The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1899-04-13
Freedom OF The Press Waning.

Two cases under the Comstock law
are exciting the people of Ohio to an
unusual degree.
A couple of prohibitionists, pro-
badly the only two birds of that
species in the great whiskey- -produc-
ing section of Kentucky where they
disport themselves, having gotten
into quarrel over religion and other
petty jealousies, the Christian under
took to square accounts by playing
Comstock on his free thinking rival,
and complained to District Attorney
Bundy at Cincinnati, that the latter
had mailed an obscene publication.
The publication which was pretend
ed to be obscene was The Blue Grass
Blade. The victim of this dirty trick
was the editor Of The Blade, Mr..
Charles q. Moore. The complainant
was Rev. ]. ]. Rucker. 1t might be
mentioned incidentally that Rucker
hao tried to run prohibition paper
and failed. His paper had scooped
out. People didn't seem to want it.
They preferred free thought in their
prohibition rather than Rucker's
kind Of Christianity. Rucker was
soured. He was jealous. He was
mad. Instead of covering his shame,
his wrath became presently known,
(see Proverbs XII, 16.) He made it
known to Bundy. Bundy was hard
working man. He was working hard
to make it appear that he was man
of great Importance, honestly earn
ing the salary Of his position. Any
thing was fish that came to his net.
The persecution of poor Charlie
Moore made one moro case for him.
What did he care about Charlie
Moore's rights? What do the Con-
stitutional rights of citizen amount
to anyway? So, instead of kicking
Rucker out, Bundy makes up a case
and a subservient grand jury finds
an Indictment against Moore. From
that on Moore's downward track is
creased. The idea of obscenity was
too terrible for such a nice Judge as
Thompson, and such nice jury, so
they did not pause to enquire much
about the pretended obscenity. That
was the success of Fuckers trick.
There wasn'treally anything obscene
about Charlie Moore's paper, but
Rucker got the cry of "mad dog!"
we'll started and the terror of it did
the business, and Moore was hand.
cuffea and led off to Jail. But some
how or other there were some people
who had as strong an aversion to
that kind Of justice as they had to
Fuckers kind of Christianity, and
they are making quite disturbance
about the matter. It's too bad they
won't keep still ana let Judge
Thompson send man to Jail when
ever he takes the notion. What's
the good of being judge, anyway.
if you can't send men to jail?
There's trouble up at the other end
of Ohio. An injudicious fellow
named Walter Hurt is editing a
harum-scarum paper in Cleveland,
which he calls 1.-THE Gatling Gun"
He has employed the columns of his
paper to fire some pretty hot shot at
dear brother McKinley's noble ad-
ministration. Hurt ought to know
that newspapers are not for that pur-
pose atall. Newspapers are to whoop
things up for the administrator and
boom the second term syndicate.
Hurt didn't know that. What right
had such a fellow as he to edit a
paper, anyway? So he's indicted for
mailing an obscene paper. OF course,
it's obscene If it says anything
against Saint Hanna. And he's go-
ing to be railroaded, too. Good
enough tor him! He's disburber
OF the government. But the wicked
Democrats are laying low. I fear
some of them are go sunk in the
depths of sin and In the bonds ini-
guilty that they really rejoice at
Hurts awful crime.
"Sweet are the uses Of obsceneity. -
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