Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1897-09-03

made himselflia tn dismissal or dam
age suit through false arrest he willdrop
culprit like hot potato. He needs to
feel, and to be made to icel, the support
and backing of strong public sentiment;
he must be made to lear this more than
the threats of the vicious.
Ii is alleged by Professor Norton that
the young enjoy too great liberty in our
day; that laxity degenerates into IL
cense; license into vice; that into ruflian-
ism. and ruihanism certainly leads to
crime. Speaking again "f the Shelburne
Falls tragedy he says: "O'Neil is not the
only criminal the church going and
well TODD citizens OF Shelburne Falls are
partakers in his guilt" And he calls for
the exhibition of an old fashioned moral
backbone in small communities. This
backbone exists and only wants little
stitching. The people ofthe country are
kindly disposed toward one another-a
result of their communal mode OF life.
Every man in every village knows every
OF her man; knows his family history;
is eager to learn of his failures and sue
Cesses is ready to stop work at any
.ime and discuss his purchase OF horse,
or his painting of his fence. He knows
all that is bad of him; but he likewise
knows all that is good of him, and that
is a great deal. He finds it hard to take
a perfectly just and impartial attitude
toward him. Yet, in his own defense and
that of his neighbors he must bring HIM
self to take this view and act upon it.
He must learn that the law is the voice
of the public and apply it without dis
tincton, without prejudice, against all
who break it. Personal friendship and
sympathy for the culprit's family too Of
ten prevent the exercise of his duty as a
good citizen when he sits on a jury,
serves as member of a sheriff'S posse, or
acts as justice of the peace or constable.
There is a count against the country
clergymcn in this, also. He is generally
pious man, but slow one. He lives
in past age and feeds his flock on the
dry huskS OF doctrine and dogma. Sell
dom does he preach on practical morality.
He is a cautious man and his salary is
small and hard to collect, so he is careful
not to offend his pew holders. Therefore
he discourses upon ordination, free will
and that sort of thing and has never a
| word to say about the coarse, noisy talk
at the corner grocery or the general and
disgusting rural habit of protane swear.
| ing. This swearing habit is one Of the
trials of the decent member OF the COM
munitv and of the visitor from the cities
who has managed to get along without
it. An oath delivered under excitement
or in anger can be understood, but these
mill hands, farmers, station walters and
loungers are constantly and impartially
profane. They preface every noun that
will bear it with big d. They consigrI
to eternal suffering their horses, dogs
sheep, poultry and each other; they curse
their wagons, their houses, their politics
their church, their village and their farms
| The perfect Calmness of all this, the fac,
that there is no feeling 10 prompt tn,
adiectives makes them the more offensive
for it shows that they are habitual anC
they give no proof that they are excusa
Bile. This looseness OF talk does not tenC
| to improve the moral tone of a com
munty and it is copied by the children a
a dep'orably early age.
There are village improvement societies
in New England and in some of the mid
die states and they have done much goot
in lettering the roads, in planting way
side trees, in setting off parks and play
grounds, in raising the grade Of tn,
schools. in enforcing laws for the securit,
| of health and in many other ways max
ing their homes more beautiful and safe
but even these societies have seldom in
terfered in behalf of an impartial and eff
cient enforcement of the moral law. A
this particular time there is urgent meet
that they should do so. There is in man,
parts of the country an Eruption o
tramps. Many villages have seen thes
creatures for the first time They will
not work, and they will beg and steal
Hence there is need of general action t.
keep them out of the towns. One IVES
tern community adopted the practice G
tying these fellows to trees and whipping
them, and not a single tramp ever enter
its precincts. Equally important is tn
restraint of the hoodlum who is in wa
to become a tramp. In every America
village the sentiment of the people
right. 1t needs only combination t
make that sentiment respected.-Brool
Ign Eagle.