The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-12-30
CONTEMPT OF THE LAW.

The way to cause a law to be re- spected is to enforce 1t strictly and impar artialiy. Respect for the law should be impressed on the young as we'll as the old. Really. the young need to be taught that all laws are entitled to respect and observance, and perhaps they need such teaching more than their elders do. Recently in Northern city a minister told this story: He was standing on the street when a small boy came up with some fire- crackers which he was setting off. There was an ordinance against this, and the minister adrnonished the boy that he was violating the law and was liable to be arrested.
 l Wait" said tine urchin, and I'll show you.''
 Then he took from his pocket large cannon cracker which he lighted and threw at the feet of policeman who was standing by. The explosion was Ia violent one and the policeman had to turn his head to escape the fumes All he did was to walk off laughing The minister drew a moral from this 1 incident and all of us may do the same, wo do not say that the officer should 1 have arrested the boy and locked him up, but he might have censurcd him and admonished him that he was doing wrong. Instead of that he plainly showed that he was amused at the vio- Iation of law which he was expected to enforce. The lesson the boy learned was that he co transgress the law with impunity, and that in the imme- diate presence of an officer who was sworn to punish or prevent such vio- lations
 1 Tho lesson that this boy learned, ar began to learn. is plain enough. He was naturally impressed with the con- viction that the law in that case was
 not intended to be carried out, and that impression will grow with his
 growth and strengthen with his
 strength. If in later years he Is temp
 ted to violate the law. and has any
 misgivings on the subject he will tell himself: "Oh, we'll. it is only fire
 cracker law" and will thus satisfy his
 fears and his consciene. If he finds himself mistaken and is punished he
 will wonder why one law cannot be broken without punishment as well as
 another. Who Is to answer him? He is merely following the impressions created in or on him when he was a boy.
 But this is not the end of the mat ter nor is this one of the lessons only
 to be learned by the example of a thoughtless boy. In everyday life we see the same contempt for law en- tcouraged or st ngthened by officials
 and often by the courts themselves,
 When we see friendless white man
 or a negro, arrested for an offense
 and locked up, and see other white men commit the same offense with
 out being molested, we know that dis
 respect and contempt for law must be felt, not only by those who are pun
 ished but by those who escape and by those who are apprised of the partial ity shown In favor of the weil-to-do
 and influential citizens. Neither the law nor its officers can be properly re-
 spected when all citizens are not treat
 ed alike. And when we see a poor man sent to prison for a certain crime
 and a rich one who is equally guilty escapes all punishment, we know again that the law is being brought into con
 tempt. If the law fails to give equal
 and exact justice in every case people lose respect for it. "Fire-eracker law
 will not do for free people.