The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1894-04-12
MY CASE.
Not Criminal, but a Simple Case OF
CovetousnesS.

Not Criminal, but Simple Case of
Covetousness.
LO, here | am again (overcOat, double
harness and four sacks of wheat) grand
larceny in the second degree: second
termer and on the Rel> matory Plan
contemplating al. imm ,diate future,
face to face with tI4e inevitable. But,
l will not lie, NO; | can not consci-
entiously say, that whisky did it can
not look upon four hundred and ninety
three fellow sufferers, without violent
spasms of doubt and hesitancy, and
say that visiting saloons, bad company
shooting craps or playing penny-ante
were the stepping stones Of my down
ward career. | can not meet your nine
hundred and eighty-six flashing glances
of experience and thorough knowledge
in these particular matters, and say
that 1 am Innocent; that | am the
wandering bulls-ese of an antagonlstic
police force, bounded and pursued into
penal quarters by The focused powers
of the slaves of duty. Nevertheless, l
can say, that l am here-here by the di-
vine statute of the great Book, by the
tenth commandment: '"Thou shalt not
covet thy neighhor's goods" stigma
tized by our profane statute as grand
larceny in the econd degree; 'did
knowingly, wilIt Fly and teloniously
take, steal and carry away" etc, which
is not only profane, but scandalous.
That l was seereted in my neighbor's
barn was merely corroborative evidence
of my secretion, that knowingly, fear
fully and feelingly did covet that old
overcoat and horse harness, together
with the four bushels of wheat was but
cumulative presumptions of premedi-
tated designs, applicable only, to break
ing and entering the lnvlolablllty OF
the aforesaid Commandment. | eXpati-
ated largely upon these things, in ex-
tenuation, to the Judge; told him, that
the coat. which was made of squirrel
skins, was coveted solely for the remem-
brances it brought to my ebbing soul
of the halcyon days of those oldest
inhabitants, when with double bar
relied, hint-lock gun we hunted the gray
squirrels on Dayton's Bluff; that the
harness | coveted, and ever would cOvet
as vivid memento of the tender days
of commerce and transportation, carry
ing me back to my span Of mules
hauling railroad ties ON Coon Creek
to Sauk Rapids, the terminal point OF
the old st. Paul & Pacific, the mother
of Minnesota's first train conductor an(
engineer Rice and Jim Morrison
the harness fills my whole being will
, warnings to look once more upon th'
little boy. who tagged the crossing at ;
sparsely settled side-track, since, fame'
as Anoka, and made famous by tha
very boy, now the AusterlitZ of versa
:, tile literature, tae sparkling progenito
l of "With or Without ,''-Pease be unit
| his genius. AS for the wheat, cOvete
: it sadly as the reminder of seed tim
anu harvest, UuG dG CIiIo POIIlo III oIi
: proceedings, the court took reces
S and wept. After recess, with calme
- though severer countenance the cou1
h looked upon NE, just as was reoper
J. ing my case again, at the four bushe
n of wheat, and gravely said: GAS ma
70 sows, so shall the harvest be; it is til
5; duty of the court to inform you, thu
S. you have had fair and impartial tria
l. you have been ably defended by tn
y ablest counsel Of any bar-and foun
IS guilty of the crime Of grand larceny
I'd the second degree, by jury who hay
Il IL patiently weighed and considered
~ the testimony in your case. 1t is tt
ct sentence of this court, that you, for tt
K crime of larceny, be confined in t
q rs State Prison of this state on the K
in formatory Plan" 1 stood aghast, al
n in sepulchral tones replied: Judge, "
ry might as we'll call me common thi
70 and be done with it; larceny is
m odious term. / have proved to you
sound logic and divine statute, that