The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-12-11
KANSAS COMMENT
THE IJNWRTTTEN LAW

v
The question of how far the unwrit-
ten law may be stretched has had an
expectation in the case of VIM. Brown,
the colored Rock Island porter, recently
tried at Pratt on the charge of murder
Ing w. f. Powell, a white man. The
unwritten law has served to free sew
eral men from gallows or the prison
cell since its inception. To the original
Interpretation of the law that a man is
plameless if he takes the life Of the
man who ruins his home has been
added many phases. Fathers and
prothers have given the right 10
protect the purity Of daughters and Sis
tiers and demand life for a wrong
against their chastity. A California jury
this week freed the girl who shot her
faithless lover. But in the case of
Brown and Powell the defense of the
accused hangs on the story Of the wife
and her companion that they had been
lnsulted by Powell No violence was
offered and they admit that they were
in no danger. When Brown dashed
from the house in response to the wo.
mems screams all he saw was a man
running a block away. Surely there
was no imminent danger of violence.
The fact that Powell was shot in the
back is mute evidence that he was not
OFFERING affront to the women OF re-
sistance to Brown. The fact that he
was in such a neighborhood and die7
maintaining that he did not know who
shot him was evidence that he was
where he had no business to be and
wished to shield his wife and baby.
one jury already has struck upon this
question of how far the ramiflcations OF
the unwritten law extend and doubt
less another will have to wrestle with
the same Observation-Disclosures Ga
zette.
BRING ON THE TURKEYS.
Instead of experimenting with Chi
nese pheasants and other birds insult
ed to this climate why doesn't the state
game warden import wild turkeys. and
make the whole year a closed season, as
was done in the case Of the pheasants?
The state of Alabama has protected its
WHO turkeys for year or two, and 1t
is always unlawful to kill a female tur-
key, and 1t is now said there is no rea-
son why every sportsman should not
supply his table with turkey gobbler.
So far as we know, there was never any
closed season for turkeys in Kansas, no
more than there was for buffalo or elk
and the three gave way together befora
guns and civilization. But wild tur-
keys used to be common in Kansas,
from the river to the Colorado line,
wherever there was tirnbered stream.
There is much more timber in Kansas
now than in the early days. but there
are few If any wild turkeys. The addi-
tfonal timbered area should facilitate
the introduction of the birds to a region
In which they were once common, IL
assisted by a game law When a hunt
er kills turkey he has enough, and
sportsmen should be willing to abide by
the game law until the birds get
start. It wasn't the hunters who made
the pheasant experiment a failure, but
a climate which didn't seem to agree
with them. Also why not protect prai-
RE chickens. which are native, instead
of pheasants ?-Atchison Globe
THE BEST TALKER.
1t is generally said by those who
attended the Knights of Pythias ban
Duet that Ewing Herbert made a bet
ter speech than Henry Allen. Mr. Her.
bert received nothing for fis services;
Mr.. Allen received $50 and expenses.
Mr.. Herbert can't do it every night. but
he did it last night. Henry Allen is
sold he tho Tect liar ~,