The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-09-03
From the Union and American.
THE BOOMERANG OF THE LAW

Our Bill OF Rights declares that
jostice shall be administered without
delay" The fourth resolution of the
platform on which the Democracy
has entered this campaign demands
call necessary reforms in the law Sc
as to make its execution speedy" as
well as just and certain. When
the Viceroy of India was assassinated,
a few years ago, the murderer was
caught, tried and executed within
twenty-four hours. Such is British
law, which we are supposed to follow.
Such an example strikes terror into
the hearts of evil doors. But when
the trial Of Il wife-murderer or other
atrocious criminal fingers on for years
without result, the salutary effects Of
tardy punishment, if it comes at all
are frittered away and lost on society.
Men say it is no longer a question of
justice, but of legal casuistry. Res
pect for the courts is undermined.
The outraged victims of wrong are
tempted to take the law into their own
hands. 1t is not too much to say that
half the savagery which mars the civ
ilization Of to-day results from the
super-civilization of our law system,
which goes on splitting hairs forever
in utter disregard Of the plain dictates
Of natural justice. Interminable de-
lays outrage the sense of right divine
Iy implanted in every human heart.
Murdercrs are allowed to drift into
martyrs. We first endure, then pity,
then embrace. When vengeance
comes at last, it looks too cold-blood-
ed, and gives our instincts a second
shock.
There is no active cause 50 promo
tive Of the increased crime as the I'M
certainty of punishment and the
chances Of delay. The same cause
eXasperatcs good citizens into the law
less infection of punishment, some
times deserved, and sometimes not.
To suppress crime, and abolish the
court Of Judge Lynch, justice should
be administered without needless de-
lay, as our Constitution demands 1t
must be confessed that amid war, Rad
zeal rule and financial straits, we have
drifted far from this old landmark.
The Democracy challenges attention
to it, and urges the next Legislature
to make the execution of the law
more speedy and certain, as well as
just and CHEAP, so that the poorest
may have ready redress. This import
ant and imperative reform should not
be lost sight of. 1t affords the surest
means for overawing wrong doors and
at the same time preventing resort to
mob violence. We cannot evade the
responsibility for the work Our
courts are our own, they are what we
make them. Legislative enactments
viii 90 for little, unless supported by
strong public sentiment. Lynch
law must be suppressed, and our sys-
TEN must be brought up TO the con-
stitutional standard of administering
justice without sale, denial or de-
lay"
We would be unjust to our State
and people if we closed this article
without reference to the new fashion
in late years Of appealing all sorts cf
cases to the Federal courts, especially
where Il negro is interested. In some
instances this is encouraged by Con-
gressiOnal enactments, while m-others
it is the resort Of lawyers with deSper-
atesuits. In either case it retards Jus
tice, multiplying the laws delays and
chances. 1t is an invidious discrimina-
ton in favor Of privileged classes-mo-
nopolies, negroes and huge corpora
tions. 1t should be discountenanced
in every proper way. Meanwhile We
must apply the remedy, so faras posi-
bic, within the sphere Of the State.