Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1905-05-05
THE REIGN OF FRA I'D, CRIME
AND La RLESSNEaS.

the exercise Of all rights which do not tres
pass upon other men 3 rights. The AmerI
cans who hold phenomenal and stupendous
wealth owe the security Of their riches to
the existence of this system, which lie also
the protector and defender OF the life and
the property Of the humblest member Of the
community. Any movement away from
perfect obedience of the rules under which
we live is, Of course, q movement toward
anarchy, and anarchy in this sense means
the complete disruption Of the bond that
holds men together, go that every mans
hand is against every other man.
The distlnctively criminal class has al
ways been anarchical, for II all men were
like the criminals, the social organization
would be completely disrupted. There has
the part Of society against the lsw-break.
era who do not feign responsibility or
obedience, but sometimes It comes 10 pase
that men who have criminal propensities
are ingenious enough to devise means OF
violating the social obligatIon-means so
safe and so subtle as 10 enable them to
maintain an appearance Of responsibility.
None the less, however, they are anarchists.
II everybody should try TO do that which
law. breakers succeed in doing, the reign Of
law would come to an end.
A thief is q man who takes the property Of
another man without compensation. When
he picks pocket or robs q bank, nobody
has any doubt OF the character Of the per-
Torrance, and the law collars him and locks
him up. But to take mans property from
him by help oil secret railroad freight rate,
or by fraudulently undertaking him until be
is bankrupted, is to accomplish the pick
pockets purpose by another method. In
both cases the thief gets the goods and the
Sufferer gets nothing.
Americans Of our time have not only OBJ
served the more dexterous thievery many
times, but they have seen the offender try
to put religious balo about the operation
by giving part of his plumber TO the church.
That giver was q type who, one morning,
called down the cellar way to his boy,
Shave you watered the milk 2" "Yes, SIR"
"Then come up to prayers" There ls no re.
hgion which permits q man to steal bis way
Into heaven. 1t Is indeed more blessed to
give than TO receive, but when q man has
stolen million Of dollars he cannot buy a
blessing by giving one hundred thousand
dollars to a church.
A part Of our social compact Is that the
majority shall rule. 1t Is the only possible
alternative TO despotism or anarchy. When,
then, certain persons with perfect lmpunity
stuff ballot boxes. or when otficera OF the
legislature iraudulently mark the roll calls,
lawlessness has triumphed over law, and
the very foundations of the system which
shelters Us are undermined. The public
authorities do not hesitate to silence howl.
ing orator who breaches anarchy on the
street corner. but clerk at the Capitol who
falsl6es the vote, and the Speaker who con.
dangerous kind than the voclierous dema.
gogue. At the very source Of law they treat
law with defiance and contempt.
The employment Of the money accumu.
lated by life insurance company, not for
the advantage OF the insured, but for the
enrichment Of the directors, Is Q movement
toward anarchy. Even more obvious is II
that the use for the protection Of vice Of a
police force, which was created solely that
1t should make war on vice and crime, 10
Anarchistic. The vicious are enemies OF 60
clety, when the police become the friends
Of the vicious, the director of the police puts
himself upon the level Of the lowest Grim
inal. To protect an outlaw Is TO be an out.
law.
Probably there Is no peril In this coun.
try that the social organization which 10
affected by such evils as these will really 60
TO pieces. Sooner or later the mere instinct
of self preservation will impel the majority
to resume control by one method or another,
and to permit the recuperative force which
exists In society TO assert itself. The longer
the delay in the process Of reformation, the
more difficult the task must be- The infiu.
ence OF the successful preparation Of crime
by Standard Oil magnates, railroad presi.
dents, life insurance directors, politicians and
other persons must inevitably be to weaken
whatever remnants Of respect for law linger
In the minds and conscieuces of people whose
morals are not thoroughly sound. There
are many persons who obey the law because
such conduct is respectable, or because they
have fear OF punishment. When they per.
ceive that bold rascal not only escapes
punishment, but actually retains his respect,
ability and gets the blessings OF the religion
# be steals big money, the timid man with
weak morals, or no morals, must be sorely
tempted to make a criminal venture for
himself.
The pillows of crime, corruption, fraud
and lAwlessness are rolling mountain high
all over the land and II It's progress is not
stayed what must be the inevitable result
Bolingbroke, the great historian, has said,
THAT history Is philosophy teaching by OF
ample" Let us take warning from the past.
10 Rome, when Rome was Tree. her classic
people ielt the glow of individual pride 10
the common glory, and abandoned private
enterprise to watch by the sacred fire OF her
affairs. With domain extending from the
column Of Hercules TO the banks OF the
Euphrates, nothing could have broken her
freedom but the degeneracy and corruption
Of her people. With such domain as We
possess, prouder than Rome ever was, the
spirit Of liberty and the progress Of general
moral duty, self respect aud q proper re.
gard for the legitimate rights and interests
Of each and every individual Is not Gbso-
lutely Ignored aud trampled upon. Let US
remember that open treason which strikes
boldly the sacriligious blow, cannot accom-.
plish more surely liz desperate purpose than
the quiet treason which loses the cit zen ln
the selfishDess Of the man, aud forgets the
national good and the good Of the people