The Indianapolis journal., 1885-01-27
LAW AND ORDER.


The foundation of civilized society is law
and order. Law and order can be maintained
only by according them the heartiest support,
in conversation and in conduct. None but
dangerous man wants to be law unto him
self, while the honest man, the good citizen,
is willing to cheerfully comply with any reas-
enable enactment, and will even suffer incon-
venience and a certain measure of injustice,
rather than offer extralegal resistance or
at Chicago and elsewhere in this country, who
appeal to violence and openly advocate assas-
sination, should be peremptorily arrested and
imprisoned. If this is not enough, and they
persist in putting into execution their bloody
threats. they should be effectually silenced.
This not as measure of revenge, but of pro-
lection to society. They are the enemies of
law and order. Their doctrines are harmful
alike to rich and poor. Their hands arc turned
against all mankind who would abide by the
law and who are content with the ample means
OF peaceful redress. Murderers by instinct
and self-education, they have no sympathy
but for men who stand ready to kill.
AS yet, this nest of modern thugs is very
circumscribed in numbers. The law should
take hold of them Immediately, and dispose of
them as of SO many vipers Their utterances
should be put on police records, their portraits
hung in the rogues' gallery, and a brief biog-
raphy made for future reference. If they
ever attempt open violence in this country,
either in person or by agents, they should at
once be held responsible for melting lawless-
ness and abettirg assassination. We do not
think that there are many men who are of
opinion that anarchy is the highway to civil
and political rights, nor many who regard
murder as preferable to peaceful solution of
any question of public polity in this country.
Nor do we believe that, relatively, there ever
will be many such in this or any other country
Advancing civilization and the spread of in
telligence forbid such barbaric and defenseless
men are few in number, they are capable of
harm to the public, especially in times of great
political or social excitement, at which time
the unquiet masses may be prevailed upon to
adopt their doctrines, only to find in the end
that the sword of anarchy cuts the wielder
even more than him against whom he turned
it.
In proceeding against this evil, the mistake
should not be made of expending the entire
force of the law upon the ignorant tools of
more intelligent scoundrels.- The aim should
be to take in not only the man who wields
the knife and explcdes dynamite but the more
discreet rascal beyond him who incites him to
the commission of the act, and puts knife and
dynamite in his hands. The law was avenged
when the assassins of Cavendish and Burke
were hanged, but the source of the trouble
was not reached, and from that source
are constantly sent out fresh ennis
saries, maddened by the shrewd
arguments of their manipulators Whenever
the law can lay its hands on these latter, and
hang half dozen, score, or a hundred if
need be- the business will suddenly collapse,
until new batch of educated and mercenary
schemers again essay the role Of patriotic re-
formers" In this country, where each man
has an equal chance to make or unmake laws,
there is no apology for Communism, Socialism
or Nihilism. Knowing their rights and priv
ileges, the people of all conditions are united
against this kind of infamy, and the officers
of the law will have ample support whenever
they see fit to strangle the business of inciting
murder for profit