The Penn's Grove record., 1905-08-25
The PENIS Grove Record
FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 1905.
PERILS OF UNENFORCED LAW
Pointed Out BY JOS. w. Folk.

ACSOO ANA NAiOA II tAAS
of the State Democratic ticket was de-
feated.
Since he became Governor he has
forced the saloon in st. Louis ON Sunday
and the race tracks which carried on
gambling to close.
MORALITY IN THE STATE.
"In proportion as the average moral
ity in a State is strong, just to that ex-
tent is the State great, and good gov
eminent reigns." Starting with this
widely and cheerfully ignored truism,
Joseph w. Folk, Governor of Missouri,
contributes a terse and timely article,
under the title, 1.-THE Enforcement of
Law" to the Independent.
claws that are put on the statute
books" continues Governor Folk"
must be put there for some purpose.
Laws that are not enforced add just as
much to good government as sores do
to the strength of the human body.
"Many men observe those laws which
they like, and disregard those laws
which are obnoxious to them. The
trust magnate looks with adherence
on the pickpocket who violates the lar
ceny statutes; but thinks that he him.
self has a perpect right to break the
laws against combinations and mono
poles. The burglar detests the law
breaking of the trusts; but thinks the
law against housebreaking unjust and
unfair. The boodler considers the law
against bribery an interference with
his personal rights, but he demands the
rigid enforcement of the law against
the nan that steals his property. The
dram shop keeper thinks that the law
against murder is a good law, but the
law requiring his dram shop to close on
Sunday is Puritanical and tyrannical
and a blue law
WHEN LAWS BECOME GLUE"
1t has been my experience that any
law looks blue to the man who wants
to break it.
$50 it goes. Men obey the laws that
restrict the other fellow, but laws regu-
lating their own conduct they regard as
interfering with their rights. If every
man were allowed to judge for himself
which laws are good and which laws
are bad, and to ignore the bad laws, as
he sees them, we would have anarchy.
"There would he no laws at all. That
is the spirit of the mob, which hangs a
man because it thinks he is a bad man.
Yet if each individual were given the
right to put out of the way every per-
son that he thinks is not a good citiZ-
en-, no mans life would be safe. The
only proper test is to enforce every law
upon the statute books. If the law be
a bad law, the remedy is to repeal, not
to ignore it.
mo official has the right to ignore
any law. 1t is not for him to say
whether the law is good or bad, but it
is for him to enforce it as he finds it on
the books.
"a great deal has been said in Mis-
souri, IN the last few weeks about what
is commonly called the cid" The
land OF the lid means the land of law.
When people talk about taking off the
lid on Sunday, they mean to let the
law be violated with IMMUNITY. They
mean for officials to violate their oaths
of office and to cast away the obliga-
lions that they took when they entered
office. If we take the lid' off of the
Sunday law, a we not with equal pro
priety take the lid off of the larceny
statute and off of the murder statute ?
Then we would have anarchy.
GOVERNMENTS GREATEST DANGER.
1.-The greatest danger to every gov
eminent lies in the fact that laws that
are made are not enforced Is they are
made. There has been entirely too
much making of laws to please the
moral element, and then allowing the
laws to be ignored to please the immor-
al element.
"My convictions may be termed
ldealiStic, but ideas and ideals are the
life or a free people. We are made and
governed by the things we cherish. The
public life of a nation is but a reflection
of its private life. No government was
ever better than the people made it,
nor worse than they suffered it to be-
come. Without moral vigor material
strength counts for nothing, resources
count for nothing.
1.-The empire of Rome built highways
and constructed splendid cities while
her civilization was declining. She
erected barriers against the barbarous
hordes who surged over them while the
strength of Roman character ebbed
away, and when that was gone there
was nothing to defend, there was moth
ing TO conquer.
"There is an old tale of an Eastern
King who caused a magnificent palace
to be erected as the abode of his males
ty and power. Stone by stone the
structure grew, and the heart of the
King swelled with pride. One morning
the palace was found in ruins. Not
one stone stood upon another. What
great treason has been accomplished
here?' the King exclaimed, and a price
was set upon the head of the traitor
who had destroyed the abode of males
ty. But a wise man of the court said
to the King: Great Master, there was
no treason here. Your house was great
and mighty has fallen down because
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