The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-07-18
HUMAN IMPFRFECTNEss.


wire netting that surrounds the driver a re-
volver holster, and in that holster is a revolt
yer, presumably loaded, ready to MAIN or
/ kill, as occasion requires. The weapon is not
/ bravado, nor as challenge, but Is placed
within easy reach for use in case of need.
/ The netting and the pistol are there for the
/ purpose Of protecting the valuables being
transported in the wagon. To the moralist
! there is food for reflection here. What is
society in indianapolis that it is regarded
dangerous to transport money through the
streets between sunrise and sunset? What
is Christian civilization after the lapse Of
nineteen centuries that deadly weapon is
| essential to personal safety? And what is
human nature that it is so treacherous? The
presence of the revolver on the Indianapolis
express wagon is not an isolated case The
same fear is manifested all oyer the world.
There is no city or town or hamlet so free
| from distrust that its fear is not manifested
by evidences OF precaution. Every lock on
the doors OF houses, stores and stables hints
of thief, and is mute accuser of your
neighbor. Every money vault impeaches
the honesty of the public; every
device to prevent the duplica-
ton of bank checks is meant
/ to catch rogues, and every combination lock
/ that requires two or more keys to unlock it
! is a Sto ~ din,r ohio -oa oya,pe+ rho ;utaur;tv Of
the various officials or servants who carry
the keys. Every bell punch, registered cou-
pom and numbered ticket is meant as a de-
tectiye of dishonesty. Every cash register
says to the man who uses it, you are posi-
bly, theft Nobody is free from the fear of
robbery. From the man who has melons to
the man who has millions, it is evident that
mutual distrust is universal. A watchdog
guards the Indiana melon-patch; armed SOL
diers pace the corridors of the Bank
of England. From mountain cave to
metropolitan bank, the feeling of insecurity
is the same. The jewels of Eng
lands royal family are kept behind heavy
iron bars, and about them day and night a
ceaseless vigil is kept by grenadier who new
er relinquishes his hold upon the loaded mus
ket at his shoulder. The half-dozen pounds
of the peasant OF Ireland which he is saving
for rent are hid under a stone in his hearth.
Sixty centuries of humanity have written
their histories and man is much the same to-
day as at the beginning. Nineteen centuries
have passed since the man of Galilee came to
preach his wonderful message, but lying,
cheating, stealing and numbering still go on.
1t is confined to no neighborhood, neither
does any nation contain it all. The
whole world round confesses judg-
ment in every lock and key it makes, in
every Jail and prison it builds. Nor is crime
confined to any class of people. In the same
city with the man who steals million is one
who will pilfer and dishonesty has been de-
tected in all grades of society.
Evidently human nature is hereditarily
imperfect The leprosy OF knayery has thor
oughly permeated human nature. 1t may
skip generation or two, only to manifest
itself anew where least expected. 1t may
also break out in a new and apparently sound
spot. 1t is vain, therefore, to expect perfec-
ton in human institutions. Dishonest
men and rogues seem to spring
up like mushrooms after shower. Their
coming cannot be anticipated with any GER
tainty, nor can the place be located un til
they are there. 1t is the work of all corpora
1 tons, associations and of government itself,
to guard against men who are dishonest or
liable to become dishonest. This is difficult
to do since there is no badge or sign by
which they may be recognized. If, like Cain,
they wore the mark upon their foreheads, it
would be an easy matter to keep them out
of responsible positions, and to give them no
opportunity to become defaulters. The best
that can be done with the few who prove
themselves unworthy out of so many
is to measure out to them their
deserts as a warning to others. Neither
association nor government can be held
morally responsible, if every reasonable
precaution has been used. 1t is only when
either connives with the offender that the
guilt falls alike upon them. Just so long as
the great mass OF humanity is SO very far
from perfection will some of its representa-
tives prove recreant to their responsibilities.
There is no perfect help for it; and 10 ask
perfection from a system that has to depend
upon such uncertain material is simply to
demand the impossible There never was a
human organization of any kind free from
haws-and there never will be.
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IT may be sinful, but ordinary mortals can't
help feeling some satisfaction over it, On the