The Indianapolis journal., 1903-09-01

the toll and the genius of the husband
man and the craftsman. than that we are
surrounded and governed by law, which is
as vital to the very atmosphere we
breathe is necessary to our physical exist
ence; vitiate either. and II is done at our
peril. In the observance of the mandates of
the law lies the only sure guarantee OF those
orderly conditions which are the life OF
trade and which yield to labor and capital
their surest and largest returns.
so long as a law stands upon the statute
books 1T must be respected and enforced IL
must not be left to the individual or any
number OF individuals to sit in Judgment
upon the laws which shall or shall not be
enforced. If a law be an unwise one II must
be repealed in lawful way; not by the In
dividual but by the State. There was much
sound philosophy in General Grants OBJ
servatiOn that the best way to secure the
repeal of a bad law was to enforce it,
LAWS SHOULD BE ENFORCED.
1.-THE lax enforcement of the law by
courts and executive officers breeds a con-
tempt for il. If the constituted authorities
do not faithfully and firmly execute 1t, the
lawless element will not hesitate to set it at
defiance. and to defy the law is to strike a
blow at the very foundation of government.
The officer who, either from ignorance or
fear. fails to compel obedience to the law.
is as much an enemy Of the state as those
who openly defy all established authority.
Sporadic cases of lynching and burning
in many quarters have stirred deeply the
just indignation of the country. Be ii said
to the credit of the great Northwest that
she has been singulariy free from the re-
voting offenseS which have occurred else
where Lynch law is an ndelible crime and
disgrace 1t not only murders the hapless
victim, but aSSassinates the good name of
the community In which ii usurps author
ity. Force beyond the pale of the law is the
forum of savagery The mob which disre-
CARDS all lawful restraint Is the rule OF
anarchy. 1t rests upon the animal instinct
and brute force. 1t tramples under foot the
noblest and most cherished traditions
which have come down to from the i'm
mortal fathers who founded our institu-
tions IL is at war with our best aspira-
tions. 1t is at war with the home, the
church and the state. 1t breaks upon our
peace with cyclonic fury, and when IL has
spent its frenzy ii leaves wreck, ruin and
dishOnor in its wake.
''The mob which is the expression of race
hatred is the most perilous. We are a
people composed of many races. In fact,
all tongues are found among our popula-
ton Providence has placed us here and
together must work OUT our careers.
We should cultivate among each other a
spirit of generous tolerance and secure to
all races, the weakest and strongest alike.
the fullest possible enjoyment of those fun
damental principles for which free govern
ment was ordained and which found utter
Jefferson, Life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness To secure these our richest
blood has made immortal and glorious the
battlefields of the Republic. Our heroes
died for all races. They died that all might
equally share the blessings of the best gov
ernment instituted among the children of
men. Our flag is not race flag. 1t is the
everything symbol of equality before the
law of all races who acknowledge its au-
thority.
''The protracted delay and the miscar-
riage of justice arouse a spirit of resent
ment which often finds its expression in
the unrestrained violence of the lawess.
1t is essential that there should be a per-
sistent rather than an intermittent Senti-
ment in favor of the prompt orderly and
effective enforcement of the law. We must
deal with all infractions of ii through the
established judicial tribunals-seasonably,
vigorously and justly. The certainty tha t
lawbreakers will be speedily punished will
go far to deter lawbreaking. The virtue
of the law lies not so much within itself
al in its infiexible enforcement. While we
insist that outraged justice shall be swiftly
avenged, we must not rob the accused of
the fullest measure OF protection to which
he is entitled under the Constitution and
those orderly methods of procedure which
are the fruit of the wisdom of centuries.
Vengeance should not be met with ven
geance. but should be compelled to answer
in that serene tribunal whose judgments
altogether Just. in that forum where
presides the majesty of the law.
SAFEGUARD AGAINST INJUSTICE.
lone of the surest safeguards against dis
order lies in the thorough inculcation OF a
spirit of justice among men. For without
there abides with the people love of JUS
tice, laws are impotent and the ministers
of the law nerveless. We should teach the
love Of justice at the fireside and in the
church, in the schoolroom and in the press
We should teach il everywhere.
There are some in our country who, de-
spite all the, splendid lessons about them,
have an inadequate conception of the true
meaning of liberty. They fail TO realize
that liberty and license are not correlative
terms. Let them be made to understand
that in the United States law is liberty and
liberty is law. We have no hospitality be-
meath our flag for those who seek to strike
down law and order in the name of an
archy. They may lay their red hands upon
the Nations great and beloved chief mag
istrate, but they cannot reach the mighty
heart of the Republic They but quicken
the love of the people for their priceless
heritage by increasing its cost
1.-The deluded lawbreaker is the enemy of
society. So. also. is the intelligent citizen
who is Indifferent TO the discharge of his
civic duty. If the Order-respectng elector
tails to secure good laws and competent
officers TO execute sthem because of his own
neglect. he must stand morally responsible
for many of the offenses which disgrace So
ciety. Both the violator of the law and the
intelligent citizen who is recreant to his
sacred duty must stand together in the pill
lory of public condemnation. Be il said to
the honor or the American people that the
great mass of our countrymen are obedient
TO the law and are ready TO uphold the
hands of authority everywhere and at any
cost
we should endeavOr to cultivate friend
" relations with all powers. We should
heed the sound advice of Washington and
refrain from entangling alliances Time
has but verified the wisdom of his utter
ance. We are i'm more intimate touch with
other nations than when Washington de-
livered his immortal address to the Amer
lean people. We are more potential in the
determination of international questions
than ever, and the logic of events tends to
still larger part To be played by us in
the affairs of the world; yet should hold
fast To traditional policy of noninter-
ference with the domestic concerns Of other
powers.
SHOULD PROMOTE PEACE.
Eve should particularly seek to cultivate
and maintain relations of good neighbor-
hood with the countries upon this continent
We do not wish To see large armies and
enormous navics maintained for their mu-
tual defense, nor do we wish To sec the
J nations upon the western continent veritabls