The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1895-12-27
Enforcement of the Law.

Ex-President Harrison, in his introduce
tory paper of series of articles on "This
Country of Ours" in December Ladies'
Home Journal, writes vigorously of the
great necessity of the people insisting
upon the strict enforcement of the laws.
Directly upon this point he says
-"We need general assemblies of the
people in the smaller civil subdivisions to
be held regularly once or twice year,
town meetings to which two questions
only shall be considered First, are the
public. officers faithfully and honestly
transacting the public business? Second.
are the laws-not this law nor that, but all
laws-enforced and obeyed? All ques-
tons of law reform should be excluded,
left to parties or societies organized to
promote them. The enforcement of the
law, whether we opposed or aided the
making of it; the strict accountability of
public officers, whether we opposed or
aided their election, should be the objects
and limits of these meetings. There
should be no distinction of persons. Our
law and order movements are too apt to
be confined to what we, not too accurate
ly, call influential people. Every man
and woman ought to have a chance to
choose his side, without regard to station
or wealth or'race or color. There will be
none too many. In some such movements
it has seemed to me that many have been
assigned to the wrong side who would
have chosen the right. There is danger
that such may accept the place they would
not have chosed. Can any working plan
be devised to maintain from day to day
an effective watchful interest among the
body of our citizens in the enforcement of
the laws, and i'll clean, honest admins
tration of public affairs-small and great
Or are we to accept the humiliating con-
clusion that bad things cannot be made
good, or even better, until they come to
be persistentiy and utterly bad; or still
worse, than when the river of popular in
dignation has cleaned the stable it is only
to leave us without a supply of water for
daily sanitation?"
The ex-President in the initial number
of his series of papers which he proposes
on ''Our .untry" shows himself to be
more of politician than statesman or
philosopher, or student of our people. He
would pervert the New England town
meeting to new purpose, by changing it
from wise and popular law making body
into blind, relentless, unthinking ex-
ecutioner. He asks impossible things for
the American people to grant or even en-
terrain, to turn the town meeting into an
inquisition to look after the enforcement
of laws without questioning the honesty
or justice or the purpose of the law. Mr..
Harrison would turn the wheels of pro-
gress backward in place of forward
When the town meeting assemblies to con-
slider the proposed act and determine
whether it shall become law or not, and
formulate what it considers should be en-
acted into law, there will be little trouble
about enforcing the law. 1t will be vol
UNFAIRLY complied with and its violation
will be the rare exception. But as long
as the selfish and mercenary will of syn
dictates, corporations and paid Hobbies is
forced into law by untrammeled, ire
sponsible, unchecked legislators regard
less of the peoples wishes, the people can
and prevented from denouncing such laws,
enacted, not for their protection, but to
enable scheming, selfish class to prey
upon them. Mr.. Harrison's purpose in
those proposed papers seems to be to
teach the people that a blind, unques-
tioning, uninquiring submission to law
because it is law is their duty, without in
quiriug why it is law and by what man.
IT. l.
and whether benehcent or tyrannical in its
operation. The town meeting was never
intended for such purpose and never can
be used for it. The popular town meeting
is the voice of liberty. The ex-President's
town meeting would be the voice of
master and the obedience of the slave
God forbid that such coussejs shall ever
prevail as the. xPresident's.