The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-01-18
HE Is 0VERTAKEN
PURSUERS FIND FERGUSON AT
ATOHISON BUT no CHILDREN.

PURSUBRS FIND FERGUSON a
AFOHIS0N BUT no CHILDREN.
BE is the Man who Sent Note to His Di
vorced Wife Asking Her to Meet Him a
Hotel, and During Her bsence Visit
the House and Takes His Three LittI
Girls and Makes His Escape From TIN
City by the Frisco-TeIegrams are Sen
Out But he had Left the Train at Ere
donia-wiu be Brought Here Tonight.
H. D. Ferguson, the man who kidnap
ped his three children from his divorc
ed wife, Laura E. Ferguson, on the
West Side, an account of which was
published in the Eagle at the time, was
captured yesterday at AtchisOn, Kan.
and last night Constable Tom Voss LEFT
for that place TO get the man.
1t will be remembered that when the
divorce was granted in the district
court on July II, 1895, that the plaintiff
Mrs. Laura e. Ferguson, was given
custody Of the children and had sup
ported them until the arrival of their
father in the city, who sent word to
his late wife that If she would meet
him at the keystone hotel he would
give her some money for the support OF
the children.
The woman at once left for the hotel,
but on her arrival failed to find the
man, although he had been there. On
her return home she found that the
man had been there and taken the three
children.
The man with the children left in a
hack which overlook ,ule eastbound
Frisco train at THE junction and left
before papers could be secured for his
arrest. a telegram was sent to FIRE.
donna, in tWilson. county, requesting
the authorities there to hold the par
tiess, but when the train arrived there
ii was found that the man had left the
train.
1t was afterwards learned that he had
left the train at Andover and crossed
over 10 the Missouri Pacific and went
from there to Kansas City and then to
AtChisOn, where he has a situation with
an electric company.
The dispatch received yesterday fail
ed to state whether the man had the
children With him or had left them at
some other point and the question
which now interests the mother is
whether or not she can COMPEL the
man to return to her her babies. as the
youngest girl was but years old. She
says that all she wants is the children
and does not care whether he is punish
ed or not. The case has created great
interest, and friends on both sides are
anxiously awaiting the arrival of the
constable with the man.
Aside from the charge of Kidnapping
and being in contempt of the district
court, ne will have to answer for as
saulting Mrs. Hollingsworth, a sister
of Mrs. Ferguson.
Dater-Constable Voss went to the
train last night TO go to Atchison, but
received word from the city marshal
that Ferguson had taken alarm and
skipped to Missouri.
CONTRACT OF THE CENTURIES
Henry SIuss on the Constitution of the |
United States.
Topeka, Ka. Jan. 17.-(Special)-At |
the thirteenth annual meeting of the |
Kansas Bar association yesterday, one |
OF the most interesting papers was that |
of Henry c. Sluss of Wichita, entitled +
'untent Of the Framers''
In taking up the subject Judge Sluss |
referred to the efforts which are made /
tn determining doubtful questions, to |
ascertain the intent of the trainers by |
referring to debates in the constitu- |
donal conventions. He then challenged
the soundness of the processes of that |
character which have so long been es-
tablished, without, as he expressed Il, |
any hope Of effecting any change in the |
method of arriving at a true construc-
tion of the constitution. Speaking Of |
the constitution he said: 1.-THE consti-
tuition Of the United States is in no
= n of hesfr
ties There are no parties to it. The
trainers Of it and those who partici-
pated in its adoption had no personal
interest in It other than to submit to
be governed by IT. The constitution was
not the work, not the words of the mem
berS OF the convention which framed it. !
or the various state conventions which /
adopted Il. But they Were the act and
the words and is the continuous act |
and are the continuing words Of the
whole people of the United States, not
only of the eighteenth century but of
the nineteenth, and all coming centuries
so long as the world snail endure Il
carries no message TO the dead men of
the revolutionary era, but its message
Is TO the living men of the present hour.
Ii is not the constitution of the trainers.
but the constitution of the upholders."
We are responsible for what we under
stand TO be its message to US and not
for what our forefathers, the trainers.
its message was to them. |
nor are We responsible for what they
thought they made it say. Each age
Is charged with the duty of executing
the provisions for itself and CARRYING
forward the work of human civiliza ton
and advancement under the system of
government established by it and
should be permitted TO perform its task
according to its own understanding of
the col1lmisSiOn given to it.
The underlying principle Of our svs-
lem is that Of self government by the {