Arizona weekly citizen., 1886-09-18
HONOR WITHOUT JUSTICE

Inc OqlllOn Is expressed in official
 circles that the surrender Of Geroriu.o
 was not made uncoDditionslly, and that
 m compliance with a promise given io
 the chief, General Miles hurried fine
 whole band ou. of Arizona without
 awaiting orders to do so. Gereral
 Miles was perfectly justified m making
 any pledges to Ret possession of this
 band oi murderers, and he womb be
 equally justified in breaking every one
 of them These IndiauS relied solely
 upon his word, after having forfeited
 every claim to the least consideration
 b. their treachery and crimes, knowing
 that the nlce distinction of military
 honor would never be violated. They
 sarewdly took advantage Of this moral
 srmor which has no reciprocal eauiva-
 lent n their breasts, to shield them selves from the extreme punishment
 meritei by their thousands of horrible cs1mes.
 The sentiment IS one that must
 De applauded by every person who verers,es the godlike virtue of truth. arl it Is one of the princ,pal rocks that form the solid foundation upon which is reared every moral edi- flee of whatever sect or creed in the world.
 Bu; does this nice distinction always walk arE-iu-srn with its twin brother, Justice? Wordsworth says:
 Nay. what is honor? lis the finest sense
 Otjustice which the human mind can frame.
 Intent each lurking frHilty to diseisim.
 And guard the way O. life from All oaense
 Suffered or done"
 We read of honor even among thieves and where the essential element of ius- tice Is wanting, of what value is i,?
 If these Indian wretches have been re- ceived upon conditions of honor that
 are repugnsut to justice can public sentiment however refaed. give its'un- reserved endorsement to the act? The civil law, with its spotless ermine, holds out delusive bait to the criminal ID which the gilded coat Of honor conceals the deadly sword 0, .cs:ice, aud the end ilstifies the means, The prurient e1crescences must be lop- pei of the human tree or it will perish. a the heroic duty of measuring ou. 'Ls need Of exact justice will cleaye the - ; for its plumb line through every o-aeF in:e-posing consideration.
 The fsc; is notorious that theso hos ties whose mIserablo lives are now pro toc:ed through this false sense of honor, have desOlHted scores oi peaceful homes along their bloody trail and spared neither men, women nor children ll their carnival of dea.h. To these hor- | TOYS they have even added uns speakn5ls 1 ouirsges and disbolical tortures that l place them among the most | hendish and inhumsn monsters . upon the face of the earth. Hunted down and bounded for almost a year and half by the branch of the whose lack of vigilance per mItied the commission of these Btroci- ties, they seek terms O! immunity from under threats Of still fur ther extending ihe list of their bic horrors, and are given a promise that defies the whole power of the evil law to award them the iushce their crimes merit, with a strong probability that they will escape even a simple reJuke.
 The prolonged shrieks oi the out ragged women and children, and the Rgonizins grosus of the martyred men whose bleaching bones have been gath cred by stranger hands and laid away into shallow graves without prayer or requiem, are to-day mocked and made Inc subject of rude and vulgar issts by these demons over whose heads prom se wards of the descending blow of simple justice!
 There is another aspect ID this move l nent which IS greatly to be regretted. 1twithstanding the joy which the .ernoyal Of the red curse occasions the whole length and brealth ,f Arizona. It IS the loss of the eTam 1le of the laws terribls vengeance upon iuch criminals, before the other tribes now at peace. As they now look upon tbe result of Geronimo's raid, he is re- varded for bis fendish atrocities by the lotOriety of great hero, and Is trans ocrted unharmed to greener fields and separate reservation to live in luxurious idleness the remGin- Ter of his allotted days. The ana 1 ,luous and cunning braves who may TOW dissatisfied with their surround |; ngs upon the reservation and are de f lied unusual and inexpedient privilege, { will conceive that Tn emulHting the eX- I .mple Of this notorious chiettain the C lorn of plenty will bc turned out before , hem. Had the strangling hemp shut T IF the good breath they rob from toe ! ,. ..nosphere. in the presence Of kindred 2 on the reservation. she good example ! 7culd hsve R salutarT effect ID repress {. Q their natural cravings for the blood ', 4 Inc white settlers. c