The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1908-05-07
THE RIGID INVESTIGATION


411G RAIA0 AN v GS 14ONb
The Most Rrasen OF All Frauds 81
Our Complex civilization.
Have you ever met that specious old
fraud Rigid Investigation? He always
gets his name in the papers after what
ought not to have happened has hap
pened. Like the bank examiner, he
seldom fails to appear In evidence
when 1t is too late. BY making a big
fuss about 1t he frequently causes peo-
pie to believe that he is doing as well
as could be expected when he arrives
upon the scene.
Behold - he exclaims with much
buster after the bridge has collapsed
or the building has csved In or the
oyercrowded excursion boat has gone
down 1--WE viii now get Mt the bottom
OF this thing. We are going to let the
pt'Jlie know how happened and who
was to blame. Let everybody be calm.
"A rigid investigation is to be made.
None Of the victims can be brought
back to life by this process, but a rig
Id investigation win be made all the
same
This promise usually has the desired
effect. The public breathes a long
sigh Of satisfaction, leaves Rigid In
vestigatlon to his work, and hurries
on to new endeavors and other calami-
ties. BY the time Rigid Investigation
has found ont that responsibility for
the disaster is too widely scattered to
permit of the naming Of names the
people have usually become interested
In some other outrage, so that 1t Is not
necessary to file a report or pursue
the matter to a point that may be In
any wise painful.
The rigid invest alton would, II It
Were not so often a part Of some trag-
edy, be one Of the most humorous fea-
lures of our complex social system.
Whenever we hear that a rigid inves-
tigation Is to be made we know that
greed or ~carelessness or both have
brought fresh supplies Of pain and
sadness into the world. We know also
that the ones who have been greedy or
careless are to escape the penalties
that ought to be imposed upon them.
As In the case with some OF the other
words Of the English language. these
two. rigid investigation" have lost
their original meaning. In former
times the meaning of the word "let."
for instance, was to hinder. Now to let
Ia to permit. So. too, we may say that
10 rlgidly investigate is to gloss over,
b up, to cause to be forgotten.
How painfully + equent rigid inyes-
LEGATIONS are becoming. We employ
large corps OF public servants to DO
nothing but rigidly investigate. Our
Intention Is usually TO have them do
their rigid investigating before disas-
tiers occur, but II seems to be impossl-
bic to get them to understand this.
They Insist on waiting until their rigid
Investigations shall be unavailing. On
o very hot day In London an Ameri-
can was riding IN an omnibus. The
windows were all closed.
4 wonder he said to a fellow pas
senger, an E%nglishman who was per
spring painfully. whether these win
dows can be openedf
Undoubtedly they can be-" replied
the Englishman.
Then I'm going TO open a few OF
them
"But you must not do that"
why mott"
'"They never have been opened"
Our rigid Investigators, like our
British cousins. are slaves TO custom.
In their philosophy what never has
been done never may be done. 1t Is the
custom to rlgidly investigate only after
disasters occur. II we could induce
our investigators to investigate before
people are killed and MANNED by scores
many OF the calamitles might be avert
ed. But that would be contrary to Gus
tom, wherefore we may continue to
suppose whenever a rigid lnvestIga-
ton is promised that the worst that
could happen has happened. We are
generally regarded as an lmpulsive,
nervous, excltable people, but In some
ways u patience passes understand.
inE.