The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-11-03
ON SECOND THOUGHT
By JAY =. HOUSE.
(TrOn PhiladslRaia Public Lsdsss.D

Most of the mail on the desk con-
Germs itself with the columns attitude
toward murder. We don't know when
we have been more severely criticised.
Our theory that it is wrong for a wife
to shoot her husband has been as
sailed from many quarters. The ex-
perience, however, is nothing new.
We have a faculty which amounts al
most to genius for getting on the I'M
popular side of public questions.
We do not, you understand, object
to the killing of any particular gentle
man. Our approach to the problem is
from its ethical side. What we think
about it is if the killing of faithless
husbands by overweight wives final
1y is sanctioned by society and by law
the privilege is bound to lead to
abuses. Inevitably, there will be per-
sons who will presume upon it 1t
will become increasingly difficult to
draw the line between justifiabl and
unjVstifiable homicide.
Take. for instance, the case of the
wife who merely imagines her hus-
band is untrue to her. such cases run
into the hundreds of thousands. A
woman is just as apt to be over
What should be done with the woman.
who permits ungrounded suspicion to.
prey upon her mind until she is fur
nished with the proper incentive to
be exempted from the operation of
the raw and, jf not, why not?
The water grows deeper as we pro-
coed. There are q thousand ways in
which the average man annoyS his
wife almost beyond endurance. His
gaucheTes with his food, his propen-
S1ty to spill ashes and scatter news
papers all over the house all contrib
ute to the inculcation of the homf-
clQal germ If a n haRnT1aG
overweight because her husband has
tracked up her clean floor, is she
justified in shooting him. and, if not,
why not?
There is another phase of the mat
ter which should enlist public interest
If a woman, under a given set of cir
cumstances, is justified in killing her
husband, should not the same freedom
of action be extended to her husband.
And. if not, why not?
The idea carries farther-much
farther. Take a concrete example.
Take ~the case of the elderly gentle
man who has just paid Cullen Cain
the distinction of an informal call.
We have a 5 o'clock dead line to face
over the days work. All the elderly
gentleman did was tell Mr.. Cain his
llfe's story from genesis to revela-
ton. Most of it, by the way, was
own glory and in length it was
equivalent to a railroad journey from
New York to San Francisco. He had
not the slightest concern or consid-
Grafton for the humble, pie-faced
man who was trying to earn a living
at an adjacent typewriter. We sat
IDLY thru the narration overwrought
and seeing red.
In the circumstance, would we have
been justified in killing the elderly
gentleman and, if not, why not?
The elderly gentleman having left
us inchoate and expressjo nless, we fall
back upon Governor Allen, of Kan
sas, fer succor in our time of need.
Extraheous and uncorrelated incidents
of Governor Aliens battle with the, Ku
KlGx Khan have appeared in the-news
disseminated along the Atlantic sea-
board. But, so far, the details of the
engagement at Ari Ansas City have not
been printed hereabout 1t is not
column stuff; it is first-page stuff.
But since it missed the first page, we
shall offer it asylum here.
Arkansas City is a railroad center
end A town of radical tendencies on
the southern border of Kansas. Re
Gently it was announced that on
given Saturday Rlight the Ku Klux
Khan, in full regalia, would parade in
Arkansas City. Governor Allen got
the mayor of Arkansas City by long
distance telephone and asked him
about II. 1T is all right" the mayor
assured tho governor. we are all 100
peg cent Americans here" 1T is not
air right" retorted the governor.
There isn't going to be any such pa
rade, and 1 shall hold you responsible
if one is attempted"
The mayor got the governor on the
wire a couple of hours later. They |
won't call it off," he said, land if L
-. -
do anything about it," Well" said !
the governor, I'll tell you what 1 am /
going to do. If you are right sure you /
can't stop that parade, the attorney |
general will go before the supreme |
court at 6 o'clock this evening and ask |