Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1900-02-06

as well in their community as anyone
of the coterie who have been assailing
them over this paper.
Instead of slurs, the Inquisition-
General of the League should try and
imbibe the spirit of Pope's Universal
Prayers:
| Let not this weak unknowing hand,
| Presume thy bolts to throw,
And deal damnaton round the land.
On each judge thy foe.''
Halltn, Vol. /, page 2S2 Middle Ages,
speaking of the torture that was in
t1icted, characterizes it as the age of
judicial perjury, when the current
belief was that truth could only be
obtained by violent means.'
Napoleon in the revolution war
thoroughly crushed the inqusition in
Europe, since which it could do moth
ling but show its murderous will. The
founders of this Republic, wisely and
forever put aquietus on the enact
ment OF the purpose of the League as
portrayed by the men who have,
through the press of the county, been
its defenders in the line of the inqui-
sition, and who by their declared pur-
poses of mob law, and assassination
have shown themselves unworthy to
| be its citizens,
Let us recapitulate: The Inquisition
employed iyormers whose duty was the
same as that of the Leage IS detectives.
The informers of the inqusition
were to obtain some word of discredit
or criticism against that institution,
which was magnified into a crime.
The detectives of the League were to
induce some person to violate the law.
The informerS of the Inquisit ton
were looking for victims who had
property to contiscate; detectives Of
the League, instead Of fooling away
time on boot-leggers, and such were
looking after the class who had the
means to pay for their work.
The Monarch took care to provide
for himself share of the money from
contiscation; the League, through it's
president asked that it have one half
the money obtained from fines.
That torture, pain and death by the
most cruel means human ingenuity
could invent were the means of con-
version resorted to by the inquisition:
tina a resort to mobs, and murder are
the means endorsed by the leading
representatives of the League, relying
upon terrorlzing the people into SUBJ
mission to its purpose. That the cruel
and wicked purposes of the Inquisit-
on were approved by the Inquisitors
general and his subordinates. That
articles in the San breathing the
Esprit of the inquisition were submit
ted to the editor of the Times, who
suggested revision, for which pur-
pose 1T was returned to DR.. Carpenter,
| the Rev'ds Mcleod, Linn and others
for revision, and as revised with the
spirit of the inquisition breathing
through every paragraph, it met with
| the approval of the Times and the in
tolerant few of the League.
| 1t may not perhaps be amiss to re-
mind the League that more than &C
1 per cent of the voters OF this county
| favor high license rather than free
whisky, that on this question the ratio
is as 6 to 4; that more than s. per cent
of the people of the county despise,
condemn and denounce their thaeats,
and that the editor of this paper is
ono of that IS per cent.
| And now permit us to say to you,
the we'll known instigators of violence
disorder and mob law, that any at
tempt to carry your threats into exc
cution will meet with the punishment
prescribed by law for the preservation
of the public peace against the actor
of wrong doors.