The Portland daily press., 1885-06-05
The Salvation Army.

The local editor of the Argus makes a
characteristic display in his defence of Mar
shal Andrews's action in arresting the women
and children of the Salvation Army. The ar
rest was unjuslifiable, and will subject the
Marshal to the condemnation of all right
minded citizens, as it was made indiscrim-
inately, without reference tc who were the
offending parties so far as the playing on in
struments was concerned.
1t is difficult to understand this squirt of
zeal of our rehabilitated marshal, unless we
are to believe, as the Argus intimates, that
he was acting under the orders of Mayor
Deering. If that is SO, it is about time for
the Mayor to understand that it is well to
hasten slowly. The Mayors Office is not
the quarterback of ship; nor will language
more forcible than polite" spoken of a
magistrate deter that official from doing his
duty. Abuse of the Salvation Army, even
from the ELUSIVE pen of the local editor of
the Argus, will not help the cause of the
Marshal or Mayor Deering. Calling them
religious cranks" and their leader 'sde-
iuded woman" and saying that no one of
them can comprehend the difference be-
tween law and morality" partakes more of
frothy assertion than intelligent discussion.
1t is certainly no evidence of fairminded
and intelligent journalism such as the public
is likely to approve. So far as Judge Gould
is concerned we do not imagine that the on
slaughts of the Argus are likely to disturb
the serenity of his mind. At the same time
decent regard for the pIoprieties of life
should deter an editor from swearing at the
judge in public. That is coarse left open
to defeated candidate Talking about
''puerle Interpretation of an ordnance
and numbering an ordinance by interpreta-
tion'' smacks good deal of personal disap-
pointment in the result
The fact is Mayor Deering and the Mar
shall opened very foolish crusade against
the Salvation Army who, as many of our
best citizens believe, are doing good work
in our midst. They arrested all the compa-
ny and confined them in the police station a
whole night, although there was no danger
OF their avoidance when called to appear. At
the same time they were allowing minstrel
shows and other bodies TO parade our streets
and violate with impunity, and without OBJ
lection, the same ordinance that was at
tempted to be enforced in this case. Why
was the Salvation Army selected as victims?
Was it expected that women and children
would be more easily frightened than "grown
men," or does the repugnance of the Mar
shall to religious fanaticism" account for
the move? Whatever S the explanation it
was blunder So long as the Salvation Ar
my does nothing worse than it is now doing
it is entitled to be let alone. As the Lord
Chief Justice of England said in a prosecu-
ton there against the Salvation Army,
Singing hymns or shouting hallelujahs is
not 'brawling and creating disturbance
within the meaning of the law, nor is play
ing an instrument of tune an offense against
the peace. The proceedings of the Saliva
ton Army might not always be such as he
might like or approve, but they had their
legal rights as other people, and their rights
were not to be nterfered with unwarranta-
bly,. And this was an attempt to strain the
law so as to make it operate against practices
which were not liked or approved of, but
which were not offences against the law"