Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1893-09-13
RANK INJUSTICE.

From Chicago comes the following
story, which is only a sample of the
many acts of injustice meted out to
the poor all over the land:
One month ago yesterday morning
Mathew Manski left his home at 29i
Lo k street to go TO his daily work at
the Melon Morris Packing company S
packing house at the stock yards. He
larked a moment with his two little
children and kissed his wife good by,
for the cradle was soon to be filed
again and she was not at all well.
At the packing house Manski was
ordered to the pickling-room and set
10 work rolliI g out barrels that were
ready for shipment. On the floor lay
small piece of picked pig foot.
Manski picked il up and ate it This
was gainst the rules. He was ar
re ted The next morning he was
taken before Justice Hennessy. An
attorney appeared to prosecute for the
packing company. Manski was held
TO the grand jury. Naturally he was
not able to give bail and of course he
was taken to the county jail.
For one month he lay in the county
Jail Yesterday he appeared before
the grand jury.
81 was hungry" said Manski, "and
almost unconsciously | picked up the
piece of meat and ate It.
The grand Jury finally ascertained
that the value Of the stolen property
was a trifie less than ~ cents. When
this was brought out the grand jury
refused to take further official cogniz-
ance of the charge of larceny pre-
ferred by the packing company
Mathew Mausl1i was thereupon told
that he was free man. OF course he
ha>tened home to wife and children.
But he had been in the county jail a
month, and month is long time to
sick wife and two small children.
At any rate, when Mathew Manski
was discharged yesterday his wife was
in the Jefferson insane asylum and he
hasn't found his two chi dren yet
Ex.
This is supposed to be land OF
liberty. We are supposed to have a gov
ernment where equal justice is meted
out to every man. The pr prietor OF
that packing-house establishment
could have stolen the home of the poor
hungry laborer and not have laid in
this to lie a fact. And why this differ
ence, if this is government of all the
people? Because Mr.. Morris is a mill
ionaire and Manski is a poor laborer.
Because the one is rich ard the other
is poor. We are told that the rich man
will evade punishment. If this be
true, then our government of equal
justice" is a failure. That it is true
no intelligent person denies. Then we
are to understand that the purposes OF
this government are 20 be thwarted
the rich sand in the way of the ad
minislration of justice, defying the
law themselves, yet using it as an in
strument of oppression of the poor.
That is just the way the m tier stands.
Then we say, if we cannot have justice
and rich men at the same time, if the
rich persist in hu arting the purposes
Of justice, if we are to choose between
good government and no rich men, or
bal government and rich men, let
~ have the government without
the rich mel. Let us have
system of graded taxes that " i'll
prevent the accumulation of immense
fortunes. Men may prate of "private
rights and vested rights," but there
are no such things where they result
in public wrong. No man has anv
RI Int to be anything or do anyth ng.
to defeat the ends of justice Great
fortunes are inimical to justice and
good government, therefore great for
tunes soould be prevented. And we
handle this question wi hout gloves.
No man has a right to things he d mt
need and can't use, while others are
suffering for them. It is the d uty OF
a government to see that such a thing
does not exist Instead of that il has
been the policy of this government to
assist, by special legislation, the ac-
emulation of fortunes that are a per-
petual menace to our free institutions.
The duty of the people now is to re.
verse the policy. If any one is to be
aided it hould be the poor. They should
be assisted in escaping the clutches into
which the government has aided in
placing them. The man who will
throw another in Jail for thirty ay
for taking cents worth of meat
when he is hungry, deserves no con,
sideration at all from the hands of the
public. He is . fend, n heartless
wretch, unworthy the name OF man.