The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1904-02-18
Leaf From British Justice.

Charlotte News.
The last words of the convicted
promoter, Whitaker Wright, as the
poison which he had taken began to-
stifie him. we're: This is British JUS
tice." 1t will never be known whether
it was the severity or the righteous
ness of his sentence that he referred
to, but it sometimes happens that
the severity of sentence makes 1t
righteous. Wright was a promoter
who induced meE to invest their
money in schemes which he knew to
be fraudulent. And the law said to
him that he could not do that with
impunity and a jury of his peers sat
upon his case and a British Judge
sentenced him to prison for a seven
year term. And then the unfOr-
tunate man confessed Judgment by
taking thepoison and ending his own
life
There is undoubtedly a sentiment
among the people that American JUS
tice does not measure up to British
justice. The American system OF an
alternative punishment, fine or i'm
prisOnment, amounts to the sale OF
indulgencies for crime. Ii a man is
of good family, has infuentialfriends
and has money at his disposal and is
otherwise considered too fine fellow
to be sent to Jail or to the peniten-
tiary, he is released with fine, which
he cheerfully pays or has paid for
him. So the common impression
gains ground continually that Amer
lean law breaks down before these
considerations British justice does
not. We have heard it said that no
white man should be sent to the
chain-gang. The answer to that is
that no white man should degrade
himself by crimes for which the chain
gang has been made the punishment.
1t is the crime anyway that degrades
and the punishment when rightly
considered gives satisfaction for the
crime and pays the penalty.
We wonder if it would not be just
as we'll for the law to examine some
Of our own promoters and see how
far they are carrying their business.
There was a New Jersey Judge that
gave a pretty advanced opinion, not
long ago, on some of the financial
transactions he was called upon to
| examine. There have been aired in
| the courts recently some pretty dam
| aging confessions OF watered stocks
and a deluded public that bought a
pig in a poke on the assurance OF
several business men and high Off
Gals that it was really pig iron.
People have invested in steel not
knowing that it was spelled with an
ga" Ii American Justice we're Of the
British brand some of the high finan-
ciers might be compelled to wear
stripes for their sins.
And then the loop-holes in our law!
All the Legislation of a century does
not seem to have been able to stop
them up. The other day a lot of in
dictments were quashed against the
notorious Mayor Ames, OF Minneap
lis, for having received brides from
the women of the town, on the ground
that these brides were from the wO
men as individuals and not from
them as an organization, indicating
a conspiracy. The st. Louis boodlers
were turned loose on an equally
frivolous pretext. If the law is sc
| full OF holes that any we'll paid anC
able attorney can find them, why
should not the people elect equally
able lawyers to the Legislatures te
stop up those holes once for all?
| 1t was British justice that sentenced
Whitaker Wright to prison from
which he could escape only by The
gate of suicide 1t was not Ameri
can justice. But we may attain after
a while.