Waterbury Democrat., 1901-08-17
CHORUS GIRLS HIT HIM.
BIG, BURLY MAN WHO WAS
 ABUSING A POOR HoRsE.
After Warning He Continued to Beat the Beast-He Was Finally Pulled from His Seat and
 Cuffed by the Angry
 Crowd About Him.
Crowd About Him.
(Written for the Democrat.)

(Written for the Democrat)
 There was a disturbance in New York not long ago. A starved, tired, sick horse was dragging atruck loaded with coping stones along Broad way. It's strength gave out and it dropped. The driver belabored the wretched animal with q heavy whip, jerked with all his strength upon the reins and finally pulled the horse up to it's knees. Then he renewed his beating.
 This performance caused a crowd to gather, and it was not long before the temper of the crowd became warmer than even the high tempera- ture of the August day would war rant. The driver was warned to step, and threatening gestures were made in his direction, but he was Il stubborn sort of a person, and the more the crowd talked the more tercely he thrashed the horse. He finally succeeded in driving away, but at the pace he was able to go the crowd could easily keep up with him and did. When he began to beat the horse once more the crowd closed in on him, and policeman of the Broad way squad arrived on the scene. Then the crowd began to tell the po- liceman what to. do. One we'll dress ed man said, Arrest him, officer, and I'll make complaint The driver, his temper now up as high as that of the crowd, declined to get off his seat and there was general cry of Pull him off that truck"
 It did not take long to do 1t. A dozen people hustled the man off his seat, and some unhitched the horse, and an elderly man gave the prisoner a cordial blow on the side of the face. He did not need to follow the Biblical injunction to turn the other cheek, for there were people on the other side of him ready to attend to that cheek, and two or three chorus girls hit him over the head with their umbrellas. Altogether he spent the next few minutes being hustled about and being thrashed, while the horse rested and looked on, and it is to be hoped that the animal enjoyed it. As soon as the policeman could get through the crowd he marched his prisoner to 1he jail
 Of course it is not to be argued that it is always best for the public to take the law into it's own hands, but there are times when 1t seems un- avoidable. If the man had been mal- treating q woman or a small boy on Broadway at that time of day, or st any time when there was crowd about, he would probably have been made to suffer quite as severely, and the spectators would not have waited for the police.fi The kind of rascal who is given to pounding those who are manifestly unable to defend them selves against him knows perfectly we'll that the public will not stand any doings of this sort in public. He therefore confines that sort of bru- tality to the privacy of his own home. He has quite enough intelligence and self control to do that. There is no reason why he should not be made to feel the same need of self-restraint in the case of horse or any other dumb animal. The trouble has been hith- erto that the public conscience was not suciently awake to notice when ever big, rough bully thrashed a horse. 1t should be thus awakened It is just as proper for a crowd to stop that sort of proceeding as for the passers-by to interfere to stop other sort of misdemeanor until the police arrive One cannot feel sorry for the individual who figures in this case He was big, strong and healthy, and he suffered for few minutes a modi- fled form of the misery he had in- fiicted on a wretched, sick, half- starved animal, whose life he had made a perpetual calvary.