Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-01-04

| practical business. You cannot mag
Inc that | am making money wasting
an hour or two Of my time to prosecute
case in which | have no personal in
terest whatever. ] am doing this Just
as any citizen worthy Of the name
should do, He has no choice He has
/ distinct duty, He Is q nouclassifed
| policeman, and It is his duty to assist
the police and the magistracy In every
way he can and give his time II neces-
sary to uphold the law. This cabman
Is not the criminal here at ALL The
criminal is the citizen of New York
and the absence of patriotism, | am
not here to avenge myself ON him 1.-THE
cabmanl. | have no quarrel with him.
My quarrel Is with the citizens of this
! city that have encouraged oyercharging
In this way, There is only one side to a
moral question A legal question is a
moral one"
AS usual Mark got right at the crux
Of the matter without wasting words
in argument or beating about the bush.
II required courage to do this. for in or.
der to drive home his argument and
secure the conviction Of the cabman he
was obliged to make several enemies,
II required an honesty Of purpose, also,
ana that Mark Twain Is honest Is
proved by his recent liquidation Of all
debts of the defunct firm Of which he
was a silent partner after he had prac-
tcally compromised with the creditors
at 50 cents on the dollar AT an age
when most men like TO take their ease
and enjoy the fruits Of a lifetime of la
Dor he made his famous lecture tour of
the world and came back to the United
States not only with money for his
creditors. but with the nucleus for
pretty good fortune as well.
No more forceful argument was ever
presented in favor Of bill than his
before the house of lords anent perpet.
ual copyright Even that fossllized
body had notion that Mark Twain
could be nothing II not humorous and
laughed at every point he made, wheth.
er witty or not, But he drove home his
argument as to civic and national In.
tegrlty just the same as he did when
before the court In New York. AS 10
the value to the nation Of terminablo
copyright" he said when the state
sets the example Of disregardlng COM
monty accepted moral law in the mate
rial interests Of the public il should
make sure that the commercial advan-
tage accruing to the people would be
great enough to outweigh the injury
done to the nations sense Of honor and
justice" As this was exactly what 1t
had not done, Mark made a point in his
remarks that even the fat witted lords
could not but perceive and applaud
That he could be serious he showed in
the following remarks "The man who
purchased landed estate had to earn
the money by the superiority of his in
tellect az the bar, In trade, in manufae-
ture or the like, His land was what
book was-the result Of his brainwork
of combination and the exploiting Of
Ideas. There was no difference between
the two. All property. Of whatever
Kind, stood for the same thlng-some
mans successful exercise OF his intel
lectual forces--and the law allowed him
TO hold II and to transmit 1t to his pos
terity forever"
Crystalized common sense like that
appealed to the noble lords" as 1t av-
peals to the common people" and his
shaft at himself also went home as In.
tended when he said he had found that
according 70 the English law everything
was taxable except copyright in books
He looked to see what his literature
was taxed under and found It was tax.
ed as gasworks, il was so literally
true, he added, that It hurt his feelings
Mark Twain has, as one Of his critics
truly says, certain primordial quail.
ties" which VIII give TO his works I'M.
dying fame even should the humorous
features Of his writings prove to no
transiiory and perishable. Among
these sturdy qualities are honesty, lndlg.
nant resentment of wrong-to himself