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Show I TOWN NE'ER-DO-WELL, ACTING I AS JUDGE, BANISHES SELF r I By V. F. SCT'LLIVAN. i 1 International News Service Staff j Correspondent. i KANSAS CITY, Oct, 11. Bob , Carruthers. town character of Liberty, Lib-erty, near here, has been banished . forever. ' In one of the most unusual sentences sen-tences ever written In the court records, rec-ords, Carruthers, who by hia weakness weak-ness for liquor tossed away nblility ! and the opportunity of establishing establish-ing a reputation as an eloquent orator, ora-tor, recalled the wraith of his youth long enough to use his eloquence to pronounce his own banishment from f Clay county. Carruthers, of a -wealthy family, one time handsome and of 'manly stature, educated in the best universities univer-sities in the country, who dabbled 1 in law, studied for the ministry and who had the making of a wonderful if orator, regained possession of his ! '' silver tongue temporarily and meted ! out his fate of banishment. . . '.' It happened thus. Carruthers, ; ' who had been arrested on a charge of drunkenness, arranged his own t bond and was ordered to appear in i; court for a preliminary hearing be- fore Judge M. Jj. S wanner, justice . of the peace of Clay county. 1 At the appointed hour for the hearing Judge Swanner was called to another part of the county for another hearing and unintentionally forgot alxmt Carruthers. The lat-' lat-' ter was punctual and to his great c, surprise found the justice's chambers cham-bers deserted save for the janitor, ! who was setting the tribunal in order. i Gathering the judicial bearing that was once a real part of him together, to-gether, Carruthers stepped to the judge's bench, seated himself in the chair and called his case. The janitor jani-tor set his broom aside and sat as witness. Carruthers, in the role of prosecuting prose-cuting attorney, stepped from the judicial platform and with powerful adjectives denounced the defendant in the case for his chronic drunkenness. drunken-ness. The lone spectator in the courtroom had heard many arraignments arraign-ments but seldom bad he heard a defedant gicen such an unmerciful flailing. Tin-n the pica for mercy came and the Corruthers of old, or rather as when he was young, reappeared. As attorney for the defense he waxed eloquent. His words were pathetic, bis tone sympathetic and the effect touchin. The janitor-witness janitor-witness wept Hot h prosecution and defense having rested their case after brilliant appeals pro and con, it was given to the judge for decision. Ascending the bench "Judge" Carruthers decreed that the defendant defend-ant Bob Carruthers, should be banished forever from Clay county and the case was ended so far the "court" was concerned. Lifting his heart high, Carruthers walked proudly from the courtroom. When the janitor recounted the stranged proceedings to Judge Swanner Swan-ner and the clerk of the court, the judge declared : "My sentence shall stand." Boh Carruthers, exile, has disappeared. |