The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1909-05-14

Will BE SOLD IN
TO SERVITUDE.
Fate of the Loafers and
Wife Deserters.
Mayor Has Instructed the Police
to Turn in Names Of
All Loungers.

The Owensboro Inquirer disseTtates
as follows on the conditions in Ow-
ensboro:
With the return of warm weather
the usual spring and summer nui-
sances are beginning to make them
selves manifest, and the authorities
have begun a movement to rid the
courthouse curb OF its lourgers, the
levee if its wharf rats, the depot of
its hoboes and the city generally of
loafers, Migrants, wife deserters,
bunco men and fakirs OF all desoldp-
tons. Activities against these social
parasites have already been begun
An attorney OF the local bar sug-
gested to Mayor O'Brynn q few days
ago that he have the many loafeTs
with whom OwensbcTo Is infested sold
into seTvltude. Mayor O'Bryan took
the suggestion as q joke until he was
shown the Kentucky statute providing
just such a remedy to wipe out va
grancy. 1t ives also related to the
mayor that several years ago this
custom was general and he wus shown
a now prominent farmer who IVES soil
into serwtude 20 years ago and who
was aroused into accomplishing
something by the dlsgrece of the
sale
After further investigation into the
matter Mayor O'Bryan decided that
the public sale Of vugIpnts was the
best remedy possible. He accordingly
decided TO appeal 10 Commonwealth
Attorney Ringo for assistance end
plans are now on foot for the stamp
ing out Of vsgrancy ard wife.or child
deseTtlon in Owensboro and Daviess
county. Mayor O'Bryan hos INSTRUCT
ed his police to report to MIN the
names of all shiftless, dlssolute,
lounging persons without visible
means of support. These names will
be presented to the commonwe this
attorney and ell Of those whose oases
are aggravated eauogh to demand i'm
mediate attention will be arrested and
thrown in jail or compelled TO execute
bond in the sum of 500 for their APP
pearanoe at the next term of circuit
court, when they will be indicted.
Sections 475S-4765 of the Kentucky
st2tutes provide that any able bodied
person who is found lettering or RAM
bling about with no visible means of
support or without some honest CALI
ing, or who has deserted his h2bita-
ton and left wife or child without
means of subsistence, or who is Idle |
or 6isJolute in habit, ney be arrested |
for committing misdeme2nor. Tie
arrest may be made by authority of |
4 justice Of the peece on his own in |
formation or on the cath &c enosher |
and the vagrant,lf c-und guilty, is to |
be he'd to the grand jury on q bond |
Of 800, In defeult of which he goes |
10 jail. On indictment by the grand |
jury the v2greIt is 20 be t-tsd by a |
Jury and IL found guilty the jury Nixes
the time that he shall be bound out to
labor or sold into serv.tuie,the terms
beirg from one to twelve months.
The vagrants white or black, are
10 be sold at pubic auction end the
purchaser exelts the same authority |
over them as a master does over ap-
Drentlces. The prccee6s Of the sale
go to pay the. costs OF the trial and |
are then pcorated among the creditors
Of the vaggant, IL re owes debts.
Should there ttel be balance it
goes to the fcTnily of the vagrsnt If |
he has one and otherwise back to the
purchaser who is to pay it 10 the va
grant at the expiration of his servi-