The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1894-01-18
THE RIGHT or WAY.
How an Fnrlishman WIN Kick and orowf
ran ne Gains his Point.

How an Fnrliahman VIII Kick ana crow
Tn he Gains his Point.
This is q true story, aud one that Is In
tended 90 illustrate a Characteristic ot tue
English people. IL shows, | think, 90
what lengths an Englishman viii go 70
gain his rights when an American wonlu
cay, "Oh, what b. the usci' or, Never
mind" but he will learn In time that
the reason the Englishman has better
roads and better streets and better pro
lection for his life and property Is because
he makes a kick about it' and protests
and growls and Il generally disagreeable
until be gets what he wants. Equally
strong with his desire to have his rights Is
the Englishman's Difference for the rights
OF others. lie shows his Difference by re
specting the English law, which makes
those rights good. There was a young
woman IN England who told me that she
and seven OF eight other young people had
tramped In single file through gentle
man dining room one evening, while be
aud his guests were at dinner, In order 90
establish a right Of way. The English
man had built his house on a.meadow di-
rectly across a halfway that had been used
for centuries, and once year the young
people Of the neighboring estates marched
across his lawn and up his stairs and
through his house in order that he should
remember that the right OF way stil eN-
listed She was an exceedingly shy and
well bred young person and Of family
quite as old a. the right OF way, but Il ap-
parcntly did not strike her that she was
rude in tramping through stranger
house OF indeed that she was doing any
thing but public duty. And the inter
esting point OF her story TO me was that
the English householder, instead of get
ting a winchester and driving the young
tresspassers on Of his lawn, should have
had so full an appreciation Of their right
20 question his right that he simply bit
his lips and went TO law about it,
There was an lrishman in the same
county who lived in a small cottage on an
estate and who was In tine habit of cross
ing from IL 20 another through the gate
way Of very distinguished and noble
gentleman. lie had done this for 20
years, and when the noble gentleman
came into some more money and hung
two fine iron gates between the posts the
Irish laborer took a crowbar and broke
the hinges on which they hung and
tramped over them on his way. He was
put In Jail for this for a month, at the end
Of which time he went after his crowbar
and tore the gates down again. When he
had been in jail five times in six months.
the people round about took up his case,
and the right of way was declared just
one, and the gates came down forever.
The Englishman win go further than this
he viii not only fight for his rights, but
be will fight for some other mans rights
He will go out of his road TO tramp
through a gentleman's property simply
because the people In the neighborhood
are disputing for right of way with him.
heard of three young barristers when
was in London who went on a walking
tour, and who laid out their route entire
ly with the purpose in view Of taking In
all the disputed rights Of way in the coun-
ties through which they passed, and who
cheerfully sacrificed themselves for the
good Of others by forcing their way into
houses and across private grounds and by
tearing down hedges. Harper Weekly.