The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-03-01

of the law, in the service of the minor in this case, ds against the father. It was culpable in eyes of the law, because 1t lacked consent. The fathers consent to the minors service is condition precedent to the enforcement of any status against the parent. WithoIt that consent, this minor was of the class for bidden to serve, under the very terms of the law, as emphaically as any other minor who is forbidden to serve,. md can- not acquire any military status; for he was deharred as against the father from | entering into the new relation" As | said in People V. Warden, 100 N. Y l 20, this requirement IS, therefore, made | the condition of q valid enlistment" The l right not to consent, Is a weapon the law l furnishes the parent to destroy +he Gov | ernments claim. It $ the right to take off he uniform, and all it's wearing inn- l ports. The father here Is the wronged party, and the Government the wrong doer. The father an take advantage of the lack of qualification" As against him, the Government could not waive it, or create any right against him by try ing to waive it. The anguage of the l opinion "the mother not interfering, he was bound to rem lin in the service" | inevitably implies If the parent had in- | terfered, the minor would not be bound to remain" If he would not be bound" leaving the service was not desertion The interference puts an end to the ser vice, as to the father. and destroyed the only status which could authorize the military authority 70 detain the body of the minor from the custody of the par l ent
 Finally, 1t Is urged that the privileges Of the writ should not be awarded, here
 until the minor has ben punished for assertion; because 1t would initiate against the maintenance of discipline in the navy: Winthrop. in his admirable work on Military Law and Precedents, Vol. 2 D. S49, speaking of this matter says; Tn such an instance, the claims of the private individual-the parents-are deemed to be subordinated to the interest of the public, in the due administration | of justice, and maintenance of military | discipline, and the minor soldier is,
 therefore, required to abide by and under go the legitimate consequences of his own
 wrong, before any petition for his dis | charge from his contract can be enter tained." But is it only the claim of private individual, which is here invov- ed? Is not the right of every parent
 to the custody of his minor child. secured and protected by the common law and statutes of the State and enforced in the statutes of the United States, in volved In he rights of the private in- | dividual now before the court? If his | rights must be subordinated, so must the rights of every one of the millions of parents in this land. The matter is one of the highest public concern, in comparl- son with which the insignficance of the individual or his inconvenience sinks out
 O fsight. It is a case where the invasion
 of the rights of one Is the concern of all.
 The law of theStates and the United | States protects these rights and the ques- | ton, therefore, concerns not only the | State and Federal Governments but all
 the people of these United States Who determines what Is to "the interest of the public?' What are the sources to which We must go, to ascertain what is public policy and what it requires? We must seek the will of the people, as em- bodied in the law of the land. The enlistment statute declares what is the interest of the public" in this instance. | The minors wrong Is not the vital mat | ter. It is the governments wrong to the father, in holding the minor against his wishes. which constitutes the sub stance of the controversy, which the court is invoked to redress.
 The awarding of the privileges of the writ, if the father has any rights In this matter. is mandatory and compulsory, and not of grace. If the right claimed Is well founded. the court on every con- sideration of law and justice, must take l the law as 1t finds it and shut its eyes to the consequences of fearlessly enforcing | it. Considerations of policy must there | fore, be without legitimate influence in determining whether the privileges of the writ should be granted here. If, how | ever, awarding the privileges of the writ l here. were discretionary. 1t would be the | bounden duty of the court to give heed to the vital importance of maintaining discipline In the millions of homes in this land, as well as to the effect upon dis cipline in the navy. If the influence and control of fathers and mothers can be | successfully set at naught. by the gov ernment. because of unlawful dealings | with their minor children. in the teeth of solemn enactments of Congress, a | spectacle will be presented to the youth
 of the country. destructive of respect for authority in the home. which Is so essen- tial to the formation of character and tt-
 ting the youth for future service to the
 country. whether as civilians of soldiers i Such a state of things" as said by Chief Justice Shaw in Commonwealth " Downes, 24 Pickering go. would lead to
 a state of society very much like an archy" The cultivation of civic virtues and the discipline of restraint and respect for authority, can nowhere be better taught than around the hearthstone It
 is the nursery from which must spring
 the training which fits free people for
 self-government. without which, their in-
 stitutions are weak, regardless of the strength of their armies or navies In
 view of these considerations. which at
 every period in the history of our coun-
 try seem to have controlled the legisla-
 ton regarding the enlistment of minors,
 it is dificult to defend the theory. in the
 teeth of this statute, that where invasion
 of the parental right was involved. Con
 gress intended to deny It's fnll enforce . ment, because of the collateral disturb