The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1917-03-01

1t droppeth, as the gentle ram
from heaven
Upon the place beneath; it is twice
blessed;
1T b!cssrth him that gives, and
him That takes
Shakespeare
One afternoon there came Into
the Governors office in Indiana
polls a little woman. She was
plainly clad; her shoes were
coarse; her hands were toil-cal-
louscd. She led bv the hand
little boy, scarcely three years old
round faced, big eyed, With sunlit
curls-a vision of impelling beau
ty. Strangely attracted bv the
sight of him, and made gentle by
the memories his presence stirred
within me, l said to his Mamma:
MADAM what can l do for you
this afterloon?"
Timidly, diffidcntIy and hcsita-
tingly she answered.:
''Governor, l have come to ask
you to give me back my husand."
Give back your husband? Whv
Madam, haven't your husband"
"Oh yes you have, Governor.
You've had him ever since last
September-five long, weary
months-down at Jeffersonville,
at the State Reformatory, and I've
come to beg you to give him back
to me-"
AT Jeffcrsonville, in the State
Reformatory! Then your hush
and is a criminal Madam, and |
can't give him back to you
mo, no he isn't, Governor. l
know he committed a grave
crime-highway robbery in the
nighttime-but he isn't GRIM
inal, and when you know him as
know him, you will know he is
not
''Not a criminal, and guilty of
highway robbery! Why woman,
it is the gravest crime but one the
law knows. Whoever commits
it takes the hazard Of taking hu-
man life. No, your husband is a
bad man, criminal. He is where
he ought to be. can't give him
back to you. My duty to the
State and TO society, whose SER
want ] am precludes' my giving
him back to you.'
Then, summoning her courage
and her strength for the final as
suit she said:
Governor Hanly, Tam surpris-
ed, disappointed and grieved at
you. I thought you were a Just
man. People told me you were.
l came here believing you were.
But you're not, you're not! If i
were able to employ counsel and
could bring them here, you'd hear
them by the hour, and you would
not judge until you had heard.
But I'm poor, so pitifully poor
that cannot bring counsel. can
only tell my story in my own fee
BILE way, and you've judged me be-
fore you've heard me. You're not
just! You're not just. I'm en-
titled to better treatment than
this from the Governor of my
State"
Rrbukcd, l bowed my head in
assent. and then she said:
1--WE were born out here i'm an
Indiana village. my husband and
l. We were boy end girl to-
gcthcr. We grew to manhood
and womanhood together. Fin
ally we came to love each other,
and four years ago we stood at
the altar and olighted ourselves
III the solemn contract of mar
riage. We turnnd from the holy
ceremony and went out into this
great city to find home. We
were poor: yes. | know. But we
were young, and strong and brav..
We went out into the city with a
high purpose. We found home,
a. modest little one, onlv two
rooms. but small as il was we
could not buy it,. We were too
poor. We could only rent it,
But we did rent it. and moved in
to it: erected in it family altar.
and put about the altar household
goods, humble. but dear to us.
And we were happy. Then three
years ago the baby came-this
little boy-and, Governor, l have
MT language to explain to you how
his little fingers drew our hearts
together; how love for him melted
and fused our purposes into one
There was no cloud upon our Sky
until last September, on Labor
Day, my husband went with q
party of friends to Shel5yvillc
twenty miles away, to attend q
Labor Day celebration. Dowr
there, for the first time in his
life he INDUCED in intoxicants
BY evening he was naaudlin drunk
and on the way home in the nigh
time, with his drunken compal,.
ions, meeting a stranger in TIT
highway they stopped him in tn.
darkness and robbed him and thel
drove on. But sobered by tn,
80 ll,o o,,rr,,l 1,:,~,