The Richmond climax. (Richmond, Ky.) 1897-1914, 1911-04-05

As for the night riding, II is cowardly,
brutal and disgrace to the State. But
the provocation is sore. The most one
rous and the most long-continued farm
labor husbandman ever engaged in the
planting, the cultvating and the curing
of a crop Of tobacco. A trust was organ
lied under the laws of the virtuous and
heightened State 0. New Jersey, the pur-
pose Of which was to fix the price Of the
merchandise which it bought, as well as
to make the price of the goods which it
sold The largest magnate Of this cor
Germ is rated at slOO. 900, 600 and men,
women and children in kentucky toiled
and sweat at the hardest farm labor in
the world to swell that mans gains.
Their was but one buyer Of their pro-
duct, and it as Oonscienceless as that
lean she-wolf DAME saw in hell. Hence
night riding.
Nearly a century and half ago there
was night riding under comparatively
trivial provocatior in the Cody town Of
Boston. 1t is called the tea party" 1t
was just as lawleSB as any night riding
Kentucky or Tennessee ever INDUCED in
and those who participa ted in it would
have shed blood as remorselessly chad
there been resistance requiring it. But
the tea party was a thoroughly patriotic
shinding, and plenty of high-toned folks
would be mighty glad to find that their
granddaddies participated in it, So you
see, it all depends upon the point of
view.
''For the lack Ct monk the abbey
viii not close. Some weeks ago ne
gro was found guilty of grand larceny
by jury of Scott county, KY, and it
developed that it was his third convic
tion of felony. Under the laws Of the
Commonwealth, when one is thrice
found guilty of felony, ii is imperative
that the sentence imposed be a life term
in States prison. It appears that this
particular rogue had stolen a turkey of
value adequate to lift the crime to the
dignity of grand larceny, and as Kan
sas rooster sold for 81, 600. it is no vio-
lence to reason or suppose that Kentuc-
ky has a turkey gobbler worth $40. Here
is some grief an Eastern Pharisee wastes
on that episode;
1T is inconceivable that in an enlight-
ened community, in one of the greatest
States of this Union, justice can be so
strained that it deliberately sentences a |
man TO life solitude in the penitentiary |
for stealing fowl. The press dispatch
es from Georgetown, KY, says this has |
done. Such pervsrsion should arouse
the righteous wrath of every man. |
woman and child. The courts of a |
great State have been brought into dis
repute The victim Of this remarkable
judicial deliverance was a colord man.
and his offense the theft of turkey on
the eve of Christmas. True. the man |
had served time twice before; but may
there have not been extenuating circum-
tances? The bare facts have only reach
ed the East, but tie one fact that life
Imprisonment may follow such petty
crime is sufficient o direct emphatic at
tention to what APPEARS from distance,
a miscarriage Of justice in the grand
Commonwealth south Of the Ohio river.
Nobody in Kentucky was ever sentenc-
ed TO solitary confinement in States
prison. But may there not have been /
extenuating CIRCUMSTANCES Hardly.
The better opinioIi would be, and the
rational, that there was aggravating cir
cumstances, for it stands to reason that
sneak thief thrice convicted Of the
crime committed some scores Of other
larcencies not discovered. This man is
an incorrigable thitf, bred in the bone.
Where is better place for such mis-
creant than in the l,enitentaryg The fol-
lowing comment on this affair is gratuit-
GUS in view of the fact that white men
have been sentenced to States prison
for life under the Identical statue invok-
ed in this case: ''The question well
may be asked, Would this verdict have
been rendered if tbs, prisoner at the bar
was white man2 Does prejudice
against color in Kentucky prevent the
administration of Justice, always sup
POSED to be blind, lind dealing with all
classes equally and fairly, regardless Of
social caste:'
And then our Outraged sentimentalist
wants 'the Intervention Of some legls-
lative or executive authority with power
to undo this grievous wrong" and he
calls on the Governor Of Kentucky to
render imperative lie verdict sanction
ed under the questionable authority Of
a habjtual criminal act" He even is
wrought to the poin' Of suggesting con-
gressional scrutiny ilnd beseeches some
body to institute a radical reformation
Of the administration Of the criminal
statutes Of his great old Common
wealth
Now what is that bat the maudlin
rawlings that make nj rtyrs of07 per cent
of our murderers whose cells are filed
with rare exoiies, Ld1n with the per-
tunes Of Eden, and whose acauiital BY
sentimental jnries hailed with APP
clause as the triumph OF virtue over
ice the victory Of y bert over tyranny
Here is the plea for fhe enlargement Of
he inra,eraie, hardeled. natural born
lilef who would & mmii another lar
cny the frz| onrer Rsily l|iai oieFol III