Show stead editor stead of the fall mail gazette is now undergoing trial in london on the charge of abducting a young girl for immoral purposes his case is a peculiar one and is being discussed from very different points by leading journals in all parts of the world mr esteada St eada difficulty grew out of his late sensational exposure of london vice the san francisco chronicle states his case very accurately and in our opinion comments upon it very justly and sensibly as follows the facts are that for the purpose of testing the question whether maidens could be procured for tho purpose of debauchery mr stead did RO through tb preliminaries of buying a girl from her parents through a procuress that the girl was subjected to unseemly treatment though sho was not debauched that after stead had satisfied himself ahat her virtue might have been sacrificed had lie chosen to sacrifice it he place dherin a position of safety under the charge of persons of character for these acts kmead has been indicted the instigators sti gators of the prosecution being the debauchees debau chees whose infamous practices the pali matt exposures measurably broke up we submit that the case is without parallel for outrageous impudence conceding all that has been said about motives assuming th at he only undertook his raid london debauchery in order load vertise his paper admitting for the sake of argument that he is afraid the great fact remains that he was tho means of bringing to light a famore state of morale in london than any one bad imagined he uni throw a bombshell into the ranks of the aristocratic rakes and compelled them for fear of the consequences to check their vile practices at least for a time his articles must have set many a parent oh his guard they certainly helped to caye some poor cli ildren who had they not appeared might harej been bought and cold into infamy these results were beneficial not injurious man who brought them about whatever hia motives were deserves praise honor hot tho indictment of stead will fitly rank with the indict manta of other english publishers who in past days were put on their trial for telling the truth about iba government and the abused it fostered stead is the lineal successor considering the erratic course of british justice of late years it ii difficult to predict how tho case will end it is quite possible that stead may bo convicted he has offended many of the most powerful men in england he has threatened to expose whose exposure might shake the throne ho is not popular he took ot russia against england in the afghan dispute being a news paper editor Jie th e unpopularity which la lot or editors both in this country and in england are hundreds hun dreda of wealthy aad tilled englishmen and if report speaks truly acme amear cans also who would liko ta ae him abent to catl by way ol 01 teaching him not to meddle with other fellows aft fairs but if the rakes of england do sue aeed in convicting him wa are much mistaken if in his fall this editor does not pull down with him eople choso whoso catastrophe will shake british society to its foundation unless he has grossly misstated the result of hia inquiries he is in possession of information which would convict men of the highest rank of chimed not only infamous but revolting tf he goes to catl ho will probably tell what he knows and than tho dissipated rakes will be borry they drove a dep manto the wall |