Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1905-08-03
l WISH those fellows with hearts

Americans as tney are-cOuld De
banished from the Republic and
made to doff the sovereign for the
subject under the rule of one of
the old country Tin Gods. There,
where the incapacity of the COM
mon herd for self-rule is demon
strated by their masters, the Select
Cinch; where force, not right, is
the means toward government;
where, theoretically, no mans
conscience is appealed to, and the
bayonet pins him to his proper
place. There is a so-called DEM
ocrat living in one of the northern
senatorial districts OF Missouri
whose name is Rubey-Webb M.
Rubey, to'be specific-who thinks
he sees the way out of the troublous
state into which the vagaries OF
the old Revolutionary damphools,
who held to the doctrine of self
government, indicted themselves,
and us, their children, after them.
He is an ex-senator, | am happy
to say, and long may he abide in
that inocuous position. He has
written a long and strenuous letter
to the Governor relative to the
saturnalia of lawlessness now
dominating the metropolis of the
State and the district contiguous
whore some OF the canaiIIe persist
in drinking beer of a Sunday and
others are guilty of the awful
crime of betting on "the best hoss.'
To suppress these outrages upon
our advanced civilization, ou1
modest and retiring Governor, in
singleness of heart and simpleness
of mind, relies, first, upon the aid
of the police, and, that, unavail-
ing, on the militia-both organ
lied and maintained under the
statutes. That he is leaning upon
two broken reeds, and liable tc
hit the ground between them, the
ex-senator forcibly demonstrates.
Now, there are lots of advisors
who point out the faults and weak
nesses of men and systems but can
suggest no remedy. Not so with
the Hon. Webb M. Hear him:
The greatest hindrance to your
success is that you have not at
your command a soldiery that is
reliable and Efficient n \ No
matter what the form of govern
ment may be, the lawless can only
be controlled by force. Lawbreak-
ers are criminals, no matter
whether they are of high or low
degree. The so-called high class
is deserving OF the greater punish
ment. Both obey the law only at
the point of the bayonet. They
respect no authority and obey
only when made to fear. Hence
a statute without a penalty is a
farce. To enforce this penalty
creates the necessity for a military
force, and of such a character that
it will be a terror to the lawbreak-
er. Have you such a force atyour
command? | think not, and by
reason of this lack you are power
less to enforce the criminal laws of
the State against q lot of desperate
lawbreakers. 1t is true you have
the militia, but as constituted they
are not soldiers such as lawbreak-
ers fear. y Those who be-
long are simply citizens, young
merchants, lawyers, doctors and
business men generally. They
stay at home a a rule unless called
to do duty on dress parade. They
don't want to shoot anybody, and
especially are they averse to point
ing their muskets at their neigh
bors and friends. l do not blame
them for that. They would be in
human if they were not. Rioters
and insurrectionists know this,
and when engaged in stirring up
trouble the thought of an army Of
militia does not brighten them. A
regular soldier, on the contrary, is
not a citizen. A soldier to be
worth anything should know no.
body but the law and its orders.
His home should be the barracks.
He should be a gun with brains
enough to load and shoot as COM
manded. If the State of Missouri
had a law by which a detachment
from the regular United States
Army would at all times be at the
command of the Governor as the
State militia now is, he would
never have to call it but once. v
: The city police r doubtless
better than our kind of militia, but
they, being known as citizens,
politicians and the like, are not
feared to any great extent.
The police are no good; neither
are the militia; but the regular
soldier, who shoots to kill because
it is his vocation-he is the one to
wreak the vengeance of outraged
law. If q citizen be 50 lost to the
sense that rules the Righteous, and
UNANIMOUSLY has to do with the race
a bullet in his gizzard is the