The record-union., 1899-05-08
Al FRESCO JUSTICE.
ALDERMAN DONOHUES UNCON-
vENTIONAL METHODS.
How the WiIkesbarre Solomon
Made the Punishment Fit
the Crime.

1al man OF 4S, with a sharp, decisive
tongue, commanding manner and a
knowledge of law which is not confined
to the textbooks, for much of it is his
own, and good at that He has a pro-
found respect for Blackstone, but says
there is lots of law that that great
jurist never heard about.
Law" says the Alderman, sis not so
much for punishment of evidence as it
is cure for evildoing. 1t is medicine
which must be admonished according
to the symptoms. For instance, the
| symptoms of wife beating is bullyism.
Knock the bullyism out of the bully
and he becomes meek and mild Knock
the same thing out of 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 not
always the same, and this court is run
on the 'justice-to-every- plan.
My word is law here, whether it is
law or not (the Alderman is half Irish)
and it goes. whether the lawyers like
ut or not. If they do not know how to
manage a case 1 manage it for them.
Did you hear of the man 1 had here
once for brutally attacking a child. No ?
WE'LL the law says he should be held in
5000 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 100000 bail, and
he went to jail, where he belonged. That
was not law, but it was Justice"
The Alderman had an habitual wife
beaten before him on Monday night,
Frank Overfield of Plymouth The poor
little Wife, with blackened eye and bad
| ~ bruised face, told how She had been
knocked down and kicked The neigh
bors testified that it was a frequent &C.
lcurrence. Overfield himself laughed and
showed no remorse.
The Squire wasted no time in hearing
| the other side of the case.
PUNISHMENT TO FIT THE CRIME.
"Overfield, you BRUTE he shouted.
T going to teach you a, lesson that
you'll not soon forget, and if it does not
make you behave yourself I'm very
much mistaken. How old are your
Thirty EIGHT, your HONOR said Over
field, 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, y
he exclaimed, "and lock it, and YOU
burning 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 a clear space, and
| then yanked Overfeld out of the pris-
oner's dock.
Put up your hands,'' he cried, sfor
I'm going to give you the worst Mcking
you ever got!''
| Overfield was too amazed to parry the
right swing which landed on the side
| of his head, but when he picked him
self out of the corner he was full of
| fight. And he could fight, too, III a
rough and tumble fashion, and for a
time gave the Alderman all he could
do; but in the end science in the shape
| of singing left and right handlers we'll
placed and clever parrying, blocking
and ducking won.
| Overield 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 scientific a
wrestler as a boxer, and strange
hold soon took all the breath and fight
out of the wife beaten
His honor never does things by
halves. however, and. having studied
| the symptoms of wife beating for TWEEN
| ty-three years, he sat on the prisoner
and pommeled him right heartily, ad-
ministering the proper dose and little
extra for good measure. When he at
length paused to hear Overfield's 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 pro-
testations of good behavior he dis
charged the prisoner
J. All of the spectators except one en-
joyed the fight Immensely. The excep-
ton was David Rowlands, whose wife
was waiting to tell how he had beaten
| her.
| David" said his honor, not unkindly,
''this is your first offense. Was the les
son you have just learned one you will
remember? If it is you can go home -
| David went hastily
1.-The first time 1 thrashed a wife
beaten said Mr.. Donohue, was in
| 1883. He was a vicious fellow, and
had nearly killed his wife. He got it
worse than Overfield, for I laid him
up for week or two. 1t did him
good. Yes, sir. He's been mighty
| good husba nd, ever since
| Il had another several years ago.
This was my third. I got letters from
all over the world about my first case.
and l felt proud of some of them. One
French society wrote me about it,. I
never heard. though, whether they
adopted my method They can if they
want. 1t is not patented.
I've just got letter from a Phila-
| delphia man about Overfield The
mans name is E. S. Clark, and he
sent me his book. Mental Nuts to
Crack Wonder what kind of bust
ness he thinks I'm in. He says in his
| letter:
Good boy, Donohuel Do it again
l wish I was there to see it
Ten years ago, when I thrashed the
first one, some nerve medicine firms
sent me letters asking to be allowed
to use my name and picture and say
under it, I use So-and-So Nervine and
thrash wife-beaters.' I'm no adver-
Using agency, though"
HOW HE FIRST BECAME FAMOUS.
| The Alderman first became famous
by an interesting settlement of an in
tricate case when he was young in Of