Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1891-03-05
What is Crine7


Ordinarily speaking. the word crime
means doing something wrong, some
thing against the laws of God or man;
doing onto others NOT as you would be
done by.
Crime-well, if your family is starry
ing and you take somebody else's loaS
of bread without somebody else know
ing it, and take that loaf of bread home
to your starving family. that's stealing,
for you didn't get it legally.
If yon meet man on the street,
knock him down and rifle his pockets
of their contents, that's highway rob-
berry
If you are out of work and unable-to
find employment, and out OF funds, and
slowly starving to death and are too
honest to steal, burglarize or commit
highway robbery and too proud to beg,
and commit suicide-well, that's crime
too.
If you are trusted bank cashier or
with from Thousand to million of
other peoples money, that's not steal
ing. that's ''embezzlement'
IL you are Shylock and take advan-
tage of a poor mans necessities to
charge all the usury possible. and fir
ally foreclose and take all that he has,
and you thrive and grow rich thereby,
or ii you are lawyer and charge all
the fee you can squeeze out of your
victim. that is not robbery. You are
''shrewd financier,," you can be lead
ing light" in some church, and if you
should give the poor devils whom you
have grown rich off of a one-hundredth
part of what you have taken from them
your name would be heralded in con-
nection with charity Why. what
good, bene,olen person you are, to be
sure,
If you are elected to congress as
servant of the people and receive
salary of $1,000 year from the people,
spend more than that living at Wash
ington and come home thousands of
dollars richer than when you went to
serve the people" you are states
man" that's what you are.
If you get rich, no matter how. you
are sound business man and shrewd
financier.
Lord. bless you. there are seven
thousand millionaires in the United
States; no man on earth, or that ever
was on earth, ever earned a million
dollars-yet these seven Thousand mil
lionaries are all ''big bugs leading
men of the community" ETC. You
wouldn't call them thieves, robbers, or
anything of that sort. No minister of
the gospel thinks for one moment of
preaching a sermon in opposition to the
manner, system OF means whereby
those seven thousand milli"naires
accumulated their millions, yet it is
patent that if no man ever earned a
million and yet has million dollars
that they have taken l-'taken" is a
smooth" word; not so harsh as steal
ing or ''robbing') the just earnings of
Others, and for which tie others are
selling their souls and budies daily
A saloon keeper, he's terrible bad
man; he takes money from those who
can lily afford to spare If, and whose
families need the necessaries OF life so
much Terrible; yet nothing wrong in
leading light in the community in
the shape of Shylock. robbing the poor
man OF everything he has. turning his
family out of doors. sending his wife
and daughter on the road TO ruin. and
himself tn perdition through trying to
drown his sorrows at the saloon
Crime is crime. yet il isn't crime.
The big bugs" can pass laws whereby
they can rob and steal with impunity,
and it won't be crime Let the little
bugs try it in small way and they are
snapped up in double quick
Our laws should be for the protec
ton of tie weak againt the strong
Labor should have its just reward If
we give special privileges to any. we
should remember those who deserve il.
Now. do you see what we mean by
crimeSNess City Sentinel