ms We read in the
old newspapers, laid hands upon one
of their fellows and convicted him,
after rough trial, Of working over.
time without extra payment and Of
working for wages under the usual
rate. They compelled him to mount
a donkey formed a procession and
led him through all the parts Of the
city whore there were hat shops. A
man marched in front OF him carry,
ing banner on which his offenses
were inscribed. Behind him walked
number OF boys beating shoyels
with sticks by way OF music. The
procession halted before every
mandatory Of hats and compelled
the men to leave Off their work until
their wages were raised
In the matter oihuge cntastrophes
also, there is a curious similarity be.
tween the centuries. Ii we have our
cyclones and floods, SO did the people
oil former ages, to say nothing o
such direful events as the Lisbor
earthquake. Even the JohnstowT
food was scarcely more destructive o
life than the panic which occurred il
Paris during the marriage festivities
of Marie Antoinette, when some o
the fireworks went wrong, and threw
sheets OF fire among the people. II
the crush that followed, there thous
and people were killed, wounded o.
otherwise injured.
Nor am so sure that we claim 81
perioFity for the last century in sup
pressing robbery. The exploits o
the footpad were highly picturesque
and interesting, but sometimes whpi
they robbed the mail, there was moth
ing to steal but two shillings belong
} ing to the boy who carried the mail
and the cap which he wore on hi
head. Some Of our train robberie
end bank robberies have probabl
yielded a larger sum than was STOLE
on the highway during the Who'll
: reign of George the Third. The high
way robbers, however, furnished {
the local press narratives of tn
most striking description. II har
: traveller had two conflicts with high
, waymen in the same hour, and cam
off victorious from both There M
men now living in London, who r,
g member hearing their own father
} spenk OF the time when business me
4, living few miles out of town woul
+ meet every afternoon at n certai
i hour, and make the journey in con
pany for mutual protection agains
robbers.
On the other hand, we baye learne
+ that excessive severity of punisl
e ment does not deter men from con
/ hitting crime. Those were the yer
l. days when it was not unusual to ),
It half q dozen carloads of erimino
10 carried through London streets /
& Tyburn for execution, many of the
if singing ribald songs all the way.
re one session OF the Old Baily. thirt
d conyicts received sentence OF deat
is Among these were four girls, the oil
h est not seventeen, oil sentenced (,
IL highway robbery. One of the rir
x was executed, and she dressed to Ii
i. occasion. She appeared In the ca
dressed in white with blagk tril