The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-07-30

l In violation of law and good morals, piled | their trade here almost in the shadow of
 the court house in an enlightened com
 muhity. Some of the parties who were l indicted by the Federal grand jury. have
 pleaded guilty and are naw in the peni-
 tentiary. So may sps3W of the trade l as having been piled without doing in- 1 justice to any one. Such conduct de- | serves, and I am sure it receives, the 1 most pronounced condemnation If all 1 good citizens. I assert without any hesi- | tancy. that the people of this County do not condone the crime, but condemn 1t
 as soundly as do any of our critics, and | this sentiment prevails without respect l to whom the persons are that committed | the crime. It has been charged that the
 sentiment of, the people is not opposed | to the crime, or 1t would not have flour ished here. I do not think this is true, | gentlemen, but if there is not sufficient sentiment in favor of law and order in | this County to suppress crime. I urge you now to go about generating such
 sentiment. Healthy public sentiment Is an l indispensable auxiliary to the court. in enforcing the law and maintaining good | order in society. Without 1t, all effort in that direction will be more or less futile. As a rule, people are too much inter- | ested In private affairs to give attention | to civic duties. They forget the fact that 1 everything which affects the State affects 1 their private interests. There certainly | is such thing as national probity and l State probity, and every crime affects 1t. | Every citizen is under obligation, moral
 and legal. to so conduct himself as not | to bring reproach upon the good name of I the State, and every citizen Is under civic obligation to see to 1t that every viola | tion of law that comes under his observa-
 tion, or that comes to his Knowledge, is | duly prosecuted, and this is true whether official 1 citizen In the discharge of his civic obli- 1 gation, should not dread being termed a | busy-body, because every violation of the law affects and involves, not only the perpetrator. but every other citizen in the State, affects State probity; therefore, the | citizen owes 1t to himself, the State and posterity to report violations of law to the proper authorities, and to do 1t in such way that prosecutions will follow. | Such course will not be the conduct Of meddler, but of true and loyal citizen | who is sensitive to every assault made upon the good name of the State. If this public sentiment existed in every com 1 munity in our country We would have | real Utopia.
 Our trouble in the discharge of civic duties lies in the act, that relying too | much upon the official class. we have re- duced the fact that officers are only ser | wants of the people to a theory, forget ting that officers are helpless in the en- | forcement of law without the aid of the people. Gentlemen, If there Is morbid drowsiness in this County on the supject of having the law enforced, as the watch man upon the wall I sound the alarm now. as I have attempted to dD :r the | past, to awaken you from your profound l slumbering and call upon you to shake off | your lethargy. and come to the rescue of 1 the State. She needs the conscientious | effort of every one of her sons to screen | her good name from becoming tarnished, and to aid in uprooting crime of every
 description, good citizenship demands this
 at your hands. and every one who re- | fuses 1t is criminal. and a wrong toer,
 not only to the State. but to his own household. I urge too, that you do not let your efforts abate after you have | made your final report as grand Jurors, but around your own, and your reigh-
 bor's hearthstones. and in your neigh | borhood gatherings let the subject of good government and civic virtue be | brought prominently to the front, incul-
 cate correct ideas along this line in the
 minds of the youths of the country.
 I would have 1t plainly understood. that
 I am not an apologist for any one who has been criminally connected with the crime of peonage in this county Another thing, I am not jealous of the jurisdic- ton of the federal court over the crime
 involved. I have no adverse criticism to make of the court, nor would attempt
 to pluck one single laurel from the wreath which may be woven about the brow of
 the distinguished jurist who has the honor
 to preside over that court. believe that
 he has honestly discharged his duty as he
 conscientously saw 1t.
 But some inslnuations have been made that the matter was not attended to in the State courts because of indisposition on
 the part of the court, to go into an in- vestigation of the condition of affairs | which has been revealed by the federal grand jury as existing here The crime | affects two, or Is alleged to exist in only two counties. the two counties are in the
 Fifth Circuit, the circuit over which preside. Notwithstanding these insinua- tions have been made I have rested in
 silence until now. and shall be temper ate on this occasion and shall not make any sensational statements.
 One distinguished gentleman of national
 reputation, who has done some writing
 on the subject for the newspapers. went so far as to say that the State court was
 incompetent to deal with the matter. Whilst the term court carries with 1t in meaning, judge. juries and necessary of- ficers to execute the orders. the people generally hold the judge responsible for the action of the court. or Its failure to act This view was emphasized by the writer reIerre0 10, when Tn the same
 article he expressed profound satisfac-
 ton in the fact. that a brave and fear
 less federal judge was found who was
 not afraid to deal with the matter. l do not quote him precisely, only substantial ly Whilst many things have been pub | lished by our home papers. about this
 matter of peonage and criticisms have l been made of our critics, not one word
 has been published in defense of the court but such insinuations have been
 permitted te go unchallenged I do not
 suppose the gentleman referred to ever | heard of me I have not the honor of
 personal acquaintance with him I do | him justice when I say. l do not think l he intended any personal reflection upon
 the presiding judge of the court, and I think his idea was. that on account of
 the environment of the witness, the
 truth could not be obtained by the court
 If that was his meaning. I confess there
 Is ground for the statement and my ex-
 perience will bear out the statement.
 So I have no issue with him if that was
 his idea. And if his meaning was that the court did not want to make an inves-
 tigation. or if he meant to convey the
 idea that the judge of the court Is in-
 competent. have no fight to make with
 him on the proposition. In other words, personally. I care nothing about the in-
 situations or charge. If my efforts to | enforce the law in this circuit on several