The Tupelo journal., 1904-04-29
The Vagrant Law.

late Legislature goes INTO oHect TO-
day. The enactment of this law
was hailed with delight by the law
abiding people of the state and the
time for it to become operative has
been awaited with Impotence. The
law is designed to rid the state Of
a class that is, wherever it exists
and has free reign, a menace to
law and order. The law was not
passed to wreak vengeance upon,
or to Cypress anybody. 1t had
been apparent that for years a
large proportion Of the able bodied
adults of our population, both
male and female, had been living
in idleness and were leading dis
solute lives. Thousands Of per-
sons about the towns, villages and
cities We're hangers-on living from
hand to mouth, without labor and
with no visible means of existence.
The law was passed to put this
class to work and compel them to
earn a living. Every person able to
earn a living owes it to society and
to the state to work at some use
full employment in order to earn a
livelihood. When one tries to
escape this obligation and tries to
live by gambling, thievery, swind-
ling or other disreputable means he
should be taken in hand and put to
work. The state owes it to it's law
abiding ~citizenry to protect it from
the tresspasses and depredations of
the idle and vicious vagabonds
who hang upon the body polite
as putrid sores eating into it's
vitals. Idleness begets crime and
the criminal who begins by practic-
ing the minor offenses soon be-
comes the accomplished artist in
the category of the larger crimes.
Crime is contagious. The idle
boy who sees the grown up man
commit a crime receives impress
ions that impel him to follow the
example that is set before him
The drone has no fitting place
in we'll regulated society and every
community should be a hornets
nest for the lazy buns and hobos
who lounge about public wells,
dirty alleys and other places where
they congregate to the disgust OF
decent people. Every one Of this
class should be put to work and
every officer of every town and
village and city and every county
in the state should feel that this
law was specially directed to him
and exert himself to enforce it.
We might write a great deal more
on this subject but we feel that the
obligations that rest upon the off.
GERS of the state who are charged
with the faithful execution of this
popular law will cause them to full.
ly appreciate their duties and per-
form them without fear or favor.
In the full and faithful execution
of the law all classes would be
greatly benefited. No class would
be more benefited than the sub
jects against whom it is directed
Many of them are not really Wei
Gus but lead the lives they do be.
cause of corrupt associations and
examples. These might be made
useful members Of the body polite
1t is a sad fact that the labor
system of our state lis badly de-
moralized and out of order. This
condition has been encouraged
and largely produced by the laxlty
of officials in enforcing the vagran1
laws which the present law is in
tended to make stronger. The
crap games, the blind tigers and the
houses Of i'll fame that disgrace
the state, each of them mill stones
that hinder and hold down the
states progress, are the product
of Incidence and vagrancy. The
exection of the present law would
work wonders in breaking up all
these dens of lnfamy and, We trust,
every officer may hold it to be his
bounden duty to aid in Kidding the
state of both cause and effect.