The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1897-09-25
SHAME ON THE COMMUNITY

whose entire earthly store, Of what
ever sort, represented so much of
mental and muscular effort, 80 much
of brain and Drawn, so much pound
ing a drill, eating powder smoke,
and practicing selfdenial. 1t appears
that a short while before the suicide,
he had on his person $500 and a sill
e watch; after the tragedy, there
was nothing of value about him.
The question as to what became
of his money Is salient and timely.
For though he is dead, and has told
his last life's tale, a law-abiding com
munity has a right to know the an
answer. That the victim was robbed
is not within the province of doubt.
His s%ojourn for almost two days with
certain female prostitutes immediate
ly before his death points at them
the finger of strong suspicion; for in
their presence it would have been
quite impossible for anyone else to
do the deed, and it is not possible to
have spent SO much money in a le-
gitimate, or eel a emi-legitimate
way.
That he had no excuse for being
in such company is not an excuse for
the crime or the criminal. For who
so would rob a drunken man, wants
only the opportunity to fleece a sober
one. And the moral weakness of
some of Adams race, who would so
transgress the laws of sturdier man
hood as to allow himself to be thus
ensnared is entitled rather to pro-
found pity than to noisome raillery.
For every citizen of this town is in
certain measure responsible for the
moral one Of the inhabitants. And
if there is in this city a den of dope
mixers, a hell-hole, whittier moral
weaklings are inveighled, only to be
"rolled" for their hard earned stuff,
the den of foul pollution should not
be allowed to remain.
Without pointing to this or that
n as the guilty party, the HERALD
is safe in saying that the red handed
robber who stole Nels Gunderson's
money is still in Neihart. That by
this o%pprobrious crime the thief be-
ONE almost directly responsible for
hat mans murder. And in the
name of public decency, in the name
Of the town of Neihart, and of the
state of Montana. whose laws and or
dinances are violated by even the ex-
istence of the brothel, we would call
Il halt in the progress of such devil
try. Popular feeling will not toler-
ate it, and if the law proves power
less by the failure of the officers to
do their duty, the last resort will
render the proper relief.
But the last resort is not necessary,
What is our marshal for? Our pol
ice magistrate? Our aldermen:
What is the object of a city govern
ment, if citizens may not enjoy pro-
lection from thugs and Vandals? Is
there a house of ill-fame in Neihart:
If so, it exists in direct violation OF
the town ordinances. The inmates
of such institutions have been cod
died and humored by our city officers
until the boldness of their public
show would disgrace the morals of
hell. We invoke the forbearance of
our readers while we more fully de-
fine the actual local condition.
Did the citizens elect a council to
pander to such element of depravi-
ty? We ask in all sincerity, did the
council appoint a marshal to allow a
harlot to tun the streets of Neihart
for four hours after she had been
ordered by the magistrate to be
committed to Jail? 1t is reported by
citizens who reside in the vicinity of
the bad lands that lewd women clad
only in a night robe in broad day
light pass from house to house with
out the sense of shame. Does the
city council "stand in" with that
clique? Does a whore, by reason of
her profession, enjoy special immun-
tiles from the law? Every law abid-
ing citizen has "a right to know
whether there is a special privileged
class. If n class may run around
town in their nightshirts, then amend
the law so that everybody may en-
Joy a like privilege.
The HERALD may take an extreme
view of the case; but our mode of