Women as Judges

1895

It is perhaps out of order for a woman to condemn her own sex, but it is none the less true when a feminine voice declares that women as judges are not just, and that when they are called upon to analyze the frailties of their own sex they never take into consideration all the heartache and the pain, all the struggle and the weariness that prompt the actions that they cannot understand and therefore cannot rightly interpret. The martyrs of olden times were as nothing compared with the women of today who go about with smiling faces, while underneath that calm exterior lies a tragedy that the world will never know and which frequently impels them to actions that in the light of censorious judgment seem unwomanly and positively immoral.

What right have any of us to judge of the superficial character of any one with whom we come in contact? We know ourselves that we carry about with us a double nature. What we are to one person we are not to another. The life that we show in one place is quite distinct from the one which brightens and illumines an entirely different residence. Which one then, is real? By which are we judged? And can a safe estimate be given of any one's character from the transient gleams that are given in kaleidoscopic fashion, first bright, then grave and infinitely sad? The woman whose life does not hold some sorrow is blessed beyond measure.

Few there are who attain the age of 30 who have not lived through ordeals to which in comparison the stake would be a momentary pleasure. Gossip and scandal roll rapidly away the foundation stones of a woman's reputation, but would it not be wiser, would it not be more humane, to examine first the incentive that prompts many actions that in the sight of the world are to be criticised and condemned? Charity covereth a multitude of sins, likewise a multitude of faults, and the most womanly attribute that can be cultivated is charity. Man's judgment is perhaps harsh, but it is likewise just. Woman's judgment is hasty and likely to be mistaken. — Philadelphia Times.

By God's Judgment — Will Purvis Slipped Through the Noose

1899

And Accordingly the Man Convicted of Murder Most Cowardly is Let Free by the Executive of the Bayou State — Cannot Be Retried

A case of modern "judgment" has just been brought to the attention of many who had forgotten the strange case of Will Purvis of Mississippi, through the pardon that was granted to him a few days ago by Gov. McLaurin. Purvis figured conspicuously in the great whitecap sensation of several years ago, and his release from the penitentiary terminates a case which for sensational developments and dramatic details stands remarkable in the history of criminal jurisprudence.

In 1895 Purvis was accused of the murder of Will Buckley, a fellow whitecapper of Marion county. Buckley had fallen out with the band with which Purvis was said to have been one of the most aggressive members, and he had made open threats that he would divulge their secrets and bring them all to punishment. One of the oaths of the band prescribed to each member upon initiation was that the first man who turned traitor was to suffer death. Accordingly, a meeting was held to try Buckley, and he was condemned to die. Purvis participated at this meeting.

Shortly afterwards a second meeting was held to select the men who should execute the sentence of the band. This meeting Purvis failed to attend, whether from excess of caution, from accident or from qualms of conscience is not clear. Naturally his absence aroused the suspicions of his comrades. Nobody but the men present will ever know what took place at this second meeting, and there is nothing positive but that shortly afterwards Buckley was assassinated one evening after sundown on his way home from work. It was rumored around the neighborhood that Purvis was the guilty man. The rumors gained credence, and Purvis was arrested. At the trial Buckley's brother, was with him on the night he was murdered, testified that he recognized Purvis as the murderer.

Whether innocent or guilty, Purvis was sentenced to be hanged, and the day of execution was fixed and the gallows erected. The hanging was to be a public one, and as there had not been one in many a year in the neighborhood, crowds from all over the country gathered to witness the gruesome event. There were the usual preliminaries which attend such occasion. The prisoner was led upon the scaffold and allowed to say a last word. A minister of the gospel walked with him in the shadow of death and offered up prayers for the salvation of his soul.

At last the fatal moment came. The black cap was pulled down over the horrified eyes of the prisoner, and the noose was made fast around his neck. There was a hush in the great multitude of spectators, a pause, and then the trap was sprang and the body shot downward through the trap. Many sickened at the sight and turned away. For a moment the body writhed and quivered in midair, and then the knot slipped and the prisoner fell heavily to the ground. A wild shout greeted this denouement, the first of its kind the people of Marion county and the adjacent counties had ever witnessed. Eagerly the crowd pressed forward and assisted Purvis to his feet. As soon as he began to revive he called God to witness that he was innocent of the crime of which he was accused, and for which he had almost paid with his life.

But law is law, and the sheriff soon ordered the people to stand back and began preparations for a second attempt at execution. The people now asserted themselves. They cried down this act and threatened violence. To them it was an inscrutable sign on the part of Providence that Purvis was really innocent, and that a judicial murder had been prevented by divine interference. Purvis was taken back to jail, and soon afterwards was rescued by a mob. Gov. Stone, who was then in office, was besieged by pleading and threatening letters in behalf of the culprit, but he remained firm. When Gov. McLaurin came into office Purvis was recaptured, or, rather, he was brought back to jail by his friends, and his sentence was commuted to imprisonment for life.

"God's judgment" seems to have deeply impressed the people of Marion county. A brother and an uncle the murdered man signed the petition to the governor clamoring for Purvis' pardon, and all the Marion county folks attached their names to the document. The entire state of Mississippi seems to be on the side of Purvis, and very likely on the side of justice, so far as any one knows.

—The Lima News, Lima, Ohio, Feb. 11, 1899, p. 3.

Professor Disputes That Volcanoes Forecast "End of the World"

1922

French Scout Fears of Volcanic Perils

Paris Newspaper Ridicules Idea That Eruptions Forecast "End of the World"

PARIS, Aug. 26 — If all the volcanoes in the world were to become active at the same hour the earth, or any large part of it, would be no nearer being "destroyed" than it is at this moment.

Professor Lacroix, of the French museum, whose field is mineralogy and whose pet subject is volcanoes, made this astonishing statement in reply to the recent prophecy made by Dr. Milton Nobles, of Philadelphia, that volcanic action would wipe out the continent of Europe within a month.

Budapest to Be Center

The center of destruction, according to the prophecy, was to be Budapest. So when, the very next day, reports came from Hungary that tremblings of the earth's surface had been felt, while simultaneously there were small earthquakes in France and in Spain, many good souls of Paris flocked to the churches to await the Last Judgment, and the witty paragraphers of the Paris dailies prepared their best barbs.

L'Intransigeant interviewed M. le Professor Lacroix.

"Pessimists who have already permitted themselves to rejoice at the idea of the approaching end of the world, announced by an American geologist, will find in the words of this volcano authority new cause for lamentation," says that journal and quotes the professor:

"It is true that the region around Budapest is highly volcanic. Of course the volcanoes are old, dating from the tertiary period.

"But supposing they start all at once to spit forth lava, even supposing — you see I am generous with suppositions — that all the volcanoes of the world began to erupt at once. All that would not affect the solidarity of our planet."

M. Lacroix showed his interviewer a map of Europe.

"These red spots indicate the regions where are volcanoes, extinct or active. You see what a small area they cover in comparison with the stable regions of the continent.

Italy Has Active Craters

"The only really active volcanoes in Europe are those of Italy — Vesuvius, Stromboli, Vulcano and Etna, in particular.

"The axiom is: The effects of all volcanic phenomena are essentially local.

"Add to this that the units in most volcanic groups, for example, Etna, Stomboli and Vesuvius, are separated by scores of miles as the crow flies, and the fact that when one of these neighboring craters is in eruption the others are inactive, thus proving that their reservoirs are independent, and the idea of a universal eruption becomes ridiculous.

"Tell your readers they may sleep soundly with both eyes shut."

Newspaper Scouts Idea

Le Temps didn't bother to consult a scientist. It scouted the prophecy and with it all prophecies — except political ones.

"One of those American journalists who know how to 'create events' like Napoleon himself wirelesses over the world that a certain savant announces the approaching eruption in the neighborhood of Budapest of no fewer than 70 craters," ran the account.

"In the year 2000, so close that our children will live to see it, we can measure the progress of humanity by observing the survival of the same panic fears of which the year 1000 leaves us a legend.

"In 10 centuries science has mastered nature, but not the imagination of men."

—The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana, August 27, 1922, page 24.