Judge — May 20, 1916 — page 4: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

I A Good Time Coming [GNORANTIA legis neminem excuset is a well-known principle of the law. It means that if you blow off most of your is countenance with a gun, the fact that you didn’t know the gun was loaded will not mitigate your injuries. A miner in Kentucky learned this to his cost, when he unlaw- fully, cruelly, and with malice aforethought did tempt, incite, and otherwise provoke a mule into kicking him, or words to that effect. The courts set aside a verdict for the unfortunate man on the ground that ignorance of the general hair-triggered propensities of mules—he had hitherto driven nothing but oxen—was no mitigating circumstance. The law does a number of fearful and wonderful things, but once in a while it issues a decision of undoubted wisdom. In holding that the mule “would have been untrue to himself and false to every tradition of his breed” if he had not visited condign punishment on the man who was bold enough to intrude into the effective range of his latter end, the learned Judge has laid down a precedent that will be of inestimable advantage to mules for all generations to come. With their kicking quali advanced from the dubious state of a tradition to the firm basis of a legally recognized right, the era of emancipation for mules is at hand. Bray triumphantly, O humble servant of mankind! It is only a step now until human nature, as well as mule-nature, will be taken into consideration by the courts. In Re Conventions Supreme Court justices mustn’t run for President unless nominated. (Wr~ T Counting the Babies HE Indiana State Board of Health has stepped forward with the calm asser- tion that it is more important for a state to count its babies than it is for a state to try to keep track of its dollars. Just at this moment we can think of no one who would be inclined to disagree violently with the honorable Board. Everyone admits that babies should at least be counted, and many well-intentioned people would have them weighed, tested, measured, registered, and accurately catalogued. And of course we all know that there is absolutely no excuse for doing any of these things with a state’s money. When you look the matter squarely in the face you can see that babies are impor- tant to the state. Their relation to it is what might be termed, in a general way, a peculiar relation. Without them the A WOODPECKER WOOING “Oh, George! this is so sudden!” state might, in the course of a generation or so, find itself handicapped for raw ma- terial. This fact, we surmise, is what is back of the Indiana Board of Health’s eager- ness to have them counted. Every state should, at the end of each fiscal year, be able to show healthy balance of bouncing baby boys and girls. Indeed, too much emphasis has been placed on cash, and too little on the kiddies. Sixes and Sevens THe REPUBLICANS think they have the votes—but have they the candi- date? The Democrats have the candidate —but have they the votes? 2 Colonel Cano has reneged to Villa. No he hasn’t. Yes he has. No he hasn’t. Colonel Cano is as mystifying as his distant kinsman, our old friend Arma Virumque Cano, of college days. s Two politicians don’t make an electoral college, but if they can lunch together with- out the reporters calling it a “conference” it’s back to the Bush league for theirs. * Some one asks: “‘ How are we to stand by international law unless international law stands still?” How can international law stand still with a torpedo under it? & Every man should love his native land whether he was born there or not.—Tampa Tribune. Granted that the hyphenate Congressman must be a Moses, a Bismarck, and a Gari- baldi—but must he be a Brigham Young? 2 The New York Sun alleges that the President is “cunctatious.” A brazen attempt to deflect to the purchase of dic- tionaries. money sorely needed for the campaign fund.