NEWS.Mountain.Echo-Laurel.New-series

Hello, world!

With the recent problems with Maiser and all the confusion surrounding 
I am totally confused about what I have and have not posted on the last
MT ECHO series we started. And to be totally honest, I just really do
not want to try to figure it out right now! My "figure-outter" is all
figured out after all that (plus 3 new counties!) except to figure out 
that at this point it would be best to back up and punt!

Soooo...I'm just going to start a new series. We'll finish the other 
one later!

In January 1899 an event happened in Laurel County that shocked the 
entire community. The case may sound vaguely familiar to you because 
of the parallels between it and a more recent case.

A handsome, successful and well-known man became enamored (or at least
fixated!) on a beautiful young woman of a lower economic status. The
relationship progressed through the power of the man to manipulate and
control the woman. When a situation arose that he could not control, he
attempted to force events to conform to his desires regardless of the 
price others had to pay.

The story proceeds through the death of the young woman and a completely
innocent "bystander", the flight of the young man and his subsequent 
arrest, and the "media circus" that surrounded his trial.

While the events happened in Laurel County and had little effect on
anyone beyond it's boundaries, it should make interesting reading for 
a wider audience for several reasons:
(1.) the vast change in the mores of eastern Kentucky in a little less 
     than 100 years,
(2.) the unchanging nature of basic human failings and weaknesses and
(3.) the startling differences and, yet, somehow, the sameness of press
     coverage then and now.

Keep in mind that this entire story was originally published in a local
newspaper in a rural area in 1899 and was considered extremely risque.
By the standards of today, the reporter's writing style is very formal,
but in 1899 the public use of certain words and mention of certain
topics 
was, in itself, scandalous...their publication shocking!

And so, ladies and gentlemen, from Laurel County, Kentucky comes the 
story of the "trial of the century".....the 19th century, that is.

Rita


Contributed by: Rita Stanifer Maggard <rmaggard@skn.net>
Date: Wed, 21 May 1997