The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1902-05-02

Win You from the newspaper Office"
Edward Blake will never forget that
little experience with President Royce
that evening. When the time came.
they went up the stairs and entered
the room together.
1t was. as usual. pretty well filed.
although there was n much larger
crowd present later in the evening.
Their entrance provoked no especial
notice at first. Several boys and young
men were at the tables and n number
were trying the new device that Ed
ward had seen Willis try. So they had
time enough to take note of details anu
had started TO go out again when the
proprietor Of the place. who had seen
the president when he came In. rose
ind went over to the door,
State your business here. youv' ne
Iaid. planting himself In front Of the
president.
state yours, sir, first" replied the
president, standing up with an athletic
strength that made the man recol
The president and Edward walked to.
gether to the door, and the man backed
nway from it, The crowd in the room
nearest them had turned to see what
was going on. but before anything else
was said the proprietor had turned
back. The president and Edward went
out and down the stairs unmolested.
They at once went to the authorities
and swore out complaint under the
ordinance, and that evening the place
YVES raided by the police, who arrested
the proprietor in the very act Of re-
moving his apparatus, having sus-
picion of what was coming. To relate
briefly the results of all this action on
the presidents and Edwards part, aft
err many delays of the law and much
technical skirmishing on the part OF
the attorneys for the accused, the pro-
prietor was convicted and sentenced.
The conviction frightened all the other
gamblers in Raynor and closed every
den in the city, for a time at least
The owner of the building was also
guilty under the ordinance, but an at.
tempt to convict him failed owing to
his social influence and the use of his
means, and nothing ever came of the
attempt. And yet it is said that the
poor man as well as the rich man has
equal justice shown him in our courts
Does any one in America today dare
deny that wealth and social position
have it in their power to defeat justice
in our courts? If they do not have
that power, how does 1t happen that
so often wealthy offenders escape the
penalty of the law they have violated
The entire affair caused great still
in Raynor. There was good deal OF
criticism Of President Royce's course
Good citizens who were very Indignant
always when mention was made OF
lawlessness in the city and wanted tC
know over their coffee and morning
paper why something was not done by
somebody to prevent such lawlessness
said that President Royce had done ;
thing unbecoming president of a col
lege. So undignified and-and-well-
so lacking-in the-the-best judgment
But the ordinance expressly provided
for testimony to convict. The law OF
the state plainly said that it was thu
duty of every good citizen to inform
the authorities of q breach of the law
The president was a citizen, like othel
meI, and he had simply done his duty
What was there wrong about that
Well-it was very undignified thing
to act as spy-tO enter such an in
famous place-to contaminate himsel
with touching the thing, so these
good citizens said, and yet they were
the very men who never did anything
themselves except to find fault will
the people for electing bad men t.
office or for not enforcing the law II
some way. The good citizen of thi:
country, of this type, will take hi:
rightful place some time alongside tn,
| lawbreakers and be labeled with hi:
true name. which is bad" citizen
with capital letter "B" for bad"
But Edwards experience in the af
| fair did not end with his part in the
trial as one of the witnesses. There
was another chapter, that might have
proved even more exciting for hin
than 1t was If his training on the foot
ball field had not stood him in goot
| stead.
It was during the week of the trial
and while the case was still dragging
along with delays on technicalities, ant
the outcome Of it was not certain, tina
Edward was surprised one evening IL
one Of the Railways of down towr
office building by an attack made or
him by some unknown person.
He had gone up to the top of the
building to deliver paper ut one OF
the places that he knew was q low
| gambling den. Since the arrest Of the
gambler up town the proprietor Of this
| place had kept very strict watch and
Edward was not permitted to enter, as
he sometimes had done. He threw the
paper down at the bottom of the door
as he had been doing for several
| nights, when some one rushed out OF o
side hallway and struck at him with
some heavy article that partly missed
him In the dark, smashing his hat of
his head and for second stunning
him slightly.
He instantly turned and grappled
with a man when another figure came
| out on the opposite side Of the hall and
flung himself on him.
But Edward was used to having sew.