The herald., 1896-11-05
DIVORCE MURDERS

uuueT any IS
always shocking to the moral sensibl-
tiles of community, and the steady in
crease in that form of crime throughout
the United States is a dark spot on our
boasted civilization. There is one class
of murders that seems to be increasing
numerically faster than almost any
other.
We allude to divorced husbands, such
as the wretch who on election day in
this city killed his former wife in most
cold -blooded manner and without the
slightest provocation. Such atrocities
have of late years become alarmingly
frequent all over the country and Los
Angeles seems to be having it's full quota
OF them.
In nearly all such instances the cir
cumstances surrounding the tragedy are
strikingly similar. A worthless husband
with brutal instincts maltreats his wife
in various ways and renders her life so
miserable that when she feels unable to
longer endure the torture she quits her
tormentor. seeks refuge with parents or
friends and procures divorce.
Ordinarily 1t would be expected that the
unfortunate woman's troubles with the
man she had thus left were forever at
an end. But in an astonishingly large
percentage Of such cases the deserted
brute follows up the poor woman to
whom he has been recreant, for the os-
tensible purpose of trying to bring about
a reconciliation and reunion. After sew
eral unsuccessful attempts, the cowardly
wretch becomes desperate, fills himself
up with w-lsky, procures deadly
weapon, seeks out the woman he has
already deeply wronged, and stains his
soul with her life blood.
This peculiar style of murder is now
so common that some special measures
should be adopted for the protection of
women who may have been compelled
to procure legal separations from their
husbands because of cruel treatment.
How to best compass that object may
not be quite clear. But certain it is
that when wife has been divorced from
brutal husband her life seems to be in
danger every hour from that time forth.
Perhaps good way for preventing such
murders would be the enactment of a
law under which every man found gull
ty of cruelty to his wife to such a de-
gree as to justify a divorce should be
/ promptly sent to a pententiary and
there kept at hard labor during both
their lives. If such plan Is not FEAST
| BILE, some other can and should be de-
| vised that would meet all the require
| ments.
With some such law in force there
would have been no tragedy of the kind
that shocked this community on Tues
day evening AS it is, however, the
press is called upon to record the afro
cious murder of respectable and indus
trious woman by her former husband,
whose neck will probably never be le-
gally broken until months and perhaps
years have passed and the county SUBJ
jected to heavy expense by the prolong-
ing of his worthless existence.
The Herald extends the glad hand of
felicitation to the noble five thousand
silver Republicans who have stood
shoulder to shoulder with the Democracy
of Los Angeles county in a splendid
fight for Bryan and the honest dollar of
our fathers. The coalition of the ele-
ments which have fought under the Bry-
an banner must not be dissolved, as they
will henceforth prove resistless in this
country should they pull together"
Twas good enough for Jefferson, for
Franklin and for Paine,
Twas good enough for Washington and
shall be good again.
1t won us forty empires in the land of
westward, no."
BY gee and General Jackson that dollar
shall not go.
vJn
suffer much from the vrulent abuse
OF the Times and the Express; their
senseless attacks made friends for him.
For several hours yesterday Hanna
was quaking in his shoes over his ill
gotten triumph and the danger of his
securities on that s11S,00O mortgage.
The most eXasperating accident that
happened to anyone yesterday occurred
when a worthy citizen was mistaken
for Otis.
We shall probably know for certain
who has been elected president of the
United States by March 4, 1897
The cheers outside the Herald office
last night We're much more harmonious
than the Times whistle.
|
The cheers around the Herald office
last night almost prevented the opera
tors hearing his ticker.
The good Democrat accepts the YER
diet of his countrymen with a good
grace in any event.
What became Of that landslide? A
good many Republicans went down
with the avalanche.
The Republicans will never learn IL
exercise discretion in their claims as to
election returns.
Election excitement is a pleasant di-
version, but it plays havoc with bust
ness duties.
The City Water company's organ will
soon be getting its pipe line into work
ing order.
The Republicans maintained theil