The morning times., 1896-06-04
Captain wIBoRG,s CASE.

Wiborg, OF the steamer HorSa, WHO was
sentenced 10 sixteen months imprison-
ment for having taken an armed eXpedi-
tion from United States port TO Cuba.
Capt. WiborgiS ease servedasan opportunity
for a United States appellate court to render
a decision as to what kind Of an eXre6ll-
ton Constitutes breach Of our neutrality
laws. and it may, therefore, be justly
averreG in his case that he acted i'll igEor-
ance OF the real meaning Of the statute.
While it is true that ignorance OF the law
is not regarded as an excuse for the
offender, nevertheless in this instance the
that scafaring man cannot be supposed
TO have absolute aud accurate knowledge
OF the Interpretation OF a law concerning
which lawyers are able to bring forward
good arguments on the negative as well
as the positive side.
Capt. Wiborg stands in the light of having
been made q vicGrious sacrifice for all
the ftlibusters that have made successful
expeditions to aid the Cuban insurgents,
been guilty of would seem to be amply
atoned for by-the incarceration which
hc has already suffered. The crime which
the Johannesburg reformcrS committed
against the TranSvaal republic was of a
far more aggravated character than his
offensc. and yet. though the leaders were
first condemned to death and now nave
had their sentence commuled to fifteen
years Imprisonment, it is reported from
Pretoria that in all probability they VIII
shortly he pardoned by President Kruger.
Setting theirs and Capt. WiboFg's Offend
ing side by side. it would seem as though
he ought to he as proper an object OF
executive clcmency as they are.
The cagerness with which the petitions
for Capt Wiborg's pardon are being signed
everywhere and by all classes of people
shows conclusively the popular sentiment
with reference to his case. Although, of
course. the action OF the President in the
matter of extending clemency must be
regulated according TO more rigid sta ndardS
than those set up by popular sympathy,
yet in the present instance the '.yox popu-
Ia is so entirely magnaninous that he
may we'll be Influenced by it.
OVERCROwDED STREET CARS
One of the things which Americans
| tolerate good-naturedly, but which is a
never ending source Of wonder TO he
| foreigner, is the overcroNding of street
cars. Over there, when the seats in \
car or in an omnibus are all taken ard
the platforms are occupied By the allotted
number OF passengers, little flag indl-
Gates the fact to those waiting for a CON
veyanCe and no attempt is made to board
the vehicle. a conductor who would
take aboard even one more passenger
lhan permitted by the regulations, if de-
teCted by the Inspector, would instantly
be discharged Here there is alwa ys
room Gov one more; the conductors move
forward, please rings out cheerfully
even when men and women are packed
in the car as close as sardines in box,
| and il is an every day spectacle in Wash
| ington. as we'll as in any other large Amer
lean city, to see men hanging ON to the out
side Of cars "by their eyebrows" as the
sa ying goes. and running the risk Of injury.
| Iii this connection it is not amss also TO
| cali attention to the fact that in the same
manner railroad trains are frequently oyer
| crowded
The practice is altogether wrong and
| cannot be TOO severely condemned. A
street railway company. like any other
| railroad or a steamboat company, is a
common carrier, and by the terms of its
charter and the accepted Interpretation OF
tie law regulating it is under Obligations
| TO furnisl. each passenger, IN consideration
| OF the fare paid, with reasonably com
| Portable accommodations. Hanging on to
| n strap or TO platform rail can hardly
lie classed as an accommodation of that
sort. II any person. having paid his fare
| and not being furnished With a seat, Were
| toenter ST it n gainst a company for DANA gcs
on account OF breach of contract there is
little doubt but that lie would recover a
| verdict
IL is n question, moreover, if the over
| crowding of street cars is not a proper sub
| ject for police regulation. The test viii
probably be made in New York before
long, where President Roosevelt, Of the
board of police commissioners, has referred
the matter to the corporation attorney fnr
his opinion. If that official decides that
the police board has jurisdiction in the
| case the railway companies will be com
| PEELED to increase the number of their cars
| and limit the number OF passengers loI
each car. Probably the courts will then
he called upon TO adiudge the dispute and
| it would be strange if their decision were
not to tile effect that a street railway
| company is under obligation TO give thu
| passenger "quid pro quo, which. in this
instance, means seat.
/ - -
THE FORD'S THEATER CASES.
The action of the House of Representative:
on the awards made ny the Ford's Theatel
commission is gratifying, in so far as
after three weary years of waiting the
| victims themselves or their surviving rela
tIves, as the case may be, will at last
receive some sort of compensation. 1t il
quite disappointing, on the other hand
| however, because the cases of d numbe
of claimants have been made exceptiona
| and re-rcfcrrcd TO the commission, which
by the way, according to the opinion OF
some of its members, no longer has lega
existence, inasmuch as it has accomplishe,
the work with which it was charged. Waiv
ing this technicaIity, however. it SEEM
rather strange that the House should cooiIN