Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-07-12
The Statute of Limitation.

In the press dispatches of Wednes-
day of this week, under Washington
date, appeared this bit of information:
Criminal action against high Off
Cials of the Hartman railroad systems
cannot be taken i'll the land grating
eases of the Southern Pacific railroad
in Nevada. The Oakland (CalD land
Office. after investigating, has notified
the Washington officials that the stat
ute of limitation is a bar to criminal
proceedings. Civil suits will be start
ed TO reclaim the land claimed by the
railroads"
This is an instance of the appliCa-
ton of the technical law to the defeat
of the government by what is known
and recognized as the common enemy
the trust. No less a statesman and
authority than w. J. Bryan has declared
on frequent occasions that the only
way to put an end to the trusts is by
criminal procedure and the melting out
of penitentiary punishment to fit the
crime. But, as is illustrated in the
dispatch referred to, the trusts are
.Cvading even so much as trial for
their misdGeds by taking advantage of
the statute in a manner that implies
admission and avOidance-the common
enemy finds shelter in the statute Of
| limitation.
In Rock Island just now, as the peo-
pie are aware, the protection of the
! statute of limitation has been sought
as means of escape of trial by jury
III the face of criminal charges. And
of the people against the common en-
cmy But here at home the common
enemy is an individual instead of Il
trust
John Looney. hater of his fellow
beings, slanderer of those who fail 10
yield to his demands, assailant of all kinds
| and conditions of men, a man who I'm
torrents of fury and personal malice
upbraidS the clergy at one time and az
another blasphemously assumes to PIE.
scribe the manner i'll which the r.
deemer would deal with local condi
ItiOns, is found attempting to
slip out of trial by jury in the fac
of criminal indictments by pleadiul
the statute of limitation. In view of
the fact that John LoOncy, the self
poised regulator of public morals anl
moral standards in men. Il man whC
has found it necessary to repeatedly
list his own virtues side by side viii
the most villianous, and venomous a.
lacks upon the lives and characters o.
decent men, has been put OF
trial, and it has occasioned somc
little interest to find him standing b,
fore the bar of justice under bond
for grave allegations-and pleading tn.
statute of limitation. Charged witt
eXtortion from the notorious Buffai'
saloon. and from the mistress of
brOthCl, what would one naturally sup
pose would be the attitude of creature
, who imagines himself the paragon
that LOOney does? Would it not seen
more natural, that he would waive ever
technical phase of the case, and II
mand vindication rather than escape c
trial? Would it not seem that the ma
WHO SGShS W DOSS dts d uluCu tlSSCN'
cd individual, would crave the oppol
tunity to be brought face to face wi
his accusers in open court and Their
establish his innocence?
Instead of seeking vindication in
trial before jury of his peers, LoOnC
2 prefers to avoid the trial and henc
his plea under the statute of limit.
S ton, that the court had no other a
S tentative under the law but to grant
e And thus LOoncy, no doubt consider
e lie has placed another laurel upon hi
y own brow. He has once more prove
y to his own peculiar satisfaction tn
s martyrdom of the man who wants I'll
n public ever to remember that the III
6 ire of his shining example can nev'
t be dimmed-as long as he does n
Q drink, smoke or chew.