The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-17
For the Young Man.
rhe I.nw shonla Be The Arblter.

The Law Should Be The AEOftef. Memphis Commercial- Appeal. .,.
 There Is one stagdard under which the measure of the responsibility for the death of Edward Carnla'ek can be fixed, That. standard is the law. If are nh.s ts haze sra S0ysrnmseI SseI 9f Maa the time when the test of the merits of the law Is to be more severe than in the trial growing out of this trag-
 i've have had the rule of men gov erning by their false personal stand ards, and behold the result: Murder in Obion county, followed by the pres the life of c law officer in San Fran cisco, and the tragedy on the streets of Nashville last Monday.
 These things show what men Will do when they start out tU adjust their differences themselves. being everyone to himself, she law and the judge.
 Let A4he case go to trial on It's merits.
 Colonel Cooper hat been indicted tor his som An Indictment does not com Vict one of e crime it charges 1t. An indictment IS 8 ulsarge made by the state against a citizen. The next move Is a, trial in court of law.
 If justice. should ever be blind and should hold the scales even, regard ' less of sentiment and regardless of passion, this is the time
 Let Colonel Cooper and his son stand naked as 1t were. before the bar, and answer. They are charged with kill ing a fellow citizen. The laws knows no Justification for murder except in
 The service of the dead man to his State can not be urged to accentuate the enermity of the crime.
 fendants and the career of one as a soldier, can not be pleaded to extenu- ate the crime z. rr' Q
 The defendants will be ably prose- ana fa rfrhe that fhA hest legal talent in the state be secured for the State. They should be ably defended, and should have the advan- tage of every legal defense the law will permit. them to urge.
 And after all this is done the issue should go before an honest jury, un- der the instruction of an honest judge, and if out of this comes an honest yer . dict, whatever it. may be. the laws duty will have been done.
 So much for the law and for jus
 We are not passing upon the guilt or the innocence of the accused. The court is the only tribunal in which this can 1e settled. Trials by news thing that. men must do. They must leave to the law the adjustment of disputes and difficulties, for unless they do so we will have confusion and
 Men go about the streets without murder in their hearts, but with the implements of murder in their pockets.
 Men preach the peaceful doctrines of Christ and seek to apply It to govern ment. but they do not apply it to themselveS..
 We all cry out for the enforcement of the law, but we do not resolve in our own minds to obey the law. no matter what may be the provocation to break i..
 We ueed higher courage. We should cultivate 8 quality of bravery which will enable us to be courageous enough to determine that nothing, un- less it be the defense of our own lives, will cause us to take the life or do bodily harm to a fellow man.
 The law win protect all of us in all l things, if all of US resolve to uphold the arms of justice.
 And the epidemic of killing which seems to be sweeping over this coun- try now will endsAonly when each of us takes these things to heart, and re- solves to make them part of our rule of life and eonduct.
 If we do not do these things we will go back into savagery. and the, civili zation we boast. of, but aSsail. will become as the grlnning skull of dead thing. moeking us for our frailties.