The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-10-13

------
ing as unanswerable as 1t is ulapproacha-
BILE. Let us illustrate the power of such
convictions when 30 enforced by an "edu-
Gator and "moulder"
The question Of taking the law in ones
own hand, of meeting lawlessness with |
lawlessness, of resort to lynch law, OF
teaching respect for. and obedience of,
law by disregarding all law, human and
divine, and trampling it under foot, is
something more than one of mere public |
policy. The safety Of the people is con-
fessedly involved in due regard for law
and the proper punishment of wrong doors,
but there is, also, a moral and religious
question involved. This is 80 plain as to |
require no consideration, and so when pub |
lie attention was renewedly called to the
matter of '.lawlessnees" by the summary
murder of Schell, an innocent man, by
respectable" Ohio mob, we could heart
| lily endorse the following opinion, expressed
by a clergyman 20 longer ago than Tues
day, October 3, in referring TO this Ohio
| case This d" should serve AS an example
I" to all those who, in the excitement which
" follows the discovery of great crime
9" talk about hanging men to lamp posts, OF
&" the infinite danger of giving away to the
4" terocious impulse of which Judge Lynch
is the representative. The only
good that can come fiom such horrible
" affairs is to have public opinion so aroused
" as to make TIER recurrence impossibe.'
So far so good. On the previous day
had occurred the Langmaid murder, near
Concord, New Hampshire. and, prior to
Saturday morning, man had been arrested
as the supposed murderer, was only saved
from being lynched by the determined
bearing of the officers of the law, was SUBJ
seouently found 10 be innocent and dis
charged. and still another person, one
Drew, had been arrested ON suspicion OF
being the guilty pcrpetrator, and so this
'moulder" and educator" Saturday morn
ing, October 8, SAYS: "Such crimes would
almost make u5 favor an exercise OF
"lynch law. Were the fi9nd captured
" and las escape from punishment made pos
"aJle, we SiouM be in tisCor IF He people
"taIing the IaD into their opn hands. In
other words, taking the utterances together,
| the possibility of an escape would justify
! | the risk of hanging an innocent man SO
/ that public opinion might be aroused to
that extent as to make these ''ferocious
q impulses impossible Of recurrence.
= Z" Ferocious impulses may be deadened
n by frequent indulgence-but then that il
n ''debatable question upon which most
y sensible men will differ from the authority
we have been quoting.
r. Three days pass on. a Sunday intervcnes
. and we are treated Tuesday, October -
!. with dissertation on the "wrath prnci
!. "ple.' wherein we are told by the SAINT
g authority Summary executions mast b'
If done In the heat of the moment, and vi@
!. tied by an indignant and outraged com
q munity upon the criminal apprehende'
!, =" in the very act of the crime to meet will
I" any justification. We have never ad
10 vocated summary justice, or, as it !
n "more commonly called, the operation
Al. {" of lynch law" That is TO say, we liav
III but aftedgQcated' resort to lynch law
y taking the law hin favor of the peopl
is and hanging suspected murderer hands
n nearest tree. II there is a possibiIitv
- escape Tor Tie murderer of Josie Langmai
n. let the people take the law ont Of the band
C. Of the proper officers and hang him--to
IS. lamp post, if there is one, if not. ire
Y. | will do just as weil-and, although tn
he murder was perpetrated eight days ago,
of will look little better if the criminal
10 apprehended in the very act of tn
crime" but 1--WE should be in favor OF
n hanging him any way until 'the boas!e
NJ " security of the country is ''less of
or "sham than it seems to be at the preser
w time"
n. We especially admire the ''depth'-w
= believe that is the consistency an
no logic of these several utterances and re-
;s ommend their author as safe counsellt
ee and guide, not permitting ourself to doul
n. that public opinion is, by this time, moul,
i'd ed and educated up to the propet point, fl
-, one must be very fastidious indeed and e.
y. tremely difficult to suit if he cannot fin
al somewhere in these utterances "settle
II conviction" that just hits his pariculi
,e opinion. All you have to do is to pay you
IN money and take your choice.