The Rock Island Argus., 1881-11-05

follows as natter7of course that he will
be punished as theila directs. If man
breaks into house and steals loaf of
bread tosappease his hunger, and is caught
there is every probability that he
will receive the legal penalty Tor burglary.
but let a man commit a cold blooded muir
der, and so far from being any certainty
that he will be hung, as the law directs the
public are constrained to feel grateful if
| he is sent to prison for a short term of
years on the principle that half loaf is
better than no bread. Having been IA
vored will several such cases in the past
few years, Rock Island will probably ap
preciate the reference.
| What is wanted is not law against
carrying concealed weapons. but the abo,
lition of insanity pleas, and the rigid en-
| forcement of the death penalty in every
case where one person meets his death at
| the hands of another, when that other is
| not acting plainly in self-defense. The
various species of murder and manslaught-
| er, the first, second and heaven only
knows how many more degrees IN the
criminality of killing, in which so many
and such nice distractions are made be-
tween spontaneous and premeditated MUIR
der, between killing man by blow with
| a club, and his being killed by striking his
head on stone which that same CLUB had
knocked him. against.-These are the
| causes of the reckless disregard OF human
| life so prevalent IN our midst 1t our cit
liens do not appreciate the value OF hu-
| man life and hesitate not to take it upon
| the slightest prevocation, it is because
those who are supposed to be the guar
dams to it by letting off scott free, or with
the very slightest punishment enlisted
shysterism may suggest the numerous
sacrifices of human life, and then striving
to avenge the outraged spirit OF justice by
| fineng to the full extent of the law, the
man who carries an instrument which
might have prevented the crime. II man
knows, as he knows an automatic
| truth, that if he, in a moment of passion,
shoots his fellow man without cause, or
| for any cause less than the offering of per
sonal violence, he will be tried and hung
| for so doing, he will find some way to con
| troll his passions, or If they are beyond his
control, self preservation will prompt him
rather to run the risk of being caught de-
fenceless in time of need than to place him
self in jeopardy of the rope, and hence he
will of himself refrain from carrying pis-
toll But convince him. as our laws ex-
eeutors have been striving to do for years,
| that he can shoot his antagonist and escape
punishment through his wealth or infiu-
| ence, or by offering plea Of momentary
| or emotional insanity, or by previous good
| conduct, or by any other of the frivolous
| pretexts SO potent in our modern criminal
| courts, and he will not hesitate to shoot
| for cause or without cause, as the humOI
Of the moment may suggest. Nor viii
any law against concealed weapons avail
to prevent him.
| In conclusion / would like to say to oug
| law makers: If, behind the laws against
carrying concealed weapons there is no
| overt infringement of our constitutional
rights, if they are not intended to be what
they really are, stepping stones toward the
abrogation of our right to bear arms, and
are only and really designed to prevent the
| perpetration Of capital crimes, they should
| be repealed at once, since not only are
| they ''dead letters" which cannot be en-
| forced, but they actually augment the
troubles they are supposed to prevent. Re
| peal these laws and proclaim to the world
| that the carrying of weapons is allowable
and praisworthy, and then enforce the
| laws against the -unjustif1able use
of weapons, and if leg1sla-
ton will check crime you may perhaps &C
complish something in that desirable di-
rection. But rest assured that in the
present condition of things. The only per-
sons grateful for the present laws are those
scoundrels who have been enabled thereby
to commit the vilest and most horrible out
RACES without the slightest fear Of being
shot down in their tracks.
GUY RIVERS.