Columbia courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1902-1905, 1904-09-09
HE STRUCK
HIS WIFE
JAMES MiCtiAEiS UNDER
ARREST
Awaiting TriaI-Wa MED His Wife
10 Return TO Him and when
Refused he Struck Her.

in fear of her life. The sounds
came from the south end and were
sufficiently vigorous to attract the
attention OF Marchal Campbell who
went to the scene of action at once
accompanied by a Courier reporter,
The cries led the party to the resi-
dence of Mrs. Mary Osborne, and
there it was found that brutal
husband had been using the pur-
suasion of a club to induce his wife
to return to the domestic fold. The
marshal Immediately arrested the
brute and landed him in the lock
up
The man is Jas. Michaels, and
this is not his first attempt in the
same direction. Last spring he ell
tered the Osborne home and pro-
ceeded to clean up things, put Sic
ceeded i'll making his escape before
being apprehended.
1t appears that be is one of those
never-do- wells that occasionly sic
coed i'll alluring a good woman in
to running her life by the ties of
inatrimony. Some two months
ago he suddenly left town without
telling his wife of his intentions or
destination, leaving her i'll deli
cate condition and almost destitute
circumstances. Yesterday morning
he re-appeared and demanded that
his wife once more resume marital
relations. This she refused to do
and the man left swearing Vengeance
In the afternoon he met Mrs. Os-
borne on the street and renewed
his threats, saying that he would
be at the house at seven o'clock
and that if his wife did not take him
in he would kill the whole outfit.
He carried out his threat up to the
killing point, satisfying himself
with striking his wife who is in an
infeebled condition, she having
very young baby and not being in
very good health at best. Her
screams brought in the police with
the result mentioned.
After the trouble was over for
the night the Courier man returned
to the Osborne home and interview
the inmates, and found the ladies'
loath to discuss the matter, but
learned that they have all been liv-
ing in mortal fear of tie man for
some time, as he has made threats
several times that he would come
back some time and kill all of them
if his wife did not return to him.
The remainder of tile story we
are ashamed to tell. Of course the
foregoing is nothing 10 feel proud
over, but the shame is Of the error
of only one benight9d creature, the
likes of whom is found in every
community. What we have still
to tell though is TO the shame of
the whole community, and should
cause every man that has been iden-
tilted with the affairs Of the town
in the past to hang his head and
contritely acknowledge that he has
been reuliss in his duties and has
suffered a disgraceful state Of af-
fairs to exist. This morning when
the time came to bring Michaels ur
for trial it was found that there was
no one to try him. The police
magistrate had no jurisdiction fol
the reason that there is not all or
dinance that will bear stretching
enough to cover the offence, and
further investigation disclosed the
fact that we have no justice of the
peace. As agrssult of this TN.
heard Of condition Of towr
that boasts of an eXistance Of
two years and a population Of near
" a thousand souls, it was necess'