Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-07-22
The FaIIinrs of fhe LnH

Whoever has occasion carefully to exam
inc the newspaper literature of the day, is
struck with the large amount of crime
which is committed throughout the land
and which goes unpunished.
The penalties attached to the violation
Of laws are, as a genera1rule, sufficiently Sc
we're, but the chief falling in the law is
that II ceases to be administered in too
many cases. There are many offences
against the peace and purity of state of
which the Jaws take no cognisance and
which are left to such punishment as in
dignant and outraged public opinion may
inAict. 1t is also true that the law takes
account of some offences and avoids all
notice of others which are more hagrant
in their charter
Its therefore TO be regretted that the
penalties attached to laws which are violat-
ed, are not more frequently enforced than
they are.
THERE'S often no proper distinction in the
moral turpitude of offences, such as there
should be. A poor wretch whose family
are suffering with cold, steals a basket of
coal, and justice, as she is now days ad-
ministered, visits heavy punisf ment on
the poor fellow.
A President Of Bank runs off with
hundred thousand dollars, impoverishing
numbers of persons who fully trusted in
bank security, and the very magnitude of
his offence extorts silent admiration.
When the gold-bedecked criminal makes
his appearance at the Bar of Justice, that
stern lady with the sword and scales, re-
lakes her naughty brow and smiles the
criminal out of her Courts. A poor
drunken devil, as the world calls him,
whilst raving under the influence of liquor,
stabs or shoots another and the outraged
public have no language too savage for the
miserable being, One in higher life, possi-
bly, an army officer, wickedly'a and deliber-
ately shoots an aged negress, and the
same pulic relaxes in its wrath, and the
scoundrel goes unpunished. A man low
in the social scale passes a forged note,
and he is invited within the stonewalls of
penitentiary to remain through many
desolate years. The President or Con-
duetor of Railroad is guilty of criminal
neglect, numbers of precious lives are lost,
and the muir derers go unpunishe DIDO
casionally they dole out little money to
the surviving friends and then regard
their hands as washed clean.
The truth is the loss of a little money is
felt more and punished more frequently
then is the loss of life, through criminal
neglect OF deliberate wickedness.
In many of our large cities, justice is so
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land count on money as all that is neces-
sary to snatch them from the clutches Of
the law, while some poor, ignorant unfor;,
tunste is made the scape goat of many |
unpunished crimes and immaculate Justice |
is ready to wiring his neck or cut him in
twain.
What is needed is more enlightened |
public sentiment.
q. Men should be punished, no matter
what their rank, according to the offence
committed.
Justice must not succumb to money.
The people must learn to regard human
life as sacred above all things; then only
will there be no failings in the law. Then
the London Times cannot say of England,
IS might be said of US, that life is held
IN less reverence then q bank note