The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-01-16
AL FRISCO JUSTICE.

A Wilkes-Barre Solomon-Alderman
 Donohue's Breezy and UnconVentlon-
 al Methods of Holding Court.
 The alderman is a florid, round, ge- nial man of forty-eight, with sharp'
 decisive tongue, a commanding manner
 and a knowledge of law which is not
 confined to the textbooks, for much or it is his own, and good at that. He has a profound respect for Blackstone, but says there Is lots of law that that great
 jurist never heard about.
 law" says the alderman, 'is not so much for punishment of evidence as 1t is a cure for evil-doing. It is medi- cine which must be admonished accord- ing to the symptoms. For instance, the symptoms of wife-beating is bullying. Knock the bullyism out of the bully and he becomes meek and mild. Knock the same thing out of a wife-beater and he'll light the fires every morning, fetch the coal, nurse the baby and say Yes, dear to his wife.
 "The lawyers think they know the law" said the alderman, but many of them don't. Justice and the law are l not always the same, and this court is run on the Justice ce-to-every-one' plan.
 My word is law here whether it is law or not'-the alderman is half-1rish land it goes, whether the lawyers like it or not. If they do not know how to manage case I manage 1t for them. Did you hear of the man I had here once for brutally attacking a child No Well, the law says he should be held in five thousand dollars bail. His lawyers were ready to furnish it. Do you suppose I'd let him go out on the streets again, a free man? Not much! I held him in one hundred thou sand dollars bail, and he went to jail, where he belonged. That was not law, but it was justice"
 The alderman had an habitual wife beater before him on Monday night, Frank Overfield of Plymouth. The poor little wife, with blackened eye and badly bruised face, told how she had been knocked down and kicked. The neighbors testified that 1t was ire quent occurrence .Ove1fie,d himself laughed and showed no remorse.
 The squire wasted no time in hearing the other side of the case.
 "Overfeld, you brute" he shouted. I'm going to teach you lesson that you'll not soon forget, and if it does not make you behave yourself I'm very much mistaken. How old are you?"
 "Thirty-eight your Honor" sa'd Overfield wonderingly.
 Well, I'm ten years older, but-take off your coat" The alderman removed his stylish Prince Albert and his cuffs.
 Shut that door, Constable Newton" he exclaimed land lock it, and you"- turning to the thirty or forty specta- tors-"don't you move from your seats"
 He arranged the papers on his desk carefully, moved back the reporters table and chairs to clear space, and then yanked Overfield out of the prison CTS dock.
 Put up your hands!" he cried for I'm going to give you the worst licking you ever gOt!'
 Overfield was too amazed to parry the right swing which landed on the side of his head, but when lie picked himself out of the corner he was full of fight. And he could fight, too, in a rough and-tumble fashion, and for time gave the alderman all he could do; but in the end science in the shape of stinging left and right handlers we'll placed and clev- CT parrying blocking and ducking won.
 Overfield was not the only sufferer. for he landed some vicious swings which the alderman felt. There was lively hitting for a minute or so, and then Overfield, finding he could not land, clinched and the two fell to the floor. The alderman was just as scien- tifc wrestler as a boxer, and stran- gle hold soon took all the breath and fight out of the wife-beater.
 His Honor never does things by halves, however, and, having studied the symptoms of wife, beating for twen- ty-three years. he sat on the prisoner and pommeled him right heartily, ad- the proper dose and little extra for good measure. When he at length paused to hear Overfields cries for mercy the prisoner was quite ready to swear by all that was sacred that he would never lay heavy finger on his wife again.
 ''If you do''-, said the alderman; and then, in the midst of profuse protesta- tions of good behavior, he discharged the prisoner.
 All of the spectators except one en- joyed the fight immensely. The excep- tion was David Rowlands, whose wife | was waiting to tell how he had beaten | her.
 David" said His Honor, not un- kindly, 'this is your first offence. Was | the lesson you have just learned one you will remember? If it is you can go | home.
 David went hastily.
 ''The first time l thrashed wife | beater," said MT. Donohue, was in l 1883. He was a vicious fellow, and had | nearly killed his wife. He got it worse | than Overfield, for I laid him up for a | week or two. It did him good. Yes, sir. | He's been mighty good husband ever since.
 T had another several years ago. This was my third I got letters from ! all over the world about my first case, | and felt proud of some of them. One l French society wrote me about it. I never heard though. whether they | adopted my method. They can if they want It is not patented.
 five just got letter from Phila- lplllia man alnnI llNATliE Id. The |