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Lesson from Fanning ton.It will be remembered that a few ■ days ago a terrible tragedy was reported from Farmington, this state, .in which a constable and a justice of the peace were shot down upon the streets in broad day-light, and that the assassin was followed to the fields by an organized posse of the citizens and riddled with bullets, the former having defied his pursuers to arrest him. The Farmington News gives a more than two-column write-up of the ^tragic affair. That paper, however, does more than simply give the details of the tragedy. It gives a history of the murderer and shows that the passions and prejudices of the man had actually been used by V local political factions in making war upon each other. The News states that it was. the only paper in the county that openly attacked George Stillwell and gave its readers a history of the man. Says the News:Everybody seemed to fear the. man and.although they all agreed that something should be done to rid the commu-. iiity of his presence, yet they . meekly stood by and awaited the doom that was ✓ surely coming. It had to-come and it ’ did come, and now that it is over the .. community feels easier. A fearful tragedy has been enacted, two good cit-izensdiave been shot down in c*ld blood others might have been killed and for months many people’s lives have been in constant peril. The immediate cause of all this is removed, but we should count the cost and look back over the years and behold the actual , cause that led up to and culminated in Farmington’s “Black Friday.”The News than goes on to show that Stillwell was a natural desperado, a man with an ungovernable temper, a bully and constantly looking for trouble. Strange as it may seem, he was groomed by a certain element for poiit-\ cial honors, and men who knew him to [ be a dangerous character fed his vanity [■■ by proposing him for office. In course L of time he secured a position as deputy t; game warden, and by virtue of his office !' carried a revolver. He was constantly seeking a row and seemed anxious. to become involved in a shooting scrape. At last he was arrested and placed under bonds to keep the peace. As is usually the case, there were plenty to come to his rescue, and a movement was made to have his bonds reduced. An accommodating district judge reduced the bond. Finally “Black Friday” came and the tragedy of Farmington took place. Stillwell, the desperado, was at last suppressed, but not | until after two worthy citizens had r beeh brutally shot down in their very V' tracks.The Farmington paper concludes its article as follows:From the years and events now recalled we can draw but one moral: No community can live, prosper and be happy while internal strife,1 malice,(- hatred, jealousy, back-bitting, sensational scandals, false reports and unfounded rumors are encouraged and fostered. We have, the result, may we not all learn a dearly bought lesson frotn the events of the last week? May H we not surrender our pride and our prejudices long enough to admit to ourselves that our people have indirectly contributed to the final result.[f , The moral is one which many other Ev communities might well take to heart,£ _~Des Moines Capital.
Newspaper Details
Estherville Enterprise
Estherville, Iowa, US
Wed, Jan 14, 1903
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
State H.
IA, USA 14 May 2025
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