Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-07-15
JUSTICE IN TEXAS,
The "Court" Sustains an indictments That
Did Not Show Scholarship.

The "Court" Sustains an indictments That
Did Not Show Scholarship.
"The court" "a Texas justice Of the peace)
had drawn up the indictment at tho instance of
. nervous gentleman, who claimed that sub
division Of the peace located in his immediate
vicinity had been disturbed by the young man
hereinbefore referred to. In drawing up the
indictment ''his honor" had detected some
what from Hoyle and photography and spelled
peace piece. When court was opened, says
a writer in the Galveston Ne,ns. the counsel
for the defendant attempted to quash the COM
plant on the ground Of its literary and legal
imperfection and made quite an exhaustive
argument to that end. After counsel had
closed his argument "the court sustained the
indictment In substantially the following
language:
while admitting that in the drafting Of the
indictment an embarrassing degree Of unfsmil-
iarity with the standard authorities diction is
evident from the spelling Of the word peace; at
the same time it is the opinion Of the court
that this inaccuracy does not vitiate the indict-
ment, for we cannot enter upon the dangerous
precedent OF predicating the administration Of
justice upon a certain degree Of familiarity
with the text books.
''Justice was full grown and had corns on her
with the collie. She stood guardian over the
liberties OF man while knowledge was in the
kindergarten and small clothes, and now to
make her subservient to this precocious Young
'un were like the head paying homage to the
tail. If council will bear with the court we
will state that We are here 10 administer a Job
lot OF rectangular justice and not for the pur-
pose Of discussing the literary merit Of the
complaint wherein a superiority of Il seems to
have obtained and in which the drouth appears
to have struck the "a crop.
admitting that when scrutinized by the
scholarly eye peace conveys to the mind q
different meaning to that Of piece, it has no
edge over 1t when conveyed to the understand
ing phonetically. Hence, should q witness on
the stand testify to the fact that the defendant
had disturbed the peace, the import of the
word would be determined by the sense in
which it was employed, and the same process
OF reasoning would obtain as applied to the
written instrument
FOR ALL PRACTICAL PURPOSES.
therefore, the court holds that the COM
plant, while little wobbly in its legs as re-
CARDS literary makeup, is sbundantly sufficient
for all practical purposes, and this is not
court in which abstract theory will ever be in
vited to seat up next to the stove and practi-
cal demonstration allowed to gnaw file in the
back hall. We take 1t for granted that justice
should conviction be secured for disturbing
the piece as though the same verdict had
been obtained for disturbing the peace
The fine would be no harder to pay
for the person SO convicted, the ruptured
peace would recover its normal function as
early and the revenue accruing to the country
by reason Of the fine collected would build as
many bridges. court houses or jails. The chief
end and aim Of the justice court is to put the
kerbosh on crime wherever it shows its ugly
front. and not to attempt to compete in ortho-
graphical finish with the bill of fare at first
rate restaurant in drawing up bills of indict-
ment. Scholarly attainment is all well and
good. but the crucial moment sometimes ar
rives when justice presses her lily-white hands
10 her stomach and yearns to be satisfied
I'VE do not desire to be understood as favor
ing the conviction OF party for one offense
when charged with another. Forbid that we
should desire man hung when he should only
have the seat of his pa nts kicked into tatters
and his plug OF tobacco taken away from him.
Neither do we favor the release of q party when
it is evident that he is guilty, simply because
the indictment whereby he is brought before
the courts would fail to provoke applause from
a literary society. So with q supreme desire to
do the square thing between legal form on the
one hand and boxtoed justice on the other,
the court will be forced to sustain the sufi-
cheney Of the indictment and leave the rest to
the jury and its God
Then the trial was entered into and after the
evidence was taken and a pyrotechnic display
Of oratory touched of by the counsel on either
side OF the case. the jury found the defendant
guilty. and fined him IS and trimmings for dis
turbing the ''piece."