The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-11-01
plea FOR THE HIP POCKET.

| for do not believe, that the legislators
| who passed these laws were all, or any of
them, were personally in favor of dIsarm-
| ing the people, as a step towards restorat-
| ion of caste, [ do not think this hidden
| toryism sufficiently wide spread at present
to stock the legislatures Of a majority of
! our states, with its Conscious devotees,
but do say that the sentiment among the
| people the hidden power behind public
| opinion which led to the enactment of
this law, was secretly inspired by the in
| fiuence of tory minds and turnkey hearts
as a means to an end, and that end was
| the ultimate disarming of the American
people, of counsel shall be told that there
! is nothing in this law against bearing arms
| that the prohibition is only of the conceal
| ment thereof OF course, no one would
be idiotic enough to suppose Jesiutisn,
whether religious or political, would spoil
| its plans by exposing them before the
| time for full fruition. But sometime
| there viii be bills introduced into our leg.
lslatures, prohibiting the carrying of pistols
openly or in secret, and the quiescence of
| the people under those laws will be cited
as precedent in favor of the new ones.
| The same arguments advanced in favor of
| these laws, will be equally valid in advan-
cling those, Indeed as we shall see further
| present statutes is only inserted to evade
that section of our AGjna Charta which
declares that the right of every man to
bear arms, shall not be infringed. These
new laws will not be directed against
bearing arms as SUCH but against pistols
and small arms only 1t will be urged that
| the right to bear muskets will and shall
be intact but the constitution says moth
| ing in favor of Colts revolver and it will be
perfectly lawful to legislate against them.
Such law will be passed at no very dis
tant day, if the present farore in favor Of
the most rigid enforcement of the present
laws to-day continued. And then
those men who own the elegant little
nickle plated denizens of the hip pocket
will be compelled to dispose of them al
together, or to keep them hid behind the
clock case or down ceIler, where no care
less eye may chance to see them. For the
right of owning an article implies the right
of carrying che same, and when the one is
abbrogated the other Is rendered void: Then
men will become more and more unaccus-
toned to the use of firearms, for guns are
clumsy and costly, and many people can
not afford to procure them, and still fewer
would be able to spend the time necessary
to become familiar with their use. Then
again, laws win be passed debarring the
people from forming societies and bearing
arms en- naasse. Later still a license law
will be passed prohibiting all persons from
bearing or possessing arms, who are not
able and willing to pay a license for so
doing-a license at first ridculously small
and insignificant. And lastly the license
will be increased until only persons of a
certain opulence will be able to afford the
luxury, and this by throwing all the fire
arms into the hands of the wealthy classes
will render the completion of the Toryistic
scheme as easy as rolling off log, and the
grand programme of aristocratic restoration
will be complete.
This is the inevitable tendency of all
laws. against carrying concealed weapons,
and the fact seems so sen-evident. the
person must be stupidity blind who does
not perceive It, Nevertheless there are
many who profess themselves quite unable
to believe there can be any harm in such a
law-who can read nothing between the
lines. They pooh pooh the idea that any
one would try or would wish to try to cur
tail the privileges of free-born American
citizens. They seem to imagine that laws
are incapable of possessing hidden
meanings, though i'll ambiguous
terms. Though the uncertainty of
legal processes is every day made more
glaringly evident. They seem forgetful Of
the fact that the evident spirit of the Cen
stitution is violated in these laws, though |
they may be literally constitutional, and
that where the spirit of creed is outraged |
the outragers are scarcely liable to consci- |
entious scruples about the strict observance |
of the letters of the same. Perhaps these |
persons would not be SO very deserving CT
repute had the laws against concealed |
weapons been the only steps taken thus far
in this direction. But, though it is only q
very few years since these laws were first |
passed, the quiscence of the people under |
them has already led to the agitation Of |
more advanced legislation. Already the |
rights of the people to bear arms en- mdsSe
in civil societies, has been contested in the |
courts, aud eminent legal talent-has array |
ed itself against the people The arrest
and Imprisonment of the Socialistic com
pany leaders Of Chicago. not many months
ago, though provoking but little comment
throughout the land, was very significant
straw, showing which way the current of
opinion was tending. And it may not
wholly have escaped the readers memory,
that during the s'Gtreat Strike" of 1877, the
opinion was widely advanced by the par
tizans of monopoly, that the rights of peo-
pie to bear arms was a standing menace to
the Government, and that some license law
should be enacted to limit the possession
of arms to those whose interests were sup !
posed to be identical with Strong Govern
ment, in other words, despotism. If
such things do not prove that these laws
are but pointers,-but stepping stones to
something beyond, cannot imagine what
sort of evidence would be considered con
vincing.
do not know whether the
constitutionality of the laws against
weapons has or has
not been subjected to the test of
supreme court examination nor do / care,
since no decision of any court, whether
favorable or adverse can have any bearing
on the argument The constitution of the
United States is perhaps the best example
in existence of terse expression and rigid
of style. 1t needs for its com
prehension ne extensive culture, nor legal
education nor exhaustive researches in
black letter literature. It demands only
moderate acquaintance with Webster's
spelling book, and small modicium of
sense. 1t is SO simple straight
forward and honest that the wayfaring
nan though fool can read and under
stand. It is true that hired shysters and
gibblers may profess to find
hidden meanings under the most obvious