The age-herald., 1898-01-11
TIE MAJESTY OF THE LAW
Rev. R. D. Wears Powerful Ser
 mon on the Subject,
TEACH THE PEOPLE TO OBEY
Pm Good Men on the Bench-Make Them Re- mote From Voter-FiII the Legisla-
 iura With Good Men.

tfeV. K. ID. wear, pdStor ol lhS NutiiDSA land Presbyterian church, preached a pow erful sermon Sunday morning to a large congregation, many of whom were law yers, on sThe Majesty of the Law"
 The divine gave clear and lucid ex- planation of the organic and legislative laws which govern society, and raised his voice against the violation by mobs and lynchers.
 His sermon was preached from the fol- lowing texts
 Leviticus, 26:46: '.These are the statutes and judgments and laws which the Lord made between Him and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses
 / to the law"
 "These two passages he said, 'the first referring to the laws given by God to the children of Israel through Moses on Mount Sinai, and the second the exhortation by Ezra, the scribe, when certain laws had been violated that it be done according to the law was but plea that the majes- ty of the law of God be obeyed, enforced and lived in conformity thereto in every particular
 lie TetcFfeQ 10 Ine ldW dS d luiC OA tStioh and illustrated it's application to all the forces of nature.
 Following the subject, the speaker gave a true definition of the different forms of law, organic, legislative and municipal, and of it's application to the people who make and sanction 1t.
 He referred to the violators of the law as those who were disrespecters of the law; for dichOnOrahle means. He said:
 The law comforting upon cities the power to grant franchises is a good thing; but often it is abused and dcbased by boodlers A good law may be prostitued to evil pur- poses and when this is done, and no power intervenes to stop the practice, and those mhose duty it is to see that the law is kept pure and clean in it's operation, sit complacently by, then the law is brought into contempt and the great crowds sheer at the idea of the laws majesty, and they will tell you that money will oil the legal mills until they will grind out the kind of grist desired when the power and protec- ton of the law are given to great trusts corporations and monopohes, thereby, at the sacrifice of justice, enabling them to oppress and espoil the people; whsn igno- rant, corrupt and thriftless majorities are enabled, through blarney- -mouthed demago- gues, to control the commonwealth, and override an intelligent, thrifty and upright minority-then the law becomes a laugh ing-stock, and men look not to just and wise statecraft for protection, but to their own strength and witt
 ''Dr Wear spoke of the "orders'' and "unions" organized for social purposes which he approved but when they sought . political recognition through the influence of their organizations he dscountenanced it and said that unless a man was willing to become a citizen, the best political privilege he can secure and is unwilling to take his place as one, should seek home elsewhere
 On lynch law, he said:
 Still greater violence is done to the law by those who, through passion or revenge, or blood-thirstiness, take the law into their own hands and wreak vengeance upon some one supposed or actually guilty of some crime. I am not charged with be- ing two fond of the negro race. In my discussion and in view of this subject he is eliminated l also hate the henious crime, nameless here, above all, except the crime of running womanhood in the name of love.
 A civilized country, a country so far ad- vanced-a government "of the people, by the people and for the people," and that the correction of any deficient law in the hands of the people, I say such a govern ment cannot tolerate lynch law, mob law, nor summary vengeance by unauthorized crowds in any form. Those who persist in claiming that it is right to take the law Into their own hands and hang the 'back fiends,'' may have to regret it by the con- tempt they are breeding for the law. Sow ing to the wind they may reap the whirl- wind in seeing the precedent applied to innocent men and to white men. No man who gets so wild and furious to enter mob to lynch negro rapist is a compe- tent judge, or just one. He is incompe- tent by reason of his excitement. It would not be right to hang the devil upon an exparte statement of an angel. Some of the negroes may chance be innocent. I say let every man be indicted, tried and if found guilty in fair trial be hung, and he will then be just as dead as if burned by a bowling mob.
 Our worthy governor deserves unstinted praise for his efforts to preserve the majes- ty of the law in this commonwealth"
 In summing up the majesty of the law and how it should be upheld pr. Wear said:
 'We should strive as individuals to cast such ballots as will insure the majesty of the law. The grandeur of the law and the reverence given to it must lie in the respect and confidence the people have in those who framed the law. The legislature should be of our best and most competent men, who should hold long, but infrequent ses- sions, and should be well pad
 Let the people be taught to obey, for Solomon taught this as the best lesson citizen of a republic could learn.
 Put good men on the bench and let them stay there for life, or during good be- havior, or at least make the tenure of judi cial position as remote as possible from the voter"
 He followed the evolution of the lynch law, pointing cut the form it would as- sume if allowed to continue, saying that men would begin to lynch for less offenses