The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1894-07-12
MARTIAL LAW.

personi6cation Of 4 quodlibeiarian, The
HERALD feels constrained 10 tell its read.
ers tmany Of whom may have been misled
BY articles recently appearing in these
columns) that martial law has not yet
obtained in any part Of the United
States. Chicago is not under martial
Law and 1t lie probable that II will not
be placed Hereunder. Il Is not easy TO
explain the full significance Of the term
indeed, lawyers feel constrained to say that
il Is somewhat esoteric; that only member
Of their profession fully understands il.
The presidents proclamations have been
and must continue to be taken only Is in.
s,ructions or warnings to peacesble citizens
Of the United States They should be &C
cepted purely rs friendly admonitions, de.
signed to inform the uniformed that the
militia has, In these instances, certain
right; that il must not be hampered b.
the presence Of interfering crowds; tina,
valuable time can not be consumed In
clearing any precinct Of innocent parties,
that the guilty may then be reached and
punished. In short, the president in his
proclsmations so far, has merely told the
people that, in certain localities Il was
highly probable there was to be discharge
Of firearms; and peaceable citizens were
warned 10 take heed to themselves or suffer
the consequences. That Is the condition Of
affairs in Chicago. So, also, Is it "at Ger
tain points and places within the states Of
North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washing
ton, Wyoming, Colorado and Califoruis,
and in the territories of Utah and New
Mexico" as the president on Tuesday pro.
claimed.
But martial law has = very dissimilar
meaning, and demands vastly inimiczi
practices. 1t approaches the absolute in
potentially, and vests in the officer in
command d ctatorship supreme. 1t
strips from the peace official his badge OF
vfhce, and takes irum powerless hand the
scales OF justice. 1t abridges, because il
coerces, the rights OF tho law-abiding citi-
zen; while il adds to the possibilities and
opportunities Of the knave for the commits.
sion of misiemeanor and crime.
Martial Law is, simply: That military
rule and authority which exists in time vi
war, and Is conferred BY the laws Of war, In
relation to persons and things under anu
within the scope Of active military opera
lions in carrying on the war, and which
extinguishes or suspends civil rights and
the remedies founded upon them, for the
Time being, so far as it may appear 10 be
necessary in order to tobtain] the full accom-
plishment Of the purposes Ut the war. It
Is the application Of military government
To persons and property within the scope
VI il, according to the laws and usages Of
war, TO the exclusion Of the municipal
government, in ali respects, when the lat.er
~ould impair the efficiency Of military rule
and action.p
However, it supercedes only such civil
proceedings ms eonfiia with it. during its
sppiica tion no debts could be collected in
processes before the civil courts; IL ssree.s
in cities we're ordered cleared Of pedessr,-
ans, and inhabitants Of houses upon the
same required TO remain within doors, no,
even poor woramsn with his dinner pail,
upon whose labor depended an evening
meal for numerous progeny, could waiA
the thoroughfare to his place Of business;
were q murder committed without the dis.
uics controlled BY the militia, no sheriff
could appfehsnd the perpetrstor Of the
crime II be fed to . point under martial
Law; private buildings could be RACED ~
the ground, teiegrsphic communication cu,
of aud the arrival and departure of trains
permitted or denied, at the will Of the com.
handing oficer--in short, very undesir.-
bic state Of affairs, in every particular, and
ona very seldom necessary.
Through conssitution-given rights, con-
gres has delegated 10 the president power
To call out the militia when, in bis opinion,
the woes Of The country or any part Of il,
durable by force Of arms, demand Il; gov
errors Of states, as we'll, have power ~
order under arms the national guard. Blu,
such action on the part Of either presideu,
or governor does not Imply that martha,
law obtains.
IL was not deemed necessary during the
strikes Of 1877; and even Baltimore, in all
her notorious riots just prior to the war,
was not PLACID thereunder. II may be
necessary eventually, during the presen,
crisis; but The HxkALD does not believe IL.
should it obtain, ii is safe to predict tina,
every citizen Of this and other affected
localities would sharply inveigh against q
repetition Of Its enforcement.
Grover Cleveland NAV not have been .