Show THE bloomington TRAGEDY the bloomington Blooming tun HI 11 lynching lunching lyn ching ought to prove a salutary lesson leason to those who exercise the PArC pardoning power in this thie country A young girl had been horribly maltreated mal treated by two male brutes in human form they were arrested and jailed aued mud aud a mob set out to wreak summary vengeance the officers resistance was overcome anil and an appeal to lot let the jaw take its if courts was waa disregarded but the appeal almost had bad the desired effect the mob hesitated and they might have followed the good advice but they bey remembered that a high official the governor of at illinois had interposed his hia pardoning power a short time be forehand fore and had liberated three rapists that fact destroyed all the force of the appeal to honor the law and the mob went want on with its avenging work it if governor altgeld had not nullified the he notion action in the case of three persons under sentence for a heinous crime there Is a possibility that the bloomington Bloomin mob would have listened to a demand made to in the name of the law and the fair fame of another of Illino lePs cities would not have been tarnished by the record of a lynching lunching lyn ching the criminal law had been robbed ot of its ito majesty by the governor governors Ps pardon and one result of it la 18 seen in this awful doeu the event should be a sharp reminder to those who hold bold the pardoning power to be exceedingly careful about exercising it in criminal cases where the punishment provided by law la in already inadequate to the crime which it follows at the same time however lot let it not be understood that the leniency to criminals aff affords the lightest slightest justification for this bis lynching lunching lyn ching for it does doea not the banging of f the two rapists by the crowd was the deed of brunsi whose bloodthirstiness yet will make of this nation an awful spectacle unless it la is crushed out of existence by the sovereign people insisting that an infuriated crowd must meet the full penalty for lawlessness attempted or accomplished shed |