The Ellensburg dawn. [volume] (Ellensburg, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1902-01-25
How About Lawbreaking?

The Localizer last week contributed
a thoughtful and able article making
an urgent plea to the saloon keepers to
again open up their places of business
on Sunday. This community is to be
congratulated upon having one editor
and one newspaper wise enough to see
that lawfulness is a public detriment
and bold enough to advocate the re-
sumption of law breaking.
Only advanced thinkers and fin de
steele editors are able to understand
that the difference between lawlessness
and lawfulness is thin shadow of pref
udice which it is the duty of every up
to date journalist to dispel. While it is
true that our statutes make it a crime
punishable with $4,000 maximum pen
atty for saloon keeper to keep open
on Sunday, yet many of the unthinking
suppose that the crime is complete
when the law is violated, when in truth
the law is made for the saloonkeeper,
and is only violated when rival saloon
keepers get into row and have each
other arrested and convicted under its
provisions. Others more ignorant still,
think that one who aids abets or coun-
ellis the commissor of crime is parti-
ceps crimnis, and equally guilty with
the principal in its commission. This
would be a dangerous doctrine followed
to it's logical conclusion, for if, as the
result of the editorial referred to, some
timid saloon keeper should be encour-
aged to open up his place Of business,
and some rival should have him pulled
then would the editor be a criminal and
a lawbreaksr? Some more sOdden still,
might even deem him such by the mere
advocacy of such doctrine.
Many unwise persons have advocate
the doctrine that reverence for law In
the abstract is requisite of good citi-
zenship. This is rank folly, for other
wise the editor of the Lolcalizer could
not claim the right of being called u
good citizen. None know how wrong
this would be better than himself.
None appreciate the disinternstedness
of his appeal to the saloon keepers and
and the high moral ground upon which
it was made, better than he himself
does, and for be it from anyone to de-
tract from this worthy editors high APP
probation of himself. Surely then the
only true civics is the high moral
ground taken by the Localizer editor
that laws should only be observed when
the are convenient and do not run coun-
ter to the interest or pleasure of any
individual, and that they should be
freely violated by any individual or
any community whenever they become
irksome or unpleasant. This particu
larly ture in regard to Sunday and
gambling laws, and the editorial writer
of the Localizer makes it particularly
clear that on account of the recent
craze of the saloon keepers for shutting
up their saloons on Sunday they are
causing great distress to the cOmmu-
nifty financially and depriving many in
dlvldualS the source OF much innocent
merriment. He says with much force
"that on Sunday the country people
and many of the townspeople are de-
prived of spending their money in the
saloons. Now, of necessity, if the man
from the country comes to town he can.
not spend his money in the saloon nor
regale himself with a square meal at
tho China restaurant. Here are three
classes of business that suffer. First,
the man from the country; second, the
saloon keeper and third, the Chinaman
who keeps the restaurant. But this
is not the worst. Because these three
classes suffer, the whole community
suffers. The money that otherwise