Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1891-04-30

- SD
Had him hdlftcd off By tlco Stdltpdrt in
fdntIBnlen.
The court had finished its labors and
gone. The correspondents had gone,
but presumably only to renewed labors.
The various journals throughout the
northwest that had so confidently pre-
dicted the summary dismissal of the
offending lieutenant were now in a some
what difficult position. They had started
in to prove the officer blackguard and
the private martyr; the result was ex-
actly the opposite, and the problem was
now how to get out of the pickle. To the
average man, soldier or civilian, the con-
sciousness of having publicly wronged a
fellow being would have proved a source
of distress so deep that nothing short Of
retraction as public and apology as far
reaching as the affront would satisfy
the offender. But, in its Jovelike at
titude as censor of the morals and man.
ners Of the people, the press has no such
qualms of conscience.
As one eminent journalist expressed
it, "Of course we are sorry we are mis-
led somewhat. but we can't take back
what has been said; that injures the pa
per-" And of course as between injur-
ing the paper and injuring the man it
is the man who must suffer Another
gifted editor, in whose eyes no benefit
was quite to be compared with free ad-
vertising, expressed himself as consider
ing that THAT young fellow really
ought to feel very much obliged to us;
nine-tenths Of the people might never
have heard of him at all if it hadn't been
for this. And he spoke in all serious
ness.
OF course the correspondents them
selves had long since seen the inevitable
results, and had duly prepared their re-
spective papers for the crash. Some 5f
these journals promptly dropped the
matter at once and for all as no longer
worthy Of attention: others transferred
their assaults from the array Of ieuten-
ants to the array of courts martial.
Others still, too deeply committed to
extricate themselves, threw open their
columns to any damaging story affecting
the army which their correspondents
could fabricate; and those papers which
made any reference to the facts elected
before the court did 50 in the smallest
type, but head lined the item in sarcastic
or explosive big capitals
The Palladium, or rather its editorial
hnn1 IL,
of men at the club, quietly justified the
course Of his paper by saying: "We did
not send Mr.. Abrams there at all. He
had gone to Central City on some per-
sonal business of his own. to look into
some property, and while there this Mr..
Schonberg. wealthy, prominent, and,
as we supposed, reputable business man,
told him about the offensive manners of
the officers to the people, and offered to
prove that they would be insulted and
ostracised if they ventured to visit the
garrison; and Abrams got warmed up
and telegraphed to the managing editor
that he was 'on to good thing and so
we wired him to go ahead" But a
Junior member Of the editorial staff
frankly admitted that he, in common
with other journalists, had for sixteen
years been ''laying" for a chance, as he
expressed it. to get in a good whack at
the young West Pointer, and here they
thought they had it.
Meantime the record had gone to de-
partment headquarters for the action of
the general commanding, and Lawler
went with it to fight the case to the last.
There was not a soul at Ryan that did
not know that, though the lips of the
court were sealed, the finding had been
''not guilty" on every possible specifca-
ton. All Lawler could hope to do now
was to persuade the general to pick the
proceedings to pieces and rasp the court
In his review of the case; but even this
proved futile. The general, it seemed.
would do nothing of the kind: it was
even limited that he rasped Lawler for
the very one sided investigation that he
made at the outset.
For two days following the adjourn
ment of the court Fort Ryan was fairly
IN a ferment. Schonberg, terrified by
the jeers Of his townspeople into the be-
lief that he was to be prosecuted for
perjury. had slid away on night train
-"gone to purchase goods in st. Louis, y
said his unhappy spouse. Welsh, the
martyr, had essayed to desert the same
night, and as a cat plays with mouse,
old Kenyon had let him go until the in
tent was made plain by his boarding the
eastward bound train in civilian dress,
and then had had him hauled off by two
stalwart infantrymen and, incidentally,
by the nape of his neck, and once more
Welsh was remanded to his familiar
haunt-the guard house at Ryan. This
time a still more serious charge was
hanging over his head-that of assault
ing a non-commissioned officer in dis.
charge of his duty, for Corp. Brent had
recognized him as his assailant the in
stant he heard Lis voice. So had another
witness. 1t was Georgia Marshall who
/ turned to Kenyon the moment Welsh
had finished his testimony and said, q
have heard that man speak BEFORE" and
who unhesitatingly declared after Goss
appeared that though by sight she could
identify neither man, by voice she knew
1 that the one who had assaulted the
corporal Of the guard that night was
not Goss, but Welsh. Then Welsh him
self broke down.
Such was the feeling against him
among the men, such were the threats
which he could not but hear as he lay
! in his barred cell, that he begged to be
allowed to see the commanding officer
He was in fear for his life-poor devil
and indeed nothing but the discipline SC
derided Of the newspapers saved hin
from the tarring and feathering and rid
ing on rail that the soldiers We're wild
to give him. In piteous accents he i'm