Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1901-11-08
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8. 1901.
PLAUSIBLE BUT INEFFICIENT.


20 Sc eral ears a cotniiii:'>t IL
ha, beea eng ged in codifs NJ
the United State, Statutes !.
has drafted a bill which congress
will be asked to enact for the
purpose of providing greater Sc
curity for tie president. This
bill provides that All assault up
on him shall be capital crime
and to threaten his life or person
is made a felony punishable with
a fine of $1,000.
This legislation is necessary
because our laws give the presi-
dent no more nor different pro-
tecion than they accord the hum.
blest and most obscure citizen.
The proposed bill, however, pro-
vides that the assault, or the
threatening must be because of
something he has done or failed
to do as president. A maa may
severely beat the president for
carelessly treading upon his toes,
and be subjected to no severer
penalties than if he had beaten
any other person, but if he should
give him light Gaming because
the president refused to appoint
him to Office he would be guilty
of capital crime and might be
hanged.
1t is easily seen that such a
law that this bill contemplates
woa1d afford the president no
greater protection than he now
has. What is required is a stat
ute declaring assault upon or
threatenings of the president to
be crimes against the govern
1nent and Furnishing them as
such. The president, just as
any other citizen, is answerable
under the laws for his own wrong
acts, but because he is the coun-
try's Chief Magistrate he person.
ifes the government and crimes
against him should be considered
as being directed against the gov
ernment.
The only attempt to reach an
archists through the provisions of
this bill is that if it can be shewn
the assasilant of the president
had associates who counseled
and encouraged the assault OF
aided in perpretrating it they
shall be deemed equally guilty as
the principal. Such legislation
as this is futile. It simply Gre
ates graver degree of crimina1ity
for one OF two ofenses, but leaves
trial for and conviction OF, them
surrounded by the same condi-
tions which now clog the admin
istration of the laws and render it
we'll nigh impossible to mete
Justice to offenders.
The case of Herr Most furnish
es an illustration of this. Before
an inferior court he was, on trial,
convicted of publishing an incen-
diary article. The time and
circumstances of publication and
the language of the article clear
1y showed its incendiary nature
and purpose. Most was convict
ed, and sentenced to fine and
imprisonment. He appealed to
the state supreme court, where
the case was reviewed and sent
down for re-tria1, because it had
not been shown that the publica-
ton of the article had worked
harm to any one, or had caused
any overt act. This decision
seems to be, and doubtless is in
harmony with precedents long
and well established and therefore
is good law. Had president
Roosevelt been assassinated be.
cause of this publication, and the
fact proved, Most could be punish
ed-but since the article did not
iuhame anyone to such a degree
it is not inha1natory. In the
language of Horace Greedy
''this is presumably good law
since it is not good sense"
This but emphasizes the neces-
sity for a federal statute defining
such offences to be crimes against
the government, to be classified
as acts of war and punished as
such. Nothing short of this will
reach the Mosts and Goldn1ans
who teach destructive anarchy.
The people look to congress
for efficient laws-laws that can
be enforced certainly and prompt
ly and they will not be deluded
by any such plausible but inefh-
cient legislation as this suggested
by the commission on cedi6ca-