Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1896-06-10
INJUSTICE.

A citizen of New York City, one Will
liam Bertane, habituaily amuses him.
self, when in an elevated frame of mind
from the consumption of liquor, by
beating his wife. On last Saturday
night Citizen Bertane went home very
drunk, and very ugly. He slammed
Margaret, his wife, about the room,
against the walls and furniture, final
ly throwing her down on the floor and
kicking her several times as she lay
helpless. Then, having glutted his
drunken fury, the coward and brute
stepped to the other side Of the room,
calmly opened his evening paper and
proceeded to 60 over the news of the
day.
Margaret said nothing; but her pre-
tence was exhausted and her blood was
up. She got hold of a pair of scissors,
made a lunge at her lord, and drove
the blades of her weapon into his left
eye, destroying the sight. Then she in.
formed him that she intended to kill
him, and the coward ran out had a pc.
liceman come and arrest his wife.
The husband was not arrested for his
savage assault on the m When
the pair appeared in court Monday
morning Bertane refused to press the
charge against his wife. He said his
beating her had given her provocation:
he would not have her punished if he
could help it. Magistrate Mott said that
a oma who was as desperate as Mrs.
Bertane should not be allowed to be at
large. He therefore ordered the police
man to make an affidavit against her,
and held Mrs. Bertane in $1,000 for
trial. In default of bail she was locked
up.
We think that brute of a husband
q brute when in his cups, but appar-
emily with a sense of right when sober
is a much decenter man, on the
whole, than Magistrate Mott. 1t never
occurred to this dogberry that any
manner of discipline should be applied
to the man, whom the policeman told
him had habitually, and brutally,
beaten his wife, for a long time, until,
in a frenzy of rage, she stabbed him
with the scissors. Mott did not think
it a serious offense, in a man, to knock
his wife down and kick her with heavy
boots; but he locks up the weak wo-
man, who defends herself by using a
convenient weapon on her savage as,
sailant.'
AS long as such men as Mott sit on
the bench and deal out this sort OF
Justice" between men and women
we need not wonder if intelligent wo
men, who respect their sex and have
regard for justice, despise mems law
and mems methods of administering
laws. The outrageous discrimination
aginst women in many of the law
that touch their social and property
rights and right of person, really cal
for vigorous protest from the enlighten
ed women of the country.
We either do society grave injustice
by the exercise of maudlin sentimental
ity in the case of women %felons; or W
60 to the other extreme, after the fash
ion of Dogberry Mott, and prosecute
woman for felony, when her act wa
one of self defense and Justification
Chattanooga Tines.
AT II FOO OF THE GODDESS OF LIE
ERTY.
One of the first sights that the immi
grant sees as he approaches this Ian
of the free and the home of the brave,
is the beacon in the uplifted hand G
the Goddess of Liberty, her torch tel
ing the mute message of freedom fror
oppressive rule of all sorts. Could tn
immigrant, or could n Of us, look
little more closely, he would find
the base of that beautiful monument
large and ti%ouriehing dispensary of il
toxicating liquors. The horrible SUI
gestiveness of this appalled, me when
first beheld it, and it drove home to N
soul the conviction that more truly tina
we dare think is the liquor traffic
the very base of our boasted freedom
May it be rooted out before it caus
the structure to totter and fall.
PUBLIC SENTIMENT TO BLAME.
w. H. Williams, of Boston, the druI
mel evangelist, for the Kelley leagu
spoke to a large congregation at Whit
side Street Church last night, his su
ject being"From Bondage to Freedom