Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1903-04-22
OFFICERS As LAWeREAKERs.

Is not an officer Of the law who
breaks the law, more guilty, from the
moral standpoint, at least, than the
plain citizen who is guilty of some
breach of the statutes?
The treasury and navy departments
answer this question in the negative
in their treatment of the officers who
smuggled dutiable goods into San
Jaun. Porto Rica- They have been let
of with the same penalty which we
are told is usually" inflicted on citi-
zens who smuggle articles, not for
profit but for their own personal use.
The use Of the word usually makes
proper the inference that citizens are
sometimes prosecuted criminally for
the acts the officers referred to were
guilty of.
The postmaster General, Mr.. Payne
seems to have been chosen by the cab
met to present the case. In an official
statment he says:
1T seems that certain officers had
brought to San Jaun articles for per-
sonal use which were subject to Gus
tom duties, and especially cigars and
some liquors, and it was said that a
present Of some of the cigars were
made to local club of San Jaun
There was no charge of importing any
thing upon which it was supposed to
make money. or to sell for profit.
simply personal effects for personal
uses, some of which it seems were
given away"
The officers werecOmpelled to pay,
by way of fine, twice the amount or
dinarily imposed in duties on goods
of the character they smuggled. That
may be punishment enough to suit
the heads of the navy and treasury
departments. but it isn't enough to
suit the United States Court at San
Jaun. The Judge down there has or
dered the grand jury to continue it's
investigation of the affair, notwith-
standing the fact that the district
attorney, acting under the instructions
of the attorney general, has declared
that he will not prosecute.
Many American citizens will agree
with the court. When men whose
farce the law become viOlaters of the
law. they are not entitled to any
clemency. Nor is it altogether Ger
tain from the statement of Mr.. Payne
himself, that all tho goods wers SNUG
gled for personal use. Some Of then
were given to club, which in turf
sold them to it's members, whether a
profit or not we are not informed
Even if the club sold them withou
the duty charges it's members profile,
by just that much through the trans
action, and by just that much was tn,
government robbed by itsservants
The Discrimination of high government
officials to thoroughly investigate thi
and other similar cases is not at al
encouraging to lovers of clean admin
tration of public affairs.
INNOCENT VICTIMS.
GoOdwins Weekly says: When tn
Reina Christiana was raised out of tn
OOZe in Manila Bay, eighty skeleton
of men were found between her deck
This is a gastly story. Those inn,
cent men had to die as part atonmer
for SPANS sins of cruelty to her colo
les; her neglect of her own children
her neglect to build school houses
her weakness in permitting her priest
to usurp the functions of the Stat
until national decay and the dry-rot
ignorance and superstition had dist
tegrated her former valOr and left ht
helpless before q real fighting fore
A nations. strength depends upc
the units q her people. When the
MluuS are never u6ulcU ny Tie lamp
knowledge when the germs of ho]
in their souls are never permitted
warm into life: when they cease
exercise their own judgements Ill
leave the responsibilities of their liv
to their leaders; then there follows
time when a crisis comes to them al
they utterly fall, and it is not stran
to find their skeletons in sunken shi,