Omaha daily bee., 1911-12-26
eRlEFS THAT FATHERS BEAR
Sorrow shown I'm Recent
Cases.

When the aged father of the Rev. c.
". t. Richeson fell upon his sons neck
in the prison at Boston and the two men
sobbed in each others arms a tragedy
was unfolding, tragedy deeper and
more heartrending than even that which
led to the death OF poor Avis Linnell.
my boy! My boy!" cried the father
in his anguish. Almost the words with
which the breaking of King Davids heart
was registered for all time when they
brought him word of the death of his
erring son, Absalom.
Deal gently with the young man." the
old king had said to the soldiers he sent
out to capture the rebellious youth. And
when divine justice cut him off in his
sins. David cried, "Oh, Absalom, my son,
my sonr'
Through the ages this cry has rung.
It has burst from the heart OF almost
every father whose son has committed
crime
Much is written and said about the
weeping mother of the son who goes
wrong-a figure full OF pathos that OBJ
trudes itself forcibly, often overshadow-
ing the equally pathetic figure OF the
father Of the prisoner. for a mans grief,
though none less deep than a woman's,
clamors not from the housetops, but
broods in the dark silence of the heart
A mothers grief differs from fathers
in this-that she, in spite of overwhelm-
ing evidence, can never believe her son
to be guilty. Thus her passionate tears
are those OF rebellion against injustice
to one who is dear to her. She will fight
as the mothers of Carlyle Harris and
Harry Thaw fought, to save their sons
from what they believed an unjust fate.
father, on the contrary, may know
his son to be guilty. He may be obliged
10 let the law take its course. to sit 81
lently at home when his son is being
led to the gallows or the electric chair,
knowing that the boy 80 dear to him is
meeting just fate. In cases like this
and they are by no means exceptional
the fathers grief transcends in it's mis-
cradle tragedy even that of the weeping
mother.
The figure of Judge Paul Charlton
quietly coming to the aid Of his son when
the young man returned home almost
boasting of having killed his wife in
Italy had something awe-inspiring in its
loneliness. Here was highly respected
man. of good southern family, who had
attained a position of trust and RESPONSE
bility in the service of his country, who
had brought up bright boy with all the
care and solicitude of a refined home,
lavishing affection upon him, hoping
great things for him, and suddenly all
these hopes were swept away and in
fhaif. rlarn he 60 III.
self a solitary grim hope-that of saving
the boy fpom the disgrace of a murder
er's death.
Another heroic figure-heroic because
OF the way 1t stood firm when the tempest
of tragedy swept about twas that of
General Peter C, Hams, father of Captain
Peter C. Hams and Thornton Hams.
When Captain Hams killed the man he
believed had wrecked his home and he
and his brother were accused of conspir-
ing together to commit murder, the old
fathers fighting blood rose and he turned
like an old lion to defend his cubs. In
his eyes his sons deed was justified.
This point of view ives shared by a
large number of persons. women as we'll
as men. That he saved his sons from
the grip of the law was a triumph for
him, but the triumph only attenuated
the grief that the killing had laid upon
him.
So it was with gallant old General
Molineux He, however, was spared the
grim horror of knowledge of a sons guilt,
for he firmly believed in Rolands inno-
csnce Of the murder, and his fight for
the youths acquittal was urged on not