The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-08-02

Law The givers and takers of bribes are
the enemies of III. Republic. the creates
enemies we have 10 deal with to-day. fcE
when legislation Incomes a commodity the
liberties Of the people will he lost.
Officials are trustees Of an express trust.
to he administered for the pub L. good. Too
many otiicehoiders do not realize they are
the agents OF the people. acting .in 4
tiduciaTy capacity; they have no moro right
to use their official powers for personal
gain Or 10 repay personal ohlig It!nns than
they would have to put their hands into
the public treasury to pay a private debt;
all over this land OF ours when official in
;egri,y will be held as sacred as fena.e
virtue. and as zealously guarded.
| EXPOSURE REGARDED
As STATES HONOR.
"Thcre nrc some who dcpIOrc the
exposure of corruption ON the ground
that 1t fnjurc. the city or state No
community can he hurt by the en-
:; forccment of Inv. Corruption cannot
he cured by hiding II. There Is n"
secret remedy known for II. Expo
sure and punishment of public plum
dcrers Ia states honor. not Its
shame. The Disgrace Is in tolerance,
not In correction.
: II; is more honorable to correct
evils than to bear them in iSnohlc
2 silence. The only way to stamp out
corruption In to strike II hard when
ever and wherever II rcnrs its ugly
head. II Is of course humiliattnG Z"
knew much corruption has gone on
so Ions. without hindrnnce. but IL Ia
more patriotic to nppIy the knife OF
the law to the cnnccrous growth
thnn by tolerance I" allow IL to eat
into and destroy civic life.
The issues are made up in the case of the
State of Missouri against public plunderera.
The defendants powerful ana well or
.;anzed. They resort To every $unterfuee
40 stay tuTE aside the wrath of the PEG
Pic. ihclr allies d" not dar" come out in
tn" open ana defend corruption, but on one
pfcieNt or another they seeI I" Iccomplis
the same purpose They cry out, SANDER
int Missouri. bid any one ever claim that
the exposure and punishment OF murder.
arson or other crimes slandcrcd the State
Why are they SO sensitive about official
: thieves being caught in the net Of the law .?
They object TO 81 much he'll being raised
Hell! cannot be raised unless ii is there. and
If it is. 1t is better 10 raise it than TO allow
ii 10 remain and rot the state.
Those who sNlIpa thiZe with corrupt Of
iIcialS speak very patheticaliy of their be-
ing ruined by the brlbe-givers. / never yet
have found an official who was ruined that
was not a very willing partner in the trans
4 'fion. When brib@-taEer is on trial the
! ~ ite-glrer Is always held up as the bad man
bydhc friends Of Inc accused If there We're
no hriic-giver there would be no hrih"-
fak"r they solemnly argyle. Then when the
hrihe-siVer is put on the, rack the tune
Scoilnhrei. If there We're no blihe-takerS
there would be no brihe-givers they then
say. This is known as the bo9dlcrs' arGu-
els" b. done in order TO divert attention
from the case IN hand. Both the siver and
taker Of brides should be punished, where It
can be done.
I'm the prosecution of bribery it is nec.s-
sary to use some of the guilty parties
AGAINST me others. for no one knows of he
and the evidence must come from polluted
lips. AS between the bride Giver and takcr.
the one is the more culpable who first makes
IN" proposition In practice, however. the
State must take evidence where II can be
obtained. There are usually more bribe
takers than Sivers. for one man may give
tak.r OF brihcs deserve the severest punish
ment Those who call for tho punishment
of everybody. however, really argue for the
punishment Of nobody for IN such instance
no evidence could be obtained.
SCOPE OF STATUTE
OF LIMITATION
We have heard great deal about the
statute of limitation. There is no statute Of
limitation against the prosecution of crime
unless the party who committed the Offensc
has been usually resident within the State
for three years subsequent TO the act. There
is no way to ascertain whether prosecution
for bribery Is barred by limitation until the
facts are developed. and there H. no way
To INA out the factS except by lilNtSuSa-
ton. If. after the inquiry, 1t is found that
prosecution Is barred. there may at least b
exposure. and exposure is a very desirabi'
thing. The peoule are entitled 20 know who
the rascals are. Those who complain most
about going behind the statute of l.nita-
ton can usually be found hiding behind the
statute themselves. No honest man fears in
vestigation: no dishonest man has any
right to complain of it. If a man has done
nothing wrong tie cannot be hurt by eX-
posure II he is injured his own deeds are
his doomsmcn. and he has only himself TO
blame
Some complain of public sentiment, as
if the public had no right to sentiment. Thu
object of enforcing the criminal law at all
is to protect society, and when the public
ceases to have any rights in the transac-
ton. the statutes might as well be repealed. !
The remedy for corruption Is in the public |
conscience Bribery was condoned here and |
all over the country for years. An ofctal |
known to have an itching palm did not lose |
standing with his fellows. The public senti- |
ment against bribery was dormant The |
Nervousness of the crime was not realized: |
it was considered merely conventional
Now there is an awakened public senti- |
ment, and the official who would take |
bribe would be held in contempt and dis
grace in the eyes of all men. ! regard this
spirit of civic righteousness as of more i'm