The leader., 1905-07-26

With his eyes turned TO heaven
praying for the Lord to send him
a crop of big yam potatoes, has
just as much right to expect his
prayer to be answered as the
people have to expect the reign
of the devil to stop without first
subjugating him in human action
by Gods own appointed instru-
mentalities. He will not give a
man yam potatoes, Hayti pota-
toes, nor any sort of potatoes
unless he does something to pro-
duce them. In certain sense,
the enforcement of the criminal
law resolves itself into a contest
between God Almighty and the
devil. While the State and the
church are wholly separate, the
Circuit Court must first do the
following by suppressing crime
before the Sunday Schools and
the church can do their work.
Is this fact or is it fancy? There
is not in this State community
where the criminal law is enforc-
ed, and the church is not virile
and active and reaching out and
gathering in the people; there is
not a single community where
the criminal law is not enforced
where the church is not mildew-
ed and blighted and the Sunday
Schools paralyzed. Any com
munity, State or county that will
not enforce the criminal law had
just as well close the doors of it's
churches and send it's preachers
to Africa.
1t is the purpose and design
of the devil to pull down and de.
stroy through crime, and to use
man to forage on humanity. If
the criminal law was rigidly and
uncompromisingly enforced and
the devil kept confined within the
inward thoughts and intentions
of man, and not permitted to
reign in his actions, he would,
just as the fish in the Mammoth
Cave lose their eyesight by nom
use. lose his power to destroy
humanity, and a cross roads
preacher could then read the
Ten Commandments before him
and runhim outof whole county.
The M ost foolish thing that a
people can do is to fail to inforce
criminal law. Disregard for the
law to-day is our national sin,
it's effect is everywhere seen in
the decadence of the virility and
power of the church. If it is
not enforced anywhere else in
the United States, I want to see
it enforced in Mississippi; if it is
not enforced anywhere else in
Mississippi, it shall be enforced
in the Tenth District.
tFYou may run your eyes over
the map of the world and your
mind-oyer its history, and you
will find that in every country
where the criminal law is rigidly
and uncompromisingly enforced
there is prosperity and material
development and the church
guides and directs the people; the
same process will show you that
in every country where the law
is not enforced the devil reigns
in decay, anarchy, bloodshed,
murder and general demoraliza-
tion.
"One Of the troubles in the en-
forcement of the law is the iaun-
diced condition and leperous atti-
tude Of the people towards crime
and criminals. They seem to be
utterly oblivious to the fact that
crime triumphant means the
overthrow of civil government
and the abrogation Of all the law,
and that if the devil succeeds in
his diabolical plot that man will
be remanded to his primeval
state where he will be compelled
to defend his own by brute force.
This would be the perfection Of
the devils scheme, when be could
turn every man against every
other man and finally destroy hu-
manity. 1t is a lamentabIe fact
that too many people sYmpathize
with crime and criminals. There
IS scarcely ever a conviction Of i
criminal Of any Importance that
the people do not Immediately
proceed to buttonhole the Judge
and plead for d light penalty. II
is also true that nearly every man
will sign any sort Of petition to
the governor to get any sort 81
criminal ont Of any sort Of trou-
Bile Why is this true? Is it be-
cause the devil has control Of the
people, Or is it because they are
unconscious that they are doing
his biddingg
Another trouble that lies ID
the way of the enforcement Of the
criminal law IL the sentiment
that it ought to be So enforced
that nobody viii get hurt. / do
mot hesitate to say that this senti
ment is the scheme and sugges-
tion Of the devil. The criminal
law was designed to hurt, and Il
lit does not hurt, it has no virtue
or power Its only force il its
deterrent force, its solemission ii
Ito appeal to the good people for
II -