The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1900-07-06
Address of Judge Grant.

court OI michigan, as ne mas talked Oh tnt
subject of enfo rcement of the law, will be
prepared to believe that In the address de-
livered by him at the assembly Sunday
evening the cause of the honest enforce
ment of law and the idea of the supremacy
of the law received no small amount of aid
and added strength. Judge Grant believes
in the enforcement of all law, and If at
times he seems to spend more time speak
| ing of the enforcement of certain set of
laws, 1t Is only because 1t has been borne In
upon his own mind that that set of laws is
being more openly violated than any other
set or sets of laws in the state. This is
without doubt true, for there is scarcely
room to doubt that the liquor laws are
more frequently violated than any other set
Of laws, but the main point which the Judge
makes is that all laws should be equally en-
forced by the officers who are elected to en-
force them and that 1t should never devolve
upon the private citizen to take 1t upon him
self to see that the laws are enforced or to
make complaint against those whom he may
find violating the law.
The theory propounded by the judge is
that in becoming a member of society and
the state, the individual gives up some of
what are ordinarily thot of as his rights, but
that in doing so he obtains suitable re-
ward or recompense for his sacrifice, as
when he is absent from his home at his
work, for instance, he feels that his home
Is safe because the protection of law and
society is thrown about It, If he has been
obliged to surrender some of his 'rights' to
society, then society is bound to give him
something in return and the most import
ant thing which society has to give him in
return is protection to his person, his family,
and his property. But the only way Ia
which society can give this protection In all
its varied forms, Is in the enforcement of
the laws of society. Hence the Importance
of the enforcement of the law and the vital
interest which every citizen has in the en-
forcement. This proposition is of so much
moment that the Judge sets down his "plat-
form" in the following words: obedience
to, respect for, and enforcement of the law"
This platform he celebrates along the lines
already limited at.
Stated in almost epigrammatic form, the
Judges declaration of faith" embraces: the
belief in the right of the majority to rule;
and the duty Of the minority to submit; the
belief that officers should be made TO en-
force the laws or to step down and out; the
belief that the laws should be and can be
enforced in every nook and corner of the
state; that no man or set of men can set the
law in defiance; that the man who prefers
to attend his prayer meeting to the neglect
of his party caucus is dererict in the per-
formance of his duty; that no honest citizen
can take part in the breaking of any law
even in the most indirect way; that no man
has the right to so conduct himself as to
make himself public charge; and that an
honest man will keep his contract with the
state and If by the contract which he makes
with the state he obtains the privilege of
carrying on certain business on certain
days Of the year and during certain hours,
he should confine the conduct of his busi-
ness TO these days and hours without COM
plaint-that he can not In common honesty
do any differently.
To consider whose duty II is to enforce
the law, first look at section vi, articles Nv
of the state constitution. Here 1t says Of
the governor that he shall take care that the
laws shall be suitably executed and in other
places he Is given these three ways of carry
ing out this provision: he may remove an
elected officer from his Office for malfeasance
or misfeasance o Office, and that includes
of course the neglect to enforce laws of any
description; he may call out the state
militia; he may issue q proclamation. The
latter method was employed few years
ago by the governors of this state and of
Wisconsin in concert to prevent prize fight
from taking place somewhere near the
boundary between the two states, but who
ever heard of proclamation being issued
directing the enforcement of the liquor traf-
fic or warning violat0rs of the consequences
of violation of the same? There Is NO
law, so far as the Judge knows, making II
the duty of private citizen to see to the
enforcement Of any laws or TO make COM
plant against the violators Of any laws, and
be ssked why should there be? There are
always men enough who are anxious to- ac-
cept Office and 1t Is the duty of the officer to
enforce the law If he does not wish to do
so, he should step out or be made to step
out and leave the Office to man who IL
willing to perform the plain duty of the
office for there are plenty who are willing to
do this. There Is good reason why the pri-
vate citizen should not be expected to make
complaints against violators Of tile law and
why the duty should be placed on. the OFF,
GERS. The private citizen by meddling In
such cases runs great risks from the incurred
eumity of the men against whom he COM
plains who know perhaps even better than
the man himself that the private citizen In
making the complaint has stepped out Of the
path of his ordinary duties. The officer
runs no such risk for two reasons, the
knowledge OF the offender that the officer ID
but doing his plain duty and the further
knowledge that to kill the officer would
mean but change In officers for the Office