The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1902-03-28

On Frluay the SENATE passeu tue
bill for the protection OF the PIesi.
dent by vote of 50 to Is, with 2l
senators not voting. The grounds
lon which a number of democratic
senators opposed this bill are inter-
estingly set forth in the following
statement made to your correspond
ent by Senator Bacon, OF Georgia :
"Exis'iug circumstances natur-
ally predisposed the Senate TO en-
act law SO severe and so drastic as
to completely obviate such another
attack upon our government, and II
such could have been framed, not
Objectionable in some very import
ant particulars, it would have had
my heartiest support; but so gen.
eral and so possible of misapplica
ton are certain sections Of this bill
that | was compelled to oppose
them as capable Of perverting JUS
tice, and furnishing great posslbil
tiles Of political persecution.
Without dwelling upon the con
stitutional right Of congress to ex-
tend what, in my judgment, is the
law of treason, there are serious OBJ
jections in certain sections Of the
measure. They provide that any
person who shall instigate, advise
or counsel the killing OF the Presi-
dent. or of any of the heads OF the
departments, by spoken or by writ
ten or by printed words, shall be
punished by imprisonment not e's
ceeding twenty years. In addition
to the secretaries, the law includes
the sovereigns and chief magis-
trates OF foreign countries who may
be upon United States soil. Any
one who will study that portion OF
the history of the United States
which deals with the old sedition
law, enacted in 179S, and the pros
ecutions conducted Hereunder, will
appreciate the extent to which the
above provisions may b used to
curtail the liberty Of the press, the
freedom of spec ,h, and imperil the
liberty Of every individual citizen.
No crime need be committed to rem
der this law applicable. The allega-
ton OF an enemy, made under oath,
can place in prison for twenty years
any citizen who, in partisan speech
or in private conversation, may
have arraigned the conduct OF any
of the above-named officials. With
such law on the statute books no
editor dare charge the Executive, or
any member of his cabinet, with
malfeasance, lest some misguide d
individual claim that the charges in
stigated him to hill the offending
official. My whispered statement
to colleague, that the Secretary OF
the Treasury, for instance, is i'm
properly administering his office,
overheard by my enemy, may be
found the basis of twenty years i'm
prisonment on the same ground.
Just such instances occurred under
the old sedition law, and are liable
to occur again under this law.
"On still another ground, among
others, | opposed this law. 1t has
been our boast that, in this free
country, all citizens were equal be-
fore the law. Can this bs said when
we have singled out a class--the
President, the Secretary Of State,
and all other secretaries--to assault
whom is made crime punishable
with death, while a similar assault
on the governor of state or on any
body else, is punishable only by i'm
prisonment? And If we are to make
one class, why not more? Why moi
have included the judiciary, sen.
ators and representatives., and so on,
and make it punishable with death
to assault any Of them, while to as.
sault any other people in the United
States merits only imprisonment?
Such distinction is contrary to ev.
cry tenet Of liberty and equality,
contrary TO every tradition Of Amer
lean freedom, and, the fever which
attends existing circumstances hav'
ing subsidized, will be condemned by
every thoughtful American citizen
Aside from the fundamental objec-
ton to the inequality Of diffsren,
people before the law which this bill
establishes, a grave obi ection is thai
under this law an innocent man IL
liable to be convicted. 1t is al
right to make it easy to convict ar
anarchist, but it is all wrong t
make it easy to convict an innocen
man for some harmless or thought
less words spoken by him. Whethe'
this bill becomes law or not, thu
man who kills a President will bs
executed, but that will not brin(
the President back to life. The i'm
portant thing to d. is to drive thu
.l.~k:.t- out nf the Cnuntrv anC