Hide Article Text (OCR)
UDETHE)ARDssessed76,-oming’a 376,23#,158-over the fnie county, ms, but million dol-rear, la now only $100,-the race for continue to ic railroad* iep fourth, ng features of the re-equalization Carey last le L. Dr ecretary E. ate values card eome e and exit until Satie By coun-t:I Declaring that statement a printed in I the Denver Post in regard to Bandit I Carlisle were utterly false and deny-, ing that he gave her money, Mrs. H.I A. Braae of LaBonte, writes the Enterprise as follows:Editor of The Enterprise:I wish to correct, through the columns of your paper, a few misstatc-I ments in relation to Bill Carlisle, made by the Denver frost and other papers. ' I desire to emphatically deny the statement that Bill Carlisle gave us money to buy Christmas presents, or that he expressed a wish to be able to buy them himself.Did Not Break Window .Saab Also I deny the statement, that he broke a window* sash in our house, in making his escape.Every statement made in the Denver Post about our part of this tragedy is utterly false.Here is the plain truth about our share fn it:We were just sitting down to dinner, about twelve o’clock, noon, when we saw’ a man walking toward the house. He knocked, and we invited him to enter. He asked if he might have dinner with us. We invited him to the table, having no suspicion of who he was.Anxious As To Identity After dinner, we noticed his hand, and he said that he had been hurt, but did not volunteer any further information. He looked very pale and ill, and we of course, felt a little curious as to his Identity.He did not talk much then, but sat silent, and thoughtful, only saying that he was very cold, and that he had walked some distance, and was notBif Born,well. He seemed to be debating aomc | question in his mind, and a little later, he asked me for something for his hand.Then when I went to the kitchen to get it, he arose and followed me, and coming near me, and looking me full in the eyes, he said, “Well I must take a chance, I am Bill Carlisle/’1 was surprised, but felt no fear,1 only pity and sorrow to see a poor hunted human being, who looked so ill and weak. 1 We are not on the telephone line, so had not heard that he was in the country, I gave him, what remedies t had, for his hand, and bandaged it for him. He thanked me and returned to the other room, sat down by the stove and started to talk.Told of Prison Life He told us many things, which 1 will not repeat, and also told us of his life in prison, and of the despair, that entered his soul after he had been before the board, and heard that his sentence had been commuted to not less than twenty-five years and not | more than fifty years.He said that he knew he would never come out alive, that already the strain of confinement was telling on hia health, and he felt he must get away, that he could bear it no longer. He told of how he felt the injustice of the laws, that would show more leniency to a murderer, or one convicted of dastardly crimes, than to himself, who had never hurt a human being in his life, and who would allow himself to be hurt, sooner than to hurt another.A murderer could, on good behavior,get out in a few years, on a pardon or parole, while he must stay in, a life time, for a lesser crime,—alleged train robbery,Tried to be Model Prisoner He had tried to be a model prisoner, j and succeeded, and this was his reward: 'to spend a life time in prison/ While not upholding his crimes in any way, 1 agree with former Justice of the Supreme Court, Grosbeek, of Laramie, that it is the cruely of the Wyoming law which imposes either life imprisonment or the death penalty for train robbery.Judge Grosbeek points out great criminals who 'will not receive a tithe' of the punishment of Bill Carlisle.It is the law*, he says, which creates | the sympathy for this bandit, because the people see the injustice and cruelty of this law, which should be repealed and which was the cause of Carlisle breaking out of prison.Carlisle said that he would have made no attempt to get out, but would, have served his sentence patiently, and lived an honest life, after he had served his sentence, if there had been any hope of his release in a reasonable length of time.Murderers Get 20 Years Take the case of the murderers mentioned in the same papers, which tell of the capture of Carlisle; William Sewell and Joseph Johnson, of Kemmerer, convicted of the foul murder of the Winslow brothers; and only sentenced to from eighteen to twenty years in prison, with a chance of getting out in a few years for Tood behavior.When we think of the great cor-! porations and the profiteers, who are daily putting their hands into the pockets of the people, under the legal-1 ized robbery of the present day; and of the men in every community, who no doubt have acquired dishonestly more than Bill Carlisle ever stole in his life; yet who arc esteemed and respected by all, (Let him, who is wilt out sin among us, cast the first stone* at Carlisle.)People Want Laws Upheld While no doubt all of the right minded citizens of Wyoming, wish to see justice done, and the laws upheld; they also wish it to be justice tempered with mercy.Also let me say, that in spite of the reports sent in to the papers, telling of the thrilling experiences and terrible hardships endured, and the risk of life to all who were trailing Carlisle, and speaking of the “reign of terror in Wyoming/’ as though he were running wild through the state, shooting every one on sight; that I do not believe for one moment, that any life, but his own was ever in any danger while he was being trailed by the posses.Stain on Wyoming's Name Nor does any one else, whom I have seen, and every one is agreed, that the shooting of a sick and wounded man is a very dark stain indeed on Wyoming’s name.One hand, his right, was perfectly helpless, he was weak from exposure and privations, and from his wound; and when they were trailing him in (Continued on page 8, Section 2.)NioConitsSouLancloswhiionsectof 1V 5,0C larf repi poo trie has wes Yoi terr of I hav suitS360thajn
Newspaper Details
Douglas Enterprise
Douglas, Wyoming, US
Tue, Dec 16, 1919
Page 16
Full Page
Clipped by
Lindsey B.
USA 11 Feb 2025
Other Publications Near Douglas, Wyoming
Douglas Enterprise
Douglas Roundup
Central Wyoming News
Douglas Converse County
Douglas Graphic
