Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1911-07-01
AN IDOL N N COURT
Made 10 SerVe i.3a Ends of Justice
 h Q Case In Japan.
THE RUSE OF q WISE MAYOR
This Solomon like Official, to Whom an Innocent Mac Accused of Theft Ap- peaed. Devised a Simple Scheme That Discfo.ed the Real Cuiprits.


 Hr"prietor Of Il big store near Japan nriG%". in Yed'lo. was sent with heavy 1at.k of valuable cotton goods on his
 'a"k to dyer in Honjo district When h. stores eSson%er reached Yoho. -'i wa >ife' dn was ready to seek rest What mof sl;e than the little grove / ti'"ns snt a0out the stone statue of
 he god ,l!2n. the patron saint of tray .tH:s aud defrnseless woman and chE i"tn
 he stunn0ieut porter awoke from nap 10 r4id chat his employers cotton went To thn seorekeepnr and confessed 's"; hr t.ah sept and that robbpr hn'! nIad- o:ss with the goods daring h.. s'"ni'r. Tho maSter would not h."
 it'"e atS story. saving that it WouN! have heen impossible for q rob}sar t1 a.aise of With >a lar@e bundle o ',r"ad daylight Unless tue porte! ahould pay for the lost good, he wou {; have 10 70 to prison. said the master In despair the porter took counsel nf MHYor O-oka
 "Yru are certainly tn blame for he> Ing fallen asleep rei,rnTed the ibav"c
 out Jizc Is equally tu blame f)r < Is god bound to protcrt Nverr sW who trusts ia hinl. and ia jAiS :n>,fAI,Ae hn has hetraNon roH will llal.a h,.n arrested and brought hnforn nle ta, rriai"
 Gt.to t,, court Ofiit teis to go and arrest the liz f c.>e2aW;l street and bring 1 ils! '9e fore t!,c l;;rur'S Saat for trial. Iin.A" of the officers departed on tisait' 1a!s sion Thev frst hound the arms of tho stone god with coils of rope: he, s,ny tried 10 lift him from his tirl |" ds stal into q cart. X great croMl nSse:ab!e,! hefoGa the JiZo. attracted hy the unusual behavlor of the coart nf7"rrS. Wien they We're told that Ji"" hah to 20 heforc the mayor for Hia! -he citizens maryeled.
 The task of unSHating the god wa~ too much for the three court ottl"ars anl they sought aid of those standinS about. They promised that in return for assistance they would admit al volunteer workers into the courtrooD' to witness the extraordinary lri;a Hundreds were Spurred by curjoSit, to lend a hand. and when the StnYt god went through the streets strapns' to cart like an offender the crow1' grew. It filled the great hall of justic. when JiZo was placed before tie plat form upon which sat the mayor. 'O-o!S;. addressed the god in stern words
 '''You are a negligent fool. o Jizo:" he exclaimed in a voice loud enough for all to hear. "You are supposec to protect every one who believes tir you and who renders tribute, yet ,thi, trusting porter here made a prayer f. you. then fell asleep at your feet. an'' he was robbed while he slept. You stand accused of being an accompl"t In this robbery. Have you anything to say for yourself before l pass sen tence?"
 Mayor 'O-oka waited for a flow mo n"nts as if expecting the stony lips of Jizo to open in reply, but when na answer was made by the god he pass ed sentence immediately
 "Since you do not defend yourself , consider that you are guilty said his honor, "and shall imprison YOU"
 At this remarkable spectacle of :, mayor passing sentence upon q stone god there was q litter of laughter O-oka thundered in q voice of brass.
 Who are all these people standing about here?' he inquired of his court officers. Are they accomplices of JiZe court is a penny show. and they laugh at the courts orders. Shut all the gates at once"
 The scared attendants hastencd to shut the gates of the courtroom. Then Mayor O-oka adjudged every man in the great crowd in contempt of court and fined each of them one tan (a lii- mono length of cotton cloth. The hum dreds thus suddenly found in contemN were happy that their punishment ha% been so light at least. and under bonds they hurried to their homes to brin: ooSh tuc CIOtH Lue. bSlOTo luc uIN was done. 700 pieces of cotton clot, had been presented before the mayors court. the name of each culprit being set down upon the one tan of cotton cloth which he presented
 Before he would allow the TOO to go however. O-oka retired with the DOT. Ter who had been robbed to an :nno- .fiamber. and hc asked the porter to oOk over the 700 pieces of cotton aloth and See if he could identify anv of them as having been once in the pack he had carried. Since every man. ifacturer of cotton cloth in Yef'tlo al ways marked the selvare of each Strtn with little rcd trademark staNp t'ie porter searched the edges of the many strips of cloth for stamp similar tr . that borne on tiis cloth of which he had been rnJbod. Ee fnund that tv, of the pieces O: c.ot' hroNcht to n"y The mayors tine horo the --nmn "f hi plundercd pack. Instantly Mayor O-oka gave orders for the arrcst of r." two men who had brought this cl".h They confessed to the robherv. a"d .' &l> l. .l