The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1889-03-07

tuition all laws enacted by congress.
These laws are general, and their admins
trstion should be uniform and equal, as q
citizen may not elect what laws he will
obey, neither may the executive elect
which he will enforce. The duty to
obey and execute embraces the
Constitution in its entirety, and
the whole code of laws enacted
under it. The evil example of permit
ting individuals, corporations or cum
munities to nullify the laws because they
cross some selfish or local interests or
the nation at large, but much more to
those who use this permission as an ex-
pedient to escape their just obligations
or to obtain an unjust advantage over
others. They will presently, themselves,
be compelled to appeal to the law for
protection, and those who would use the
law as defense must not deny that use of
it to others.
If our great corporations would more
scrupulously observe their legal limita-
ton duties they would have less cause to
complain of unlawful limitation of their
rights or of violent interference with
their operations. The community that,
by concert open or secret among its oiti
gems, denies to a portion of its members
their plain rights under the law has sew
cred the only safe bond of social order
and prosperity. The evil works from a
bad center both ways. 1t demoralizes
those who practice and destroys the faith
of those who suffer by it in the ineffioiency
of the law as a safe protector. The
man in whose breast that faith
has been darkened is naturally the
subject of dangerous and uncanny
suggestions. Those who use unlawful
methods are moved by no higher motive
than the selfshness that prompted them
may we'll stop and inquire what Is to be
the end of this. An unlawful expedient
cannot become a permanent condition of
government. If the educated and in
fuential classes in community either
practice or connive at systematic violation
of the laws that seem to them to GROSS
their convenience, what can they expect
when the lesson that convenience or a
Supposed class interest is a sufficient cause
for lawlessness has been well learned by
the ignorant classesH community where
law is the rule of conduct; where courts,
not mobs, execute its penalties, is the
only attractive field for business invest
ments and honest labor.
OUR NATURALIZATION LAWS
should be amended SO as to make the in
quiry as to the character of persons APP
plying for citizenship more careful and
searching. Our existing laws have been
in their administration an nnimpressive
and often an unintelligible form. We &C
cept the man as citizen without any
knowledge of his fitness, and he assumes
the duties of citizenship without any
knowledge as to what they are. The priv
ileges of American citizenship are so
great and his duties SO grave, we
may we'll insist on good knowledge
of every person applying for
citizenship and a good knowI-
edge by him of our institutions We should
not cease to be hospitable to immigration,
but we should cease to be careless as to
the character of 1t. There are men of all
races-even the best--whose coming is
necessarily burden upon our public rev
enues or threat against social order.
These should be identified and excluded.
We have happily maintained policy of
avoiding all interference with
EUROPEAN AFFAIRS.
We have been only interested in their
contentious in diplomacy, and in war
ready to use our friendly Offices to pro-
mote peace, but never obtruding our ad
vice and never attempting unfairly to
coin the distress of other powers into
commercial advantages to ourselves. We
have just right to expect that our Euro
pean policy will be the policy of European
courts. 1t is 80 manifestly incompatible
with those precautions for our peace and
safety, which all the great powers habit
ualy observe and enforce in matters
affecting them, that shorter water way
between our eastern and western
seaboards should be dominated by
any European governments that we
may confidently expect that such a pro-
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