The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1908-12-03
The Majesty of the LAIR.

How mighty is the strong arm OF the law
when it smites the weaklings, the friendless
and the poor.
For stealing pair of boots, Lawrence Ryan,
of Indiana, was on Nov 20, 1908, sentenced to
eight years in the penitentiary. Ryan was
bare-footed, the weather was chilly, the boots
looked tempting, the sudden opportunity came,
and Ryan committed crime to relieve phys
ca1 necessity Possibly the boots were worth
as much as five or six dollars. No great loss
to the owner was involved in the stealing of
this surplus pair of boots; no great damage
was done to society; but the thief gets eight
years, just the same.
Last week, boy swiped bicycle that had
been left on street. in Augusta, Georgia, and
the boy who yielded to the sudden temptation
which the bicycle and the opportunity offered
got ten months on the Richmond County chain
gang.
Here are two samples of the stern, rigorous
punishment melted out to the unfortunates who
commit small crimes. 1t is almost incredible
that any human being, exercising dominion
over another, should be so harsh as to take
eight years out of mans life and devote those
eight years to punishment, because barefoot
ed wretch stole pair of boots. By conpari-
son, the sentence of the boy who stole the
wheel appears light,-but what sort of a man
will that boy make after ten months of service
with the hardened criminals on ''the gang"
On the other hand, see how pa1sied is "the
strong arm Of the law" in dealing with the rich
and the socially or politically powerful.
The last one Of the big criminals convicted
by Folk, in Missouri, finally broke through the
net. Not one Of them punished. None of
the Insurance Company thieves in New York
was brought to the bar. All of us know that
Rockefeller and Rogers and Archbold and
Ryan and Hartman are guilty of systematic
and stupendous violations of law, but nobody
will even swear out warrants against them.
In the state of Georgia. we have disgrace
full illustration of the feebleness of "the strong
arm Of the law" in dealing with criminal who
is rich, or ''well connected"
The case of Tom Alexander is enough to
make all right-thinking people ashamed
His crimes,--for their name was Legion
fell under the general head of Forgery. He
made receipts for imaginary cotton. These spu-
rious receipts were represented by him to be
genuine receipts for real cotton. Upon the
faith of these forged receipts, he obtained loans.
1t was just the same as though he had made
counterfeit money and passed it off as good
money. He made false papers, false receipts,
and declared that the spurious receipts were
genuine bona fde papers.
He did this, not once, but many times. Upon
these forged papers he got, not small sum of
money, but very large amount. From one
bank, alone, he fraudulently, feloniously, took
$4,000. His deed was not the result of sud-
den temptation: his crimes stretched over
long period of time. There was no physical
necessity driving him to dishonesty; an ex-
pensive personal indulgence, coupled, perhaps,
with speculation, led him on from week l.
week, from month to ninth.
Then when the bubble burst he did not face
the music like man, and partly disarm public