The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1893-12-08
WHO ARE WARRANTS.
Gov. LewellinE Lays Down the Law to
Boards Of Police Comm lsaiOnerA.

WHO ARE MIGRANTS.
Gov. Lewellinx Lays Down the Law to
Boards Of Police Commissioners.
TOPEKA, Kan, Dec. 5.-GOv. Level
ing yesterday gave out one of the most
remarkable circular letters ever issued
oy a state executive. The letter is ad
dressed to all boards of police commits
sioners in the state and will probably
:ause an endless amount of talk. The
.etter is as follows:
EXECUTIVE LETTER
70 all Boards Of Police Commissioners:
In the reign Of Elizabeth the highways were
oiled with the throngs Of the unemployed poor
who were made to move on. and were some
times brutality whipped sometimes summarily
DANCED. as sturdy vagrant' ''ncorrigible
vagabonds " In France, just previous to the
revolution, the punishment of being poor
and out OF work was, for the first
onense, term OF years in the gallevs; for the
second offense. the galleys for life. In this
country, the monopoly OF labor-saving ma
chiner and its devotion to selfish instead OF
social use, have rendered more and more human
beings superiuous. until We have o standing
army OF the unemployed numbering even in the
most PROSPEROUS times not less than 100 100
able.b bodied men; yet until recently ii was tho
prevailing notion. as il is yet the notion of all
the work people themselves and those Of other
classes given to thinking that whosoever, be-
ing able bodied and willing to NO can always
find work to do: and section 57l of the general
statutes OF 1889 is a disgraceful reminder how
savage even in Kansas ha been our treatment
of the most unhappy Of our human brothers
The man out OF work and penniless is, by
this legislation, classed with confidence men "
Under this statute and city ordinances OF SINH
lar import thousands Of men, guilty Of no crime
but poverty, intent upon no crime but that of
seeking EMPLOY mcnt, have languished in the
city prisons of Kansas or performed unreQuit-
ed toll on rock piles as municipal slaves, be-
cause ignorance of economic conditions had
made us cruel The victims have been the
poor and humble for whom police courts are
courts Of last resort-they cannot give bond
ana appeal They have been unheeded and un-
cared for by the bus! world which wastes no
time visiting prisoners in Jail They have been
too poor to litigate with their oppressorS, and
thus no voice from this under world of human
woe has ever reached the ear OF an appe late
court, because it was nobod;'s business to be
his brothers. keeper
But those who sit in the seats Of power are
bound by the highest obligation to especially
regard the cause of the oppressed and helpless
poor. The first duty Of government is to the
weak Power becomes fiendsh if it be not the
protector and sure reliance of the friendless to
my duty to see that the laws are faithfully
executed" and among those laws Is the con-
siitutional provision that no instrumentality
Of the state shall deny to any person within
its jurisdiction the equal protection Of the
la VS." And who needs to be told that equal
protection Of the laws does not prevail
where this inhuman vagrancy law is en-.
for ed: 1t separates men into two distinct
classes differentiated as those who are penniless
and those who are not, and declares the former
criminals Only the latter are entitled to the
liberty guaranteed BY the constitution. To be
found in a city without visible means of sup.
port. or some legitimate business, is the in
condition of some millions Ut this
moment. aud under the law we proceed to pun
ism them for being victims to conditions
which we as 4 people have forced upon them.
] have noticed in police court reports that
sleeping in 4 box car is among the varieties
Of this h.inous crime Of being poor. Some po-
lice judges have usurped a sovereign power no;
permitted the highest functiOnaries of the state
.: of the nation. and victims of Industrial con-
iitions have been peremptorily ordered to
leave town.
The right to go freely from place to place in
search of employment, or even obedience to u
mere within, Is part Of that personal liberty
guaranteed by the constitution Of the United
States to every human being on American
soil. If a Diosenes prefer poverty: If a Co
umDuS choose munger and the discovery OF Il
lew race, rather than s elk personal comfort
Dy engaging in "some legitimate business
am aware OF no power in the Legislature or
IN city councils to deny him the right to seek
in his own way so long as he harms
no other person.
II men commit offenses let them be arrested
md punished, whether rich or poor but let
simple poverty cease to be a crime
In some cities it is provided by ordinance that
Il police court fines are not paid or secured the
:ulprit shall be compelled to work out the
amount as municipal slave and rock piles and
bull pens are provided for the enforcement Of
lhese ordinances And SO it appears that this
slavery is not imposed as q punishment. but
solely as a means of collecting a debt
Such citr ordinances are in fragrant violation
Of constitutional prohibitions The rock pile
md bull pen would never have been used Let
these twin relics Of the departed auction block
era cease to disgrace the cities of Kansas And
ct the dawn of Christmas day find the rock
pile the ''oull pen' and the crime of being
homeless and poor. obsolete in all the ci les OF
Kansas governed by the metropolitan police
lct
1t IS confidently expected that their own re
lard for constitutional liberty and their human
impulses will induce police commissioners t1
larry out the spirit as well as the letter Of tho
oregoi. suggestions