Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1907-12-18
An Attempt d Reform.



pie organizer" asked the tenderfoot,
wiping his eyeglasses with a cambria
handkerchief. "You should have city
government, courts ana all that sort O.
thing. Then you'd begin to get els
ilized."
1--WE did try that onct and it didn't
seem to work pretty much
'Why not?''
Il think we got too much of it at
oncet, or it want jist what this yerr
kind of community required. We see,
there was man come yere from the
east. He was an dedicated man and
appeared to be practical. Our people
TUX to him right off It want long
afore he could do anything he pleased
with any OF us. At that time the sa-
looms and gamblin' houses was dom
a pretty big business, and scarcely a
day passed that there want shOOtin'
match. Then the stranger disre-
member his name-suggeste what you
did.
elbow do you do it? asked one Of
our best citizens.
"'ITirst you must elect a town c0un-
Gil and a mayor The mayor can ap-
point the Judge of the court and its
officers. That's about all you need IL
a small place like this
ut didn't take much arguin' to git
our best citizens into the deal They
called a town meetin' ana nominated
q mayor and council They put up the
stranger for mayor and Il dozen of the
steadiest men in the place for council.
Ye never see SIGH quiet election in
your life. Everybody voted except the
gamblers and the liquor men, WHO
didn't pear to take no interest into it
leastways they went on gambin and
sellin' liquor.
"The fust thing the mayor did was to
appoint the judge. the next a sheriff.
and the third was to close the gam
blin' houses The gamblers, seem that
the citizens was dead stuck on their
mayor and council. just shut up shop
and went elsewhere. Then the mayor
had the council pass high license bill.
and this did away with the saloons.
There was Il few grumblers who
couldn't git their liquor when they
wanted it. but the citizens as a body
acuuiesced. and the law was a dead
sure pizon killer.
"A boss thief was arrested, and, in
stead of stringin' him up in the usual
way. he was brought before the court.
The mayor set beside the judge to post
him. Nobody seen the boss thief take
any bosses He want takin' 'em that
away; he was runnin' EN- off in the
middle O. the night The mayor tole
the judge to instruct the jury to bring
in a verdic' in accordance with the
evidence. There want no evidence:
there want no need o. no evidence.
cause everybody knOwed the prisoner
was q boss thief. But the judge give
'em the law that the man was limo
cent till he was proved guilty. and they
must find q verde in accordance with
the evidence. WAL. when the jury
got into the jury room they looked II
one another kind O queer. They coUl,,
do nothin' but acquit the boss thief,
and so they did.
''This want very satisfyin', especially
when the boss thief TUX the judges
boss with him when he left town
Some one thought the law had better
be changed. regardin' boss thieves par
ticularly. But the mayor said it would
come out all right. and the citizens
acQuiesced.
"Next day there was Il shoOtin' match.
Nat Tucker shot and killed Cy Allen
when they was a-talkin' on the street.
Tucker was tried the mayor az in
Joachim the dourt. A witness testified
that he hearn Allen call the prisone:
q Glow down cuss." Another testified
that he hearn Allen call the prisoner
"a pestiferous varmint' A third give
the most important testimony of all.
He said Allen spoke disrespectful of
fuckers woman"
"Was she good woman?" asked the
tenderfoOt.
''Sartin IS long as she lived with q
man she KEEP straight. though she
wasn't particular about a marriage
ceremony and didn't stick to no one
o. 'em very long. When this testimony
come out for the defense the jury
made up their minds to acquit the ac-
cused without leavin' their seats. but
the judge. advised by the mayor, tOle
'em there was no evidence justifyln'
the KILN and they'd have to convict
Tucker They done il, though they
didn't like to. and Tucker was elected
to swing.
Quicker he'd allus been one o the
leadin' citizens and had helped the
mayor organize. When the verdic'
was announced he riz up and lookin'
at the mayor he says. says he:
"'Mr Mayor, this civilizin' process
you've introduced among us may be
very fine, but it's death on this COM
munity. You got rid of rum and gam
blers, though we need the rum much
". But what about boss stealth and
a man pertectin' the naIne of the wo-
man no kenDS cOmOanV WITH Eff this