The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-29
IDOL ARRESTED
 BY WISE JUDGE. Bundle of Cloth Stolen From
 Japanese Servant METHOD OF JUDGE By Bringing Idol Into Court, Judge Finds Clever Thieves Who
 Stole Goods and Im-
 prisons Them


 house of Echigoya was sending it's faith ful indoor servant Jagoro to the remote suburb of Honjo with heavy bundle of white cotton.
 On the shadowless street the poor man, with the heavy burden on his back, could scarcely drag himself farther when he saw the court of temple standing open, in which, behind two or three old trees, the stone image-between six and seven feet high-of the god of traved, Jiza, was enjoying the shade that Jagoro so sorely needed.
 He went in, laid his bundle upon the pedestal of the idol, sat down beside it and fell asleep. When he awoke again the bundle was no longer there, and none of the officiating priests or temple off, cers could tell him who had taken it. So he went to the police station: but neither could any one there tell him any thing more than what he already knew, namely. that during his sleep the bundle had been stolen from him.
 The manager of the mercantile house. however, was unwilling to accept the re- port of the servant.
 Although you were asleep, the god of travellers beside you would not have let the thief get off. Just confess; you turned into one of the teahouses got flirting with the waitresses and mislaid or squandered the goods intrusted to you. Jagoro swore that he had merely rested by the stone image of Jizo. But 1t availed him nothing. He was discharged with suspicion of theft.
 In this strait he determined to bring the whole matter before the Chief Jus tice Ooka, who was renowned far and wide for his Solomon's wisdom. He an- nounced himself as the former indoor ser want of the mercantile house of EchiGoya. from whom a large bundle of cotton goods had been stolen in the court of a temple in the suburb of Honjo But the chief clerk declined to bother his honor, the judge, with any such mat ter, and as Jagoro stood upon his rights and kept getting more urgent, they had him conveyed by two or three robust of ficials to the gate of the spacious court house.
 There he remained lying despairingly three days and three nights til he caught the eye of the judge borne past him every morning and evening in the official sedan chair. and by his order Jagoro was sum moned into the audience hall. Ooka pa tiently listened to the tale. The judge agreed with the manager. in so far as he, too. declared to the aston ished Jagoro that it had been the duty of the stone god of travel. JiZo, to watch that nobody stole the bundle that sleep ing wayfarer had laid upon the sacred pedestal
 Still more. however, wondered the in habtants of the suburb of Hanju when a warrant for the arrest of the stone Jizo of their temple was now posted up. They came In great swarms into the court of the temple to witness how this queer ar rest would be made. The officers sent by Ooka could not, of course. move the heavy stone image from the place.
 But they knew-since they had been in- struoted by the judge, Ooka-how to get help quickly. A lawsuit against god like Jizo was surely something very rare they said and especially before such judge as Ooka, to see whom people travelled for miles. So then they promised to reserve all the spectators places at the trial for those who would help with the arrest and transportation of the accused idol.
 At once hundreds offered assistance. Ropes were bound round the figure. heavy poles fastened to them, and the gigantic burden, amid much shouting, was lifted upon wagon. To secure the place in the audience hall hundreds of the inhabitants of Honjo jostled each other to help pull on one of the ropes or to push the wagon or at least to run after it.
 When the stone figure was deposited before the judges chair Ooka at once ap- peared to begin the proceedings. The dense crowd of spectators. admitted in re- turn for the help at the arrest of the god of travellers. he appeared not to see.
 With perfect gravity the judge ad- dressed the stone image at his feet and demanded of it information as to the whereabouts of the bundle of white cot ton stuffs deposited with it. The stone image answered none of the questions.
 Ooka finally threatened to punish the stone idol as a thiefs accomplice accord ing to law. However seriously and for mally he conducted the hearing, the pub lie could not keep from laughing.
 That's said to be the smarteet judge in all Japan sounded in the silence that followed Ooka's last question: and not a few applauded the critic
 But that was just what the willy judge had been waiting for. He rose in the greatest anger. sentenced all present to immediate arrest for contempt of court, and had the doors of the hall shut and guarded. In the suburb of Honjo he had the occurerence publisly proclaimed by couriers, and ordered whoever missed any member of his family at once to ap- pear before him and obtain his release by bringing with him a piece of white cotton stuff as bail.
 On that afternoon the dealers in cotton goods in Honjo must have driven a thriv- ing trade; indeed, even in the business streets of the city itself the sudden de- mand for white fabrics was spoken of with astonishment. Over 300 pieces of cloth were heaped up before sunset even, in Ooka's court room. each with the name and address of the deliverer, and the name of the one shut up in the scs- sion room for whose ball it was to serve.
 Jagoro had to look over the pieces to see whether he could find among them one lost by him. In fact two pieces bore the private mark os his former mercan- tile house.
 At once Ooka sent messengers to the addresses to ask where the pieces were bought Both were traced to a shop in Canda.
 There ooka at once had the house searched. Besides many other articles that had been stolen. they found Jagoro s bundle. still containing almost all the pieces of cloth.
 Hailed before the judge. the fence gave the addresses of the two thieves from whom he had bought the bundle. When at sunset Ooka reopened the pro- ceedings in the hall with the imprisoned spectators, beside the bound stone image were already covering the two thieves betrayed by the fence.
 Through, as you see, the here sub poenaed god of travel,' so the judge be- gan, 'I have learned that you two. on the 18th of July, stole from the pedestal of the statue the bundle belonging to Jarogo, and sold 1t in Canda. Do you confess your crime?''
 The nonplused thieves acknowledged everything, and further thanked OolSa for the punishment of imprisonment with which he contented himself