The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1885-08-13

~ ..a fpfofed no ftsploaa w iha|
cool rDn nnm M fof fn w.
II. Iu.nutl1 ltw's daItv," tno nnoof
fflfflaso i conviction nv punishment,
thn ulu enforcement ~ tho very sf
voro .lhiutHs agpluft ihls onorao, ira.
quannr furn lu1ra daaiafdly orimi'
nUs, 'unwhIppod 1f Justice" A flE'.
ornua public indignation rnbels ~
Buoh cruel impG4ltinna upon fomnio
honor. Then again In tho matter Of
whisky drinking, tho reform sonil'
mont declares for prohibition. WhyY
Because minors GRO sold liquors, led
into iutsmparauno End crlmo, aud
young mon stagg6r through tho s'root7
I'm drunken condition aud become
q graded IN the most shameless mHn-
nor In tho statutes of this state In
tho face Of those abuses aud Justlycon
fomned occurrences, arc ample pro
visions for enforcing A better order Of
things To sell liquor To minors ~
punishable 10y fine and imprisonment,
and To otter drink In public Is
also an Oilonso punishable by
fine and imprisonment. II tho youth
were not corrupted, II young and
promising mon were not allowed 70
get drunk, the OWL of wh!sky.drinking
would be largely, If not entirely, re-
moved. How can these things DO ac-
complished? Simply by n rigid and
impartial enforcement Of the laws we
now have. Put the bar keeper in
prison who sells to q minor or v'o-
lstes tho liquor lava, and take the
fashlonahly dressed young society man
and imprison him for public drunken
ness rs quickly as the poor, ragged
tramp In solzod. Enforce the laws and
thore will be no drunkenness TO speak
O.. Take again the matter OF assess
mants, to which reference was made in
these columns the other day. The
state is annually defrauded out or
hundreds of thousands of dollars by
the non enforcement of law, tho inefli-
cioucy, Partially or dishonesty Of
assessors. Indeed, IL may bo unhesi-
tasingly affirmed that in no State Of
the American Union IL there m ofI'ensc
against good order and public decency
fo~ which there Is not in the code an
adequate penalty which, il strictly
and ut al times enforced, would
not furnish the most eXscting morallst
tho reform he demands.
Where thon does tho fault lie? Evil
IDENTIFY not In pGucity or insufiicl6ncy
of laws, but in negligence, often Grim
inal, certainly ineXcusable and repre-
heusible, in the executive officers of q
state, the police, sherifts, cpus:ablos
end prosecuting officers. They are tho
men tn be held responsible for abuses
Of law; also tho jurios, which TOO often
allow prejudice 10 cloud their souaes
OF jus5ice and & vigorous administra-
ZION of statutory law. Fill
tho executive Offices and
the jury boxes with intelli-
gent ard conscientious men always
| and the loud demands for reform will
grow feeble. Rather than petitions to
lsw-meking power, let there DO a pres
sure everywhere upon the law en-
forcing power and the improvement
! will be at once most marked aud en-
tirely Satisfactory. Gambling has 1T
last been driven from most of our
Texas cities by a simole enforcement
Of tha law as it stands. So can drunk
ennesg-so can other evils. When
comprehensive statutes aro embodied
in our codes, and yet crime and disor-
der run rampant, tho fact in ninety
nine cases out of every hundred may
bf charged to the inoficioncy, partia' =
itv or cowardice of those whose duty it
| ia TO enforce tho law,