Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-12-08

Intensity his natural Indignation to
find that his own name had been sacrI-
ligIously used to silence dissent.
The Texas court OF appeals has no
exclusive property in the precepts OF
Blackstone. Story. Wharton. Bishop
and other great jurIsts. The judicial
lore OF every branch of the Anglo
Saxon race reflects their learning and
their wisdom. What unspeakabie pro-
fanntion OF their memories to ascripc
TO them n system which us the cu'-
mlnation OF years Of trial can boast
OF no better trophy than universal
contempt.
The great masters of the Law
taught that It's end Is Justice. Its men
tor Conscience and It's pilot Reason.
Their rules were not arbitrary nor
mysterious, but were called into be-
ing by the plain requirements Of Me-
cessity. They taught nothing and ap-
proved nothing which did not ,om-
mend itself to the moral sense Of every
Intelligent mind They had no part
or parcel in the origin OF that mis-
chiovous doctrine that the true ON
biein OF the Law Is Diana. the fickle
goddess OF the Ephesians. who In TN
doubtcdly tho presiding genius OF that
branch OF administration which we
have whimsically styled the depart
ment OF justice.
a progressive world Is moving on to
the perfection Of systems of laws and
OF government The fault Of our sys-
tenn OF dealing with criminals In that
against the general current. II moves
backward. Starting In the wrong dIroc-
ton, Il necessarily recedes further and
further from the paths OF reason and
OF Justice. Hence It is that our record
OF murder md Its palllatlon becomes
more and more humiliatlng 10 the
state. In contrast with the growing
tendency OF other states to mete out
swift md certain punishment to the
criminal.
Let us lift for n moment II curtain
that fell long ago upon tho judicial
stage Of Texas,
on the bench Of last resort there sat
two judges In everything diverse ex-
cept In strength OF intellect and legal
knowledge. One n devout christian.
whoac ideal was The Right. profound
scholar yet 30 modest that he shrank
FROM positlveness OF assertion
This other with wizards mind. keen
aud sSbtlc, soothing at morals that
spring from Inspiration. vain In its
lmaginings ana finding It's chief delight
Ia conclusions mat shocked the con-
science and were upheld by conceits
that wrlthed and glided. vanished and
ilnrol out like iusSlers Instruments.
IN tho Texas supreme Court reports
between the "iO's" and the sos there
is case reported In many pages IN
which these two glunis--of simple
Right and Devious Mystery ia
decisive contest. Through one modern
Jurisprudence, evolved from the Wis
dom Of the past, struggled for foot
! hold, declaring the Law to be not mere
| ~ nm agent Of Justice but the very
| symbol OF II. Through the other thu
spirit of Ncgatlon and Of Mystery spoke
| In solemn tone and with owllnh air
contcndIng with proliX and confusing
hrgumcnt for the supremacy OF nrtl-
( ncc and Of mystery over reason and
right The juggler triumphod, and a
| great crime against AN entire com.
munlty-a crime which involved thcft
perjury, bribery aud pollution of tn,
ballot hor,-focclved the official sane
ton OF the highest court. The JUDI,
who rendered that decision which II
days TO come will east a shadow over
our legal history, has contributed mucl
to the trend Of rulings which have
brought forth the abundant crop o
crime that Texas now lamcnis. Hi
day In waning Civilization says tn,
Law must move. The day OF the dis
scntlng Judge ~ that court has come
II cannot he stayed by an appeal L
prcccdcnts for no stands for precc
dents-thc best of presidents, the pro
foundcst logic, the largest experience