Show THE DEFIANT CATTLEMEN Tho Wyoming cattlemen who went into Johnson county bent on waging a war of extermination against tho rustlers and small ranchers have reached Fort Russell near Cheyenne in safety wbero they are still under military protection So far it Is good But these cattlemen are represented as being defiant and threatening giving it out that they will continue the war which came to such an inglorious end so far as they are concerned It may properly be suggested that this kind of talk is out of place and might better be discontinued The cattlemen are not yet out of tho woods so to speak and whilst it is quite likely that their money and their respectability will prevent them from being prosecuted and punished as thoy would be if they were poor devils who had recklessly indulged in-dulged in the lawlessness which they practiced it might be as well to sing low for a while The sentiment of the country at large Is such I that Wyoming will be forced to brace I up and show some regard for the law and k i o JZ1C I the ways of civilization whether or not such regard may be felt The state will never again permit such a raid as that upon Johnson county no matter how wealthy or how influential the wouldbe raiders maybe may-be If there is cattlestealing as there undoubtedly will be the punishment of the thieves must be through the operations of tho courts and not at the hands of a mob even if that mob beS made up of eminently respectable citizens Astatemay sovereign within its boundaries boun-daries but it cannot afford to outrage the sense of decency and propriety existing in all the other states nor can it afford to turn back tb barbarism Tho influence of tho other states will prevent this just as that influence is now asserting itself in making Wyoming return to the path of respectability re-spectability and regard for law and civilization civili-zation Wo do not doubt that the cattlemen have a grievance We do not doubt that they have been robbed and despoiled nevertheless neverthe-less they have been guilty of a grave offense against law and organized society and it would be better for them and their outraged state if they were to manifest a repentant and contrite spirit rather than a disposition to continue a course so universally I univer-sally condemned |