The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-09-06
THE WEEKLY JOURNAL. Issued Thursday. One Dollar Year.
IMMUNITY BATHS.

IMMUNITY BATHS.
 This expression has come into use recently as expressing certain atti- tude of the government in it's law de- partment towards offenders against the law who have been or promise to be of use to the government in it's prosecution of other and juicier offend- CTS. When the promise is redeemed and the hunger of the government is gratified by repeated swallows of per- verted humanity immunity is offered those who have added to the bill of fare. They get scot free and the off, lenders who have been successfully prosecuted return to their offices to contemplate the fines laid upon them by the court. They do not go to jail.
 The department of justice at Wash- ington appears to be embarrassed on account of it's as yet unredeemed promise to MT. Harriman's Chicago and Alton railroad to bathe in the waters of immunity if it would aid the government in its prosecution of the Standard oil company. It will be re- membered that Judge Landis soaked it to the Standard Oil company for violation of the rebate law to the tune of $29,000,000. The Chicago and Alton being the railroad. company which gave the rebate. Arhe railroad com pany was to testify and did testify for the government and the department of justice directed the United States District Attorney in consequence to dip the Hartman railroad in the in- munity sea. It does not appear to be the disposition of Judge Landis to let this immunity contract stand. He is determined to have the railroad com pany indicted with it's former officials and then let the government dispose of the indictments as it pleases. Judge Landis Is not satisfied that the Chica- go and Alton acted in good faith in the Standard Oil suit. If Judge Landis insists he places the district attorney in the place of defying the department of justice or ignoring the orders of the court.
 This is what layman would call pretty kettle of fish and not such a kettle as appeals strongly to one's ap- petite Here is che government of the United States resting grandly upon the back of the sound theory that the law is made for all and not for the few; that the rich and the poor are alike subject to its domination, that all evil doers look alike to It. Here is also the government of the United States of-. fering immunity baths to one set of lawbreakers in order to punish an al- legged more aggressive set of law breakers It looks very much to a lay man who makes no professions in the way of an understanding of legal pro- cedure as if the government had adopted the old tradition that it takes thief to catch thief. This may be necessary when all hands appear to have been helping themselves at the table of general lawbreaking but one searches nevertheless for the morals of the transaction.
 It is very difficult to justify the gov ernment from laymans point of view, as 1t is equally difficult to justify the individual in turning lawbreaker so far as associating with lawbreakers constitutes that condition in order to establish justice. It Is no new practice for government, State and local, to make full use of sinners who are ready to turn States evidence to save their own neeks but the morality of the proceeding has never been demon- strated to the satisfaction of men in general. Immunity bathing is clearly an escape from the consequences of evildoing while it gives those who have been unable to make such con tract with the prosecuting officers all that is coming to them in the way of punishment A mighty blow might be found to have been given the doubtful practice if Judge Landis carries out his asserted determination to indict the Chicago and Alton railroad and then let the government find it's own way out. There is something absurd, too, in washing Hartman in the wa ters of immunity. Better wash the whole crew of lawbreakers and begin anew. That would not be whit less ridiculous than to let one sinner off to catch another under all of the cir
 instances,