The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-21
Mans Attempt For Man.

Man 5 tAttCfnRl
 You put statutes upon the books, be- cause of the infirmities of man. Every law upon your books is a testimony 10 the fact that man wants to act con- trary to law. All the imperfections In the laws which men write are because of the imperfectioss in mankind for whom the laws have been made. It is an at tempt on the part of man to do some thing for his fellow creature; he rec ognizes that there is bad tendency in him. and what he is doing is to keep him from doing what he pleases. That makes a fence that the court places about every human; that makes the penalty that the law puts upon every wrongdoer. If Is because men are persisting in act ing as they please, and many. men please +o act contrary to the principles laid down from experience, for the good of society. We understand that perlectly well in human affairs.
 There is no citizen, in the larger sense, ,,, tbia citv whose nature is not in per rect accord with every law for the gov ernment of this municipality NOW do not say that there are not citizens here and that they are respected and respectable and that they are honorable, and who are not in accord with all laws, but there is no man who is a citizen or this city, in the larger sense. who is not absolutely one with every law and every prInciple that is laid down for the gov arnment of this municipality, provided they are right. We understand that there ;s no American except one whose mind and heart and soul is absolutely at one with that spirit that makes the some thing that we call American" America is not America simply because we hap nen to live in between two seas on a niece of land that has it's boundary at the north and it's boundary at the south, and at the east and at the west, put .hecause there are underneath thls gov ernment of ours certain principles that throb like the human pulse; that you can fael heat like the human heart: l mean peopIe peculiar among all the peoples of this great world and there is no man who is an American unless he be abso- ,rteIv in accord with these principles that make this something that we describe as a nation, and we understand that
 Now. we have many laws upon our hooks. We visit severe penalties upon men who are not in accord with the spirit of our constitution and of our in- stitutions, and it is right. You cannot bring the millennium by saying the millen- inn ia here When a man strikes down the great executive of this government then the machinery put in operation by man-and it should always be operated with dignity-should hang him by the neck until he Is dead. When man goes contrary to the laws for these streets and these homes in this city Of ours then human laws ought to tie his hands and tie his feet and say to him, " ou shall not be at large; you shall not de- stroy the life of people; you shall not blight the home of any man. That type of man is an outlaw. He does not observe the simple definition that has been given of law--"Law is a rule for human con duct and when you push it back far enough it is a rule for the very best human conduct, and if you pusf-it fur ther still it is rule for conduct that ought to stand, not alone in this world. but ought to stand In the presence of