The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1905-03-25
BOY BURGLARS
PLEAD GUILTY
MOST SALUTARY PORTION Of
SENTENCE SUSPENDED
Testimony Shows That Saloons Vio-
late the Law by Selling Liquor to
Minors and That Omcials are Re.
miss In Their Duty.

l
miss In Their Duty.
Friday evening, March II, while
the Women of Woodcraft ball was in
progress at Odd Fellows hall, the
Enterprise bakery store was broken
into and robbed of about seven dol
lars in money and quantity of con-
fectionery and other toothsome deli
cacies. The matter was kept very
quiet while l. D. Nordyke did some
clever detective work and traced the
thievery to David Groat and Otho
Anderson, two boys fifteen years of
age, the former living about three
miles out in the country on the Sports
man lake road and the latter with
his grandmother, one of the best
known and most highly esteemed
ladies in Friday Harbor. When ac-
cused of the crime the boys confessed
and when arraigned before Justice
Blair Wednesday they told the
story without equivocation. The JUS
tice sentenced each of them to pay a
fine of $40 and costs and to ten days
confinement in jail and stipulated
that the loss to the proprietor of the
bakery be made good. Prosecuting
Attorney Wynn was not in town and
Attorney L. J. Irwin, step-father of
the Anderson boy, appeared as pros
ecutor. He stated to the court that
the Anderson boy was about to 90 to
Bellingham to live with his father
and learn trade and promising that
the boy should leave town Immediate
ly he urged that the jail sentence be
suspended and the court granted the
request
With all due respect to Justice Blair
the ISLANDER believes that he defeat
ed the ends of justice by suspending
the jail sentences which he first just
ly imposed. Only the innocent are
punished by the fines. If the young
hoodlums had been obliged to spend
ten days in Jail and at work upon the
public roads they might have had a
lesson which would have made some
salutary impression upon them.
Some testimony was brought out
during the hearing which had no di-
rect bearing on the case but which
served to show conclusively that the
law prohibiting the sale of liquor to
minors is fagrantly violated by the
local saloons. The Groat boy testi-
fed that after the robbery of the
bakery Friday night he accosted the
bartender at the Tourist hotel saloon,
who was sitting outside on the hotel
steps, and asked him if he could get
flask of whiskey. ''Sure, was the
answer, and flask of 'sire-water"
was promptly brought and paid for,
with which the boy Immediately pro-
ceeded to get intoxicated. He also
testified that in company with an
other boy he had at other times
bought liquor ''over the bar" in other
ssloons. It is not doubted by any
one familiar with the saloon question
here that the boy told the truth,
though his moral degeneracy is such
as to inspire little respect for his
word if he could gain anything by "
ing. The conditions which his testi-
mony serves merely to emphasize are
certainly within the knowledge of
public officials sworn to enforce the
law, and yet no pretence is made OF
enforcing it, the weak excuse being
offered that "public sentiment on
the liquor question is such that
jury cannot be secured that would
convict a liquor dealer of violating
the law, and that such prosecution
would impose 'unwarranted ex-
pense" upon the county. Officials
have no right to shirk their respon-
sibility by hiding behind such assump-
tions. It is Hup to them" to do
their duty instead Of pleading as an
excuse for not doing it that jurors
would not do theirs. Let them try
and see. The old motto IF at first
you don't succeed, try, try again,
Is a good one to follow. At present
officials are blamed, and Justly so,
for the 'swide open" policy tolerated
here in the conduct of the saloons.
II IS useless to kick" against
the liquor dealers themselves: They
are not running Y. NJ. G. AS, nor
are they in the booze business for
their health or for the health OF any
one else. If the commissioners
would take the matter into their
hands and promptly cancel the IL
cense Of any saloon known to have
violated the law by selling liquor to
minors or to Indians, whether Brit
ish or American, they would accom-
plish more IN the line Of practical re-
torn than can be accomplished BY
years Of effort IN any other way,