Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-11-20
THE INEVITABLE.
An Omen Letter to Governor Hogs.

We heartily admire and approve the bold
stand you have taken in opposition TO !ynch
law, and hore you will be successful IN
having the laws so executed that the people
shall never believe 1t necessary to resort 10
such summary and absolute methods OF
melting out justice to criminals. In realty
to the promises you made the people IN
your campaign speeches, you cannot DO oth-
erwise than as you have done in denounclng
mob law. or any other sort OF obstruction
to the regularly constituted channels OF ad-
ministering justice. AT the same time
your campaign declarations equaIy as
strongly commit you to a vigorous and fear
less execution OF our criminal laws, so that
the murderer, the assassin, the robber, the
thief. the rapist, let id omne,' when once
in its clutches should pay the penalty for
its violation, instead of again being turned
loose to terroriZe those who desire TO OBEY
the laws We agree with you when you
saw. 1.-The prevalence of mobocracy means
the subverSion of law and order" but we
do not when you say that las rule, the
men who Join noDS stand ready
to serve on u jury to acquit an influential
criminal God speed the day when there
will be no necessity for mob law IN Texas,
| or in any of the states, but you must admit
| that constant and continual failure IN the
| courts to have the dignity of the law vim
| dictated, and criminals brought TO justice,
oftentimes impels the people-from whom
| the power to make the laws proceeds, ana
| in whom the power to execute RESIDES when
constitutional and statutory provision 1aliS
to take It into their own hands TO Vlndl-
| cate the majesty of the law and to inspire
| criminals with fear of the law. One recent
illustration of the failure of the legally con-
| stituted machinery to grind out justice, Is
enough to show chow an accumulation OF
such instances weakenS peoples conn.,
Gence in the courts as means OF obtaining
Justice In the month of May last, one OF
| the most cold-blooded murders recorded IN
| the annals of Texas, was committed IN TINS
| county. The perpetrator was arrested anCi
| lodged in Jail, the grand jury found OIL OF
| indictment for murder in the hrst degree,
and the case was transferred to Baylor
| county for trial because magnificent tribute
! to our jury SYSTEM the citizens here We're
| supposed to know too much about IT, WIT
! nesses were summoned and attached, and
| had to leave their business Tor week or
more to go to Seymour to attend court.
| They went, and not a Scintilla OF evidence
was ever produced by the defense in behalf
| of the criminal, except from people who had
| not seen him tor number of years, and
| who swore to his Observation-Disclosures
| the fact that all the evidence pointed TO the
| contrary. 1t is also fact that some OF the
| most material witnesses for the state as to
| the sanity of the prisoner were never sum
| moned, although he had made his boast that
| he would play 'craZy'' and get out OF 1t.
| Result: Hung jury, only two for conylc-
| ton, and at the next term another dragging
| OF the people away from their homes and
| business, entailing numerous losses on the
| county, Time wears out all things, especl-
| ally murder cases, and the next time we
| look for some more cOurt-ly maneuverlng.
| and postponing, and wearing out the pa
| thence Of the people-all because criminal
| played crazy successfully. This TOO
| occurred in court of your exceilency's
creation, both Judge and attorney being re-
| cent appointees. Another murderer who
took the life of his victim in this county
while asleep, was turned loose several years
| ago on bond, the case has been moved from
county to county, brought to trial once, and
| is still in the courts to be bounded about
from place to place until time shall wear 1t
| out
These are but a few instances of
| most fragrant outrages against justice, and
that, too, in very small portion OF the
| state Far would we be from encouraging
| or pleading for mob law under any circum-
stances, but tell us-what is people to Go
for the protection and preservation of their
lives, liberties and property, when the gov
eminent upon which they depend for pro-
lection fails to give it.; when the courts
seem powerless to punish crime; when
money can purchase liberty where liberty
has been forfeited; when five-dollar year
ling seems to have greater value thru the
life of human Oeing2
We are thankful that we have governor
who is determined to have the constitution
| and the laws respected at any cost and at
| all hazards, but while you are condemnlng
a hot blooded people for dealing out swift
Justice in an irregular and unlawful man
ner, also pour few hot shot into the pur-
chased and perjured of the country.
It is about as great public calamity for
a known criminal to be turned loose by
the courts in defiance of justice, and there
is about as great wound inflicted on the
body polite by such a mockery, as when
people almost hopeless and with wornout
patience resort to Judge Lynch's court
We will conclude by saying that, if, while
you are SURPRISING mobocracy, you also
succeed in enforcing the laws strictly IL
the courts of the country, you can only sue
coed yourself as governor, should you sc
desire but there is no gift which the PEG
pie of Texas have power to award that is
not within your reach.
MANY CITIZENS.
Matador, Motley county, Nov. 16, 1891,