The freeman. (Parkersburg, W. Va.) 1886-18??, 1886-06-09

n
this as in every case of a crying
evil, the church must lead in the
reform. This is her most peculiar
province. 1t comes in the line of
the great class of moral issues of
which she is the recognized guar
dian.
It cannot be effected by moral
suasion, by sermons, by prayers, or
by abstinence of the welld disposed.
1t is case where the arm of the
law and force repressive is the only
resort. 1t belongs to the depart.
ment of crimes; and must, of neces-
sity, be met by criminal law faith
fully executed. The rumseller is a
criminal, and must be held amen
able to criminal law.
The traffic must cease to be
treated as question of rights and
liberty of individual choice, as the
pursuit of legitimate calling, as
much so as theft, or murder, or any
other crime. 1t belongs to the
same category, and nothing but
sophistry can give it any other
place. The rumseller is an I'M
mitigated enemy of society, danger
Gus to public welfare; there is no
criminal of deeper dye. He has
been petted by the State
responsibility has been thrown
around his most atrocious
crime; he has been pro-
tected in it by law, has been
authorized by moneyed license to
practice it. He has been permitted
to live among us as free, respect
ed citizen, pursuing a Legitimate
calling; to hold up his head and
walk the streets as the equal Of
respectable men; has become the
boon companion of law makers
permitted to appear in court and
sit on juries as vlrtuous citizen
He has been allowed to open his
doors upon the public streets, and
drive his business in open day, the
peer of honorable tradsmen. Sc
long as this remains his business
will flourish. There is no mora
power that can reach him. He
will continue to be defiant, anC
grow more contemptWous Of decency
every day.
There is but one road of deliver
ance from this pestiferous evil. Il
is not obscure; it is the plain
straightforward road Of simple
honesty in dealing with a case o
pronounced crime. The rumseIle
is criminal pure Gcod simple ; h,
must be treated as such in law anC
administration. The brand of felor
must be put upon his brow and b,
must be made to take his place il
the felon's dock and in thu
felon's cell, or on his gibbet
This kind goeth not out by fast
, ing. This is the position th'
Christian church must assume, anC
to which the Christian State
, must be forced by right minded
, people. 1t must be made impossi
BILE for legislators and courts anC
!, the police, set for public protec
ton, to be complicated with crime
There is no other road to salvation
And on what grounds can we hes
itate to take this? Whose right
suffer thereby? What public in
.terest suffers thereby? What prin
ciple Of justice is violated thereby
A felon class has grown up amonl
US. Their criminal business is no
} doubtful. Their practice of it is IL
open day, The felony is clear
pronounced, the most dreadful
} They are robbers and despoilecs 0
innocence. Their business is muir
derous. 1t has no other quality il
it. 1t threatens our homes. L
fills our jails and prisons and pau
per asylums. 1t creates demand
for armed police. 1t fills many o
our homes with miseries worse
; than death. 1t has not one single
relief. It is felony of the deep
est dye, pure and simple. 1t mus
be treated as such. The telon'l
dock, the felon's cell, and if neec
be, the felon's gibbet, is the only
remedy for such a crime.