The Use and Need of the Life of Carrie A. Nation [46]
the people that God told me to do this for some
months, for I tried to shield myself from the almost universal opinion
that I was partially insane.
I will now speak of my persecution for so-called slandering the
prosecuting attorney. As I said, no one mentioned such a thing until
the dives were closed. Closing the joints, called attention to the perjury
of the county officials, for it was proven to be their fault, that we
have dives in Kansas. In order to direct the attention from themselves,
as perjurers, and to me as insane, and to be avenged, they put their heads
together to bring this suit against me. Mr. Griffin was no more to blame
in this matter than the rest of the republicans. A. L. Noble, Polly Tincher,
Edd Sample, and Mr. Herr, the city attorney of Kiowa, were all employed
by Sam Griffin. This practically took all the legal ability, leaving one,
G. A. Martin, whom I retained. I had witnesses enough to prove gambling
and drinking in these dives by Sam, and the sheriff; had sufficient
testimony to justify me in saying what I did. The republican judge of
Kingman, Gillette, ruled out my testimony right through. If my case
had been conducted properly by my lawyer, and proper exceptions taken,
I could have taken the case to the supreme court, and had it reversed on
several rulings. Judge Stevens and Judge Lacey, who were at the trial,
told me they never saw such determination on the part of any judge to
cut out the defense as the rulings of Judge Gillette. It was evident that
everything was cut and dried before going into court. Judge Gillette
had several pages of instructions to the jury, telling them their duty was
to convict and that the damages should be a large sum. I had these
instructions examined by a good lawyer, Mr. Duminel, of Topeka, and the
judge overleaped his perogative. He should have told the jury the facts
and the statute governing slander, but his instructions were an appeal and
command to convict me. This Judge Gillette has a reputation for being
a respected citizen, but his zeal to save from disgrace his republican
colleagues led him to thus persecute a loyal woman Home Defender of
Kansas, and protect the rum defenders, and republican schemers, who
have done more to injure prohibition in Kansas than any other party.
If a democrat wanted to carry on a dive, republicans would grant him
the permit to do so.
The jury brought in a verdict of guilty; but the damages to the character
of this republican county attorney was one dollar, and of course
I sent him the dollar, but the cost which was, including all, about two
hundred dollars was assessed to me and a judgement put on a piece of
property, which I paid off, by the sale of my little hatchets, and lectures.
Strange these trials never caused me to become discouraged,
rather the reverse. I knew I was right, and God in his own time would
come to my help. The more injustice I suffered, the more cause I had
to resent the wrongs. I always felt that I was keeping others out of
trouble, when I was in. I had resolved that at the first opportunity I
would go to Wichita and break up some of the bold outlawed murder
mills there. I thought perhaps it was God's will to make me a sacrifice
as he did John Brown, and I knew this was a defiance of the national
intrigue of both republican and democratic parties, when I destroyed this
malicious property, which afforded them a means of enslaving the people,
taxing them to gather a revenue they could squander, and giving them
political jobs, thus creating a force to manage the interest and take care
of the results of a business where the advantage was in the graft it gave
to them and the brewers and distillers.
In two weeks from the close of this trial, on the 27th of December,
1900, I went to Wichita, almost seven months after the raid in Kiowa.
Mr. Nation went to see his brother, Mr. Seth Nation, in eastern Kansas
and I was free to leave home. Monday was the 26th, the day I started.
The Sunday before, the 25th, I went to the Baptist Sunday school then to
months, for I tried to shield myself from the almost universal opinion
that I was partially insane.
I will now speak of my persecution for so-called slandering the
prosecuting attorney. As I said, no one mentioned such a thing until
the dives were closed. Closing the joints, called attention to the perjury
of the county officials, for it was proven to be their fault, that we
have dives in Kansas. In order to direct the attention from themselves,
as perjurers, and to me as insane, and to be avenged, they put their heads
together to bring this suit against me. Mr. Griffin was no more to blame
in this matter than the rest of the republicans. A. L. Noble, Polly Tincher,
Edd Sample, and Mr. Herr, the city attorney of Kiowa, were all employed
by Sam Griffin. This practically took all the legal ability, leaving one,
G. A. Martin, whom I retained. I had witnesses enough to prove gambling
and drinking in these dives by Sam, and the sheriff; had sufficient
testimony to justify me in saying what I did. The republican judge of
Kingman, Gillette, ruled out my testimony right through. If my case
had been conducted properly by my lawyer, and proper exceptions taken,
I could have taken the case to the supreme court, and had it reversed on
several rulings. Judge Stevens and Judge Lacey, who were at the trial,
told me they never saw such determination on the part of any judge to
cut out the defense as the rulings of Judge Gillette. It was evident that
everything was cut and dried before going into court. Judge Gillette
had several pages of instructions to the jury, telling them their duty was
to convict and that the damages should be a large sum. I had these
instructions examined by a good lawyer, Mr. Duminel, of Topeka, and the
judge overleaped his perogative. He should have told the jury the facts
and the statute governing slander, but his instructions were an appeal and
command to convict me. This Judge Gillette has a reputation for being
a respected citizen, but his zeal to save from disgrace his republican
colleagues led him to thus persecute a loyal woman Home Defender of
Kansas, and protect the rum defenders, and republican schemers, who
have done more to injure prohibition in Kansas than any other party.
If a democrat wanted to carry on a dive, republicans would grant him
the permit to do so.
The jury brought in a verdict of guilty; but the damages to the character
of this republican county attorney was one dollar, and of course
I sent him the dollar, but the cost which was, including all, about two
hundred dollars was assessed to me and a judgement put on a piece of
property, which I paid off, by the sale of my little hatchets, and lectures.
Strange these trials never caused me to become discouraged,
rather the reverse. I knew I was right, and God in his own time would
come to my help. The more injustice I suffered, the more cause I had
to resent the wrongs. I always felt that I was keeping others out of
trouble, when I was in. I had resolved that at the first opportunity I
would go to Wichita and break up some of the bold outlawed murder
mills there. I thought perhaps it was God's will to make me a sacrifice
as he did John Brown, and I knew this was a defiance of the national
intrigue of both republican and democratic parties, when I destroyed this
malicious property, which afforded them a means of enslaving the people,
taxing them to gather a revenue they could squander, and giving them
political jobs, thus creating a force to manage the interest and take care
of the results of a business where the advantage was in the graft it gave
to them and the brewers and distillers.
In two weeks from the close of this trial, on the 27th of December,
1900, I went to Wichita, almost seven months after the raid in Kiowa.
Mr. Nation went to see his brother, Mr. Seth Nation, in eastern Kansas
and I was free to leave home. Monday was the 26th, the day I started.
The Sunday before, the 25th, I went to the Baptist Sunday school then to