The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-02-24
THE LIMITATION OF LAW.

Many excellent people, including those
who are now advocating saloon smashing
in violation of law, seem TO labor under the
delusion that intemperance and all other
vices will cease when all the temptations
to vicious and harmful habits shall be OBJ
liberated. Many of these assume that the
sale of intoxicants, cigarettes. the opera
ton Of gambling houses and other evil
places can be entirely eradicated by law.
The theory may be flawless, but in practice
the prevention of crime and vice and the
making of people well-behaved and virtu-
by law has never succeeded. The law
has never been devised which made it inn
possible to prevent those who are looking
after the evils prohibited from finding
them Open temptation may be removed,
but SO long as there is profit in disrepu
table or harmful traffic it will Turk in the
very best communities so long there are
those who will be patrons. Resort to mob
violence. will only make matters worse,
since, If effective for a few days, mobs
cannot follow smashing and lawbreaking
continuously year after year.
people who believe in law should assist the
officers if they need assistance, and stir
them UP if they neglect their duties. But
law cannot do all, many excellent people
seem to imagine. Curfew ordinances, pro-
hibitory liquor laws, anti-gambling and
anti-Sunday laws cannot do all. These laws
can do much if enforced; but, after ALL
parental authority and direction and good
home influences can do more. The lack of
home influences is largely responsible for
vices; yet there seems to be a large num-
Der of excellent parents who, if judged by
their expressions, think that the schools
and the law and its officers must prevent
their boys from falling into vicious habits.
About all the responsibility they seem to
recognize i'm regard TO their boys is TO feed
and clothe them and turn them into the
streets. If their boys smoke cigarettes,
they would prohibit the sale; if they haunt
drinking resorts it is the fault of those
not enforce the laws. Such people seem
not to think that they, parents or
guardians, have any responsibility in this
matter; the public and its laws alorc are
responsible. 1t must close all the aven1es
of temptation into which youths are sure
to wander if not closed. 1t seems never TO
occur to them to keep those for whom they
are responsible from such places.
Doubtless the primary cause of a large
part of the human wrecks which are so
sad Is idleness during early life. Aside from
going to school, many boys are without
any vocation from twelve to eighteen. They
| less manner, forming associations that are
| bad and seeking hurtful resorts because
| they afford a kind of amusement. 1t is
| during this period that so many enter upon
| fault of parents than of those who profit
! by their wrong doing. The remedy is the
| cheerful home, parental authority and
| some sort of vocation a part of the time.
No law can perform such duty, and no
| curfew, anti-cigarette law or penalty for
selling intoxicants TO minors will prevent
the aimless and always idle youngster from
such smoking and drinking If Mrs. Nation
had exercised her influence over her fam
| lily a near relative would not have been
| found in Chicago saloon. Failure to exer-
| else home and parental influence at the
| proper time cannot be remedied by bar
| smashing at later periods. The evil has
been done, and hatchets cannot undo it.