The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-02-03
SIT DOWN on IT.

Every time an incident like the
late attempt to rob the Contra
Pacific train occurs. the public, act
ing the part of superannuated old
man, rubs its eyes, groans, and
wonders where and when this kind
of thing is going to stop. "GiVe US
a lull," it says, and there the matter
rests. The information desired is
easily furnished, and correspond
ingly brief-that kind of thing isn't
going to end at all, at least not in
the present generation. Solong as
there is wealth in the land, there
will be cupidity, the desire to pos
sess it by the most abbreviated
means, and herein lies the secret if
such it can be called. The age is
hungry for spoils; from the time
the child is old enough to realize
what is going on around it, make
COMPARISONS and draw the distinct
ions between the different con-
ditions in life. the grasping
for gain begins. The passion grows
with the victims growth, and
Strengthens with his strength; and
when the unhealthful appetite can
not be satisfied by proper means,
others are resorted to. The human
animal is not prone to sitting
down contentedly to a meal of such
crumbs as may fall from the table
of his more fortunate neighbor; he
would prefer to be in a position to
drop the crumbs himself, and his
unrequited eagerness leads him to
the commission of crime.
The only thing society can do is
cireumscribe Ethe sphere in which
criminals act, SO far as it can be
done. This is not always accom-
plished by means of mere pun
ishment, which, if we may
Judge by the records, is SIM
ply an expiration, not a
preventive, The question then
arises-"What means shall we
adopt?" Without desiring to as
sumo even the appearance of sug-
gestiveness in this connection, we
venture the assertion that the
proper thing to do is not to do
many of the things so prevalent in |
this age, prominent among which is
the aristocratic distinction between
parties accused of crime; this has
become so prevalent that it is al
most recognized as rule that the |
probabilities of the punishment of a |
man on t1ial for crime, fuctuate in
a ratio exactly corresponding with
his social position and influence.
Nothing more foreign TO the theory
of our government and institutions
could we'll be imagined; yet
nowhere among civilized PEG
pie is the fact of this
most fatal rule of conduct being an
unWritten entity in our legal prac-
tice, apparent than in the United
States. A poor devil who steals
through real or fancied necessity
and thus imparts to his offence the.
only color Of justification of which
the case admits, is vigorously exclu-
ded from sympathy, and all the bot
tled-up indignity of the community
poured out upon his erring head. !
Yet why is he so much more de-
PRAYED than the DOrseys, Bradys, |
MalIeys, Belknaps, Shepherds and |
Stokes? The offender in humble !
life is treated as such people ought |
to be; he is scourged by public
opinion and consigned by law to a
place Of strong detention pending
trial, because as rule
he has not friends in
enough nor sufficient
to procure even temporary
release: but the heightened rascal is
more of a lion by reason of the
charge against him than If he had