The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-02-15
"FOUR-FLUSHING."


in the Saturday Evening Post that
-four flushing" is a new evil that he
regards as besetting American cities
and being more insidious and danger
Gus than graft" inasmueh as
graft" produces disrespect for law
makers while -four flushing" produces
disrespect for laws. So long as laws
are held in high esteem, it does not
matter a great deal to the masses
what is thought of the individual
legislator, but when the laws them
selves are regarded with contempt it
matters a great deal. Our institutions
are founded on liberty under the law;
undermine the foundation, and the
fabric is in danger of tottering and
falling.
-Four flushing is a term borrowed
from the poker table, but it is none
the less expressive. In short, it is
bluffing. At cards the -four fusher"
tries to make his opponents think that
he holds a flush hand whereas he holds
| only four of the five cards necessary
to constitute a flush hand. Thus he
| endeavors to create the opinion that
he is in a position to do a certain
| thing and will do it, notwithstanding
he is not in such position and knows
| it. Still, if he can induce others TO
| believe that he can make good" and
| thus fools them and carries his
point, he has accomplished a success
full -four flush" or bluff 1t is in this
sense that Mayor Harrison employs
the term.
-Four flushing he says, is COM
mon these days in municipal and legis-
lative life and along other lines as
we'll The passing of municipal and
other laws that are never intended to
be enforced is simply flour flushing"
for the purpose of satisfying certain
elements. The legislators know, abso-
lutely, that the laws will never be en-
forced at the time they vote for them,
but many of them are good-looking,
well-meaning laws that go to make up
symmetrical, highly moral and al
truistic code book. If all such laws
were strictly enforced, the jails and
police stations would have to be en-
| larged and a considerable proportion
of the population of every city would
spend hours or days behind the bars
Take, for instance, ordinances against
throwing paper on the streets or spit
ting on the sidewalk; if every person
who violates one of these were to be
arrested the police station would be
packed with prisoners in a day and
there would go up such howl that
the administration ordering such en-
forcement would have to seek the
cyclone cellar.
There is a large element in every
community that wants laws, severe
and a plenty of them, for "the other
fellows" They do not need the laws
themselves; they are good citizens
and know how to conduct themselves.
For them the very fewest laws inn
aginable would suffice, they are sure.
But the disreputable "other fellows
need to be ruled with a rod of iron.
A paternal government should see that
they do not eat too much, or drink
and in bed at a seasonable hour.
These keepers of their brothers are
more or less influential in politics.
They have votes and control votes.
To please them, therefore, the City
Council or the Legislature passes pro-
hibitive laws, knowing that they will
never be enforced. But it pleases the
e.. -
the books. They think they have won
a splendid victory. Meanwhile the
knowing ones and the ones whom it is
sought to Tepress blink at the laws
and go on conducting themselves
about as they did before. Thus goes
-four flushing" in law making.
The effect of crowding the books
with laws never designed to be
enforced is demoralizing. The COM
munity that finds it can hold
certain laws in contempt will
not have the highest regard
for other laws. 1t soon finds itself re-
garding the really useful and neces-
sary laws as being not vastly different
from the ornamental ones passed only
for the sake of appearances.
1t would probably have been within
the bounds of truth had Mayor Harri-
son asserted that -four flushing" had
become national evil and menace.
Senator Hanna's slave pension bill,
introduced by request" was a meas
ure of that sort; the act prohibiting
the sale of liquor in the Capitol is an
other. 1t would not be difficult to
name dozens of bills and propositions
that are in the same category. In
deed, if matters We're sifted down
finely it would be found that we are
living in an atmosphere of -four flush
ing"
| A FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION.