The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1875-06-25

has! never; failed to say 3 good word for
this community and this country, and
has never bated a jot Of heart OF hope
in the ultimate splendid prosperity and
Of. this region. If there is
one thing more than another for which
he has been blamed. and nlisrep
BY croakers, it is for his enthusiastic
praise of,and his uncllanging confidence
in, this country and this community. His
phrases, such as ''the climate Of: the
and the soil Of the river
/" etc., have become common
property to be used by sensible men as
true, and ridiculed by croakers as ''exag-
gerated." And he still has confidence
in the National Colony. He still be-
lieves that there is not another place
on the continent where soil, climate,
and society combine to furnish greater
promise Of happy homes. He has
nothing to retract of all he has said Of
the character and culture Of The peo-
pie. :.....:I;,' &
But as public journalist he has a
duty to perform on the other side, and
that duty shall be performed, cost what
it may. If there are lawlessness and
rowdyism in the community it is the
duty of a public journal to say so, and to
throw whatever influence it can exert
toward their abatement.
We have said before that there is a
tendency to lawlessness and rowdyism
in the community and that it is the
duty of the law-abiding to promptly
nip this tendency in the bud. Each
public officer, each man who stands so
related to the community that lie is
called upon to act or speak, feels the
pressure and the difficulty in. his own
direction.
For example: those who desired to
have the law executed against illegal
burning of the prairie, felt the difficult
ty in that direction. And that difficult
ty was so great that all attempt to pros
ecute was abandoned.
Those who have to deal with cases of
crime, like that of the burglary men,
toned last week, feel the difficulty there,
and have to resist a pressure brought
to bear i'll favor of allowing prisoners
to go free in order to save expense to
the county.
Those who have their property secret
ly destroyed, and who are annoyed in
other ways, as the editor Of this paper
has recently been, feel the difficulty in
that direction, and the boast was made
that it would not amount 20 anything
if he did prosecute, for no jury could
be found to convict "the boys.''
Now what we wish to say to thinking
men is this: The community cannot
he governed by moral and social re-
straint alone. Citizens and public Off.
GERS must do their duty in applying the
law. It will not do to say that it is a
mere personal matter with those who
suffer from lawlessness. It will not dc
to take up the cry of the foolish and
the prejudiced that he who resents the
rowdyism of young men, has merely AZ
idle quarrel with a lot of ''boys." The
''boys" are the cats-paws OF those who
encourage lawlessness and who hope tt
stop the execution Of law by prejudice
and public clamor.
Now we do not wish to he understood
by any one, at home or abroad, as con
veying III impression that there is an,
very fragrant lawlessness in the com
munity. We have never had a cas-,
of hehious crime in the National Colo
ny. But we do say that there is law
lessness and rowdyism enough in TIN
community to call for a more prompt ap
plication of law and to justify all tina
has been said about nipping this stat,
of things in the bud.
And with this, we dismiss the sub
ject until there is another outbreak
when we hope to speak still more plain
ly and emphatically.