The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-03-13

the wrong. A case in point was the beastly
crime Of the two Chinese laundrymen in
Milwaukee, spoken of in our dispatches yes
terday. Those heathens, in fact as well as
well as by reputation, have been guilty of
enticing little girls, from nine to thirteen
years, into their den and running them.
Their victims number about twenty. For
such crime as this the laws delay and for
malities appear altogether too tedious and
unnecessary; and it would be difficult to ro-
strain the best communities from taking the
law into their own hands and inflicting a
| terrible vengeance on the inhuman beasts
! guilty Of the crime. No words can ade-
quately express the horror and utter detes-
tation of the crime that thrills the breast of
every man who is not totally depraved.
Yet, in this very case which would Justify
mob violence, if any circumstances can JUS
tify It, the danger and mischief Of moblaw
are also apparent As might be expected a
mob collected in the streets, numbering
about two thousand men and bows. who fol-
| lowed the prisoners to the court house. The
mob, however. attempted no violence on the
guilty wretches, but satisfied itself with
attacking the establishments of other
Cinnamon, smashing their windows. play
ing havoc with the premises generally.
while the inhabitants, not connected with
the horrible crime, so far as known, fed
for their lives. In other places the mob
was contented with throwing filthy liquid,
by means of a garden hose, over washed
and unwashed garments in the shops. Such
conduct is lOw-down and bespeaks the
cowardlce and meanness of the mob. For
body Of men who had taken the guilty
wretches and hung them up by the necks
until they were dead, and then went off
quietly about their business we could have
some respect, but for crowd of m en- to
satisfy themselves with breaking a few
windows belonging to innocent Cinnamon.
and covering with filth the clothes of some
of their fellow citizens creates a disgust
subordinate only to that felt for the beastli-
ness Of the Chinese prisoners.
Here is the moral of all mob violence:
While it may in some few instances satisfy
the popular demand for justice more com
pletely and more speedily than the slow pro-
cess of the law, it generally over-leaps the
boundaries of justice and makes the limo
cent suffer with the guilty So that the
momentary satisfaction which it brings to
see the punishment meet the crime and
that instantly, is more than outweighed by
the mischief it works in confounding the
innocent with the guilty. Then. besides
this, there is the disregard for law it
engenders in the community, for mob
violence is a violation of the laws of all
civilization, and menaces its existence To
resort to it, is to accuse our civilization
with being inadequate to meet the
exigencies with which society is con
fronted, a doctrine pregnant with danger
to all government, and threatening the secur-
ity of society itself. THE most fatal les
son you can teach a people, said Sir
WILLIAM HARCoURT, lately, lis that they
must look for justice outside the law and
we believe his doctrine. Hence, we speak
up for law and order all the time, and in
times Ofpeace in our own community, point
to the circumstances afar of and read the
lesson to our patrons, that in any hour of
excitement which may arise, and which
no community is absolutely insured against
be its character for good order ever 50 per-
feet they may remember the lessons
taught and preserve their senses and thus
always refrain from mob violence, trusting
to the wisdom and moderation of the laws
executed by the proper officers. On the
other hand the administrators of the law
may read lesson. Let them know the
faithful execution of the law is the only
means for preserving respect for it. Let
them remember that to so loosely admin
lister the laws that justice fails to overtake
the culprit whose crimes endangered the
peace and good order of society is to
create distrust in the laws and
in government, and fruitful cause of dis
orders. On the other hand cruel, harsh
and one-sided administration of the laws,
such as Utah not far back in the past has
suffered from, is not less fruitful of mis-
chief. Let not justice in our land be blind,
but let her be impartial; not cruel, but let
her see that the guilty do not escape the
just reward of their offenses. Then shall
we be secured from tyranny on the one hand
and mob violence on the other. Then will
our people be truest and respect the law.