The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1877-06-12
Ths Rntland gailu Glube
TUESDAY, JUNE ~, 1877.
"a GREAT HUMBUG."

Inc ClnClnndtl Uuzett6 lnblbts Jnat tne
Sunday laws should be rigidly enforced,
and all violations of them punished, while
the Commercial says that " the idea of at
tempting to enforce all the laws is great
"humbug;" and adds that if all the laws
of Ohio were vigorously enforced eve
doubt whether the state would be inhabi-
table; people would, in such case, emf
"grate even to Kemper county, Mississip-
Cpl"
This is very Illuminating confession to
make, but, unfortunately, it is true, not
only of Ohio laws, but of Vermont laws, as
well as of the laws of every other state in the
Union. The idea of attempting TO enforce
all laws should not be "great humbug,"
but laws are placed on tie statute book,
year after year, or old ones suffered to re-
main there, seemingly for the express pur-
pose of breaking down all reverence for
law, of teaching the youth of the land that
laws were made for the purpose of being
violated instead of obeyed, and impressing
upon their minds the fact that the demand
for the enforcement of the laws is mere
talk, "great humbug."
Our statute books are full of these kind
of laws. To begin at the bottom, we find
our cities and villages enacting that no one
shall throw ashes, filth or garbage into the
streets that boys shall not coast, Glide or
skate on any of the sidewalks, streets,
lanes or alleys; and that ball shall not be
played in the streets. All, perhaps, very
good regulations, but they are never en-
forced, and no one expects that they will
be enforced. The streets become, and are,
the general receptacle of ashes and garbage
Of all kinds, and the ordinance is not en-
forced because each man is as guilty as his
neighbor. Boys skate and coast on the
sidewalks and streets; men and women are
run into, and their limbs are broken, and q
little tall swearing is done, but that is the
end of it. Ball is played in the public
thoroughfares, windows are broken out,
horses are frightened and many persons are
Injured thereby but tell the boys that the
laws forbid coasting Or playing ball in the
streets, and they will laugh you to scorn
and continue their coasting or ball playing
a. II the municipal authorities had offered
prize instead of prescribed a penalty,
therefor. The effect of all this is to give
the boys to understand that the making of
Laws 10 pleasant pastime, the enforcing of
them "great humbug"
Higher up in the scale, we have our laws
declaring that the listers shall assess pro-
perty at it's true and just valuation in cash /;
and we find if, by accident or design, pro-
perty is assessed at one half of its value,
the public press lsuding the particular list
ers who have SO assessed it as remarkable
men, who have dared do one-half their
duty while county and state equalizing
boards spend THAR time in wrangling, not
10 see that all the property in the state is
assessed at its true and just valuation, but
that assessments shall be cut down to the
lowest possible figure, and that one portion
OF the state shall not pay taxes on a honest
assessment, while other portions pay on
dishonest valuations. A premium is thus
held out to listers to violate the law, and
they are swift to take advantage of it, not
withstanding the fact that they are re-
CURED to, and do actually, make an affida-
Wit that the property is assessed at its true
and just value. The little crime of per-
tury-as it would be called in any other
transaction-has no terrors for them, and
they seem to think they are doing meri-
torious service in thus violating the laws
and taking false oaths.
Then we have laws prescribing penalty
for protane swearing, for working on Sun
day, for visiting from house to house on
the same day, or for attending a ball, dance,
or place OF amusement after the setting Of
the sun Saturday night. These laws are
never enforced except for the purposes of
revenge, and yet they remain on the stat
ute book, and no legislature has the moral
courage to repeal them. Should The at
tempt be made to vigorously enforce them,
we fear that the state would be uninhab-
liable, and, as the Commercial says, the
people would be willing, even, to emigrate
to Kemper county, Mississippi.
II Is needless to recall others of these
laws-their name is LEGION" The truth
Ii, that many well meaning persons think
that they can make the world moral, relig-
ious and temperate by mere human enact
ments; and legislators, who know better,
have not The moral courage to resist their
opportunities, and so they go on, year af-
ter year, in making laws for the very pur-
pose of having them disregaidsd. The
result Is, that the people are loosing all re-
spec. for law, that our courts are power
less to enforce them, ard that even, when
persons are convicted Of the highest Of