Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1896-02-02
TALE WITH A MORAL,
ST. Louis Mirror.

Of LoulS litTOT,
New York has not yet recovered from
It's excitement over the case OF Barbara
Aub. who declared thnt man named
Langerman had crlminally assaulted her.
and who, after Langerman's conviction,
declared that he had not only not nssnult-
ed her but had been cntlced Into adj
vances. when the woman took the
stand at the trial and told her story.
that combination OF the bully and icon"
man, Recorder Goff, called Langerman
before him and scarliicd him In dourucla-
tory speech. There was not particle
OF evidence against LanFermnn other
than the woman's story. and upon this
the ghrrulous Con seemed to base an
opinion that Il was shame he could
not sentence the man to capital punish
ment. Then came the woman's confess
sion that her charge was false Con was
shown up FOR what his condu,t Of the
LoNow inquiry intlmated him 10 he. II
shullow and overboaring and unreHtct-
Ing bully Of tho bar But tho case
serves 10 direct attention TO n false point
Of view IN this country that mas lis orl-
gin IN what l may call an lnsanse GYM
! ophlly upon the part of the mulc popula-
/ ton or the country. In almost any case
/ Of character similar to this one Of Bar
I barn Aub. the public and the courts ere
] too prone 20 take II for granted that any
] allegation mndc against q man by Il
Z woman Us true simply because q woman
! makes IT, Men are evil ana their pas
| sions are aggressive, 1t Is true, but there
/ Is no reason why the unsupported tcs-
/ timony OF woman should have greater
/ weight than the unsupported testimony
| of man. There are few Josephs In
this world, but there arc as any man
! must Know, Few men whose desires tuke
! the form of violence TO women Men
| who have offices know that there is no
" frtIhlf I'm n
whom Il Is alleged that he has insultod
| or outraged one Of the female infestors
or the office buildings. They know that
too many OF these women nrc not Intent
In their visits upon the anparent and
alleged purpose thereof. They are as
often the assa'lants ne the assaulted, Ihey
are as often the suggestors OF advances
as tho innocent victims thereof Men
OF ordinary sense are rather much more
scared by these duclet voiced Invaders
OF their offices than are the women, The
more fact that woman's word VIII be
taken In preference to mars makes
tho female hook agent u terror to men
In every large ONCE building IN the cou1-
try. The fact Is and there's no use dis
rtising II. that the solicitations often
have another purpose than indI1enont
TO purchase an article the callers nave
for sale. II may be act down ms highly
probable that assaults reported by such
women nre Mt the very most not entirely
unprovoked. 4 mans word Is ns good
as woman's, As witness in any
case IN which he Is not intensely inter
Gated. his testimony adhcres more close
~ to the truth. He has, oven when
he is a party At interest, grenter pei.se
OF Justice. When woman makes a
charge Of the kind preferred eE1ins'
Lnngerman. there are many 'hings which
should operate to prevent too ready ne
ceptance of Its truth Any. y,oman, ca,
keen a man al distance n she will.
an, Yin. of gentlemen, or those who
have the externals OF a gentleman al
least. There is modesty In a good
woman that makes her secure against ~ ,tt
save n woman from n rufhan n black
or white, rags or sartoral srltndor
There ia at least as much ground for pre-
sumption in the mans favor IN such case
az in the woman's when she makes III,
nccusntion. when man is charged witt
SUCH nm orrense he is probably innocent
II his character md antecedents nrc al
,.sltA FNHa