The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1908-02-24
TechnicaIities Bought by Rich
Criminals Make Courts a
Jest, Declares Baker
Example of Wealthy Malefac-
tors Fills Prisons With Mis-
guided Little" Fellows
big" Law Breakers, They
Learn, Have Money to Buy
Immunity

"our peniteBtIarfes are far too full
Of the Iitde' fellow, while the big
fellow stalks brazeBIy at large in the
land, defying justice, law and right.
ny the big fellow I mean such men as
she presidents and directors of great
corporations, who in combination with
those who abet their ends for a price
i5 city, county ans state administra-
tiOnE defeat alike the ends of justice
and The VIII of the common people.
sit is such men as these, unrestrsined
f1 their crfminaIity by reason of sufH-
eient wealth 10 take advantage OF
every crook and Granny OF the laws
delays who lead the men of small and
fmPOtent means astrsy. We need COM
meEt no further on our embezEIers, our
the big criminal goes unpunished be-
cause of the laws technicaIities."-Ex-
tract from sermon preached last night
by Rev. Ernest e. Baker, pastor of the
First Presbyterian church of Oakland.
OAKLAND, Feb. 23.-After pointing
out the fsrcical character given modern
Jurisprudence by the technicalities al
ways found to protect the wealthy
nasIefactor and grating oficiaI. Rev.
Ernest Z. Baker pleaded for real Us
tice in a discourse this evening at his
church. The First Presbyterian. DR..
BS1er declared that the law splitting
technicalities which were invoked by
clever lawyers enabled the big" man
10 evsde for months and years punish
ment for his wrong doing. In this. said
the clergyman. was TO be found the i'm
pelling cause OF crime among the lit
tie" fellows. who figured that they, too,
might benefit. However, the small fry
criminal invariably found that the
fschnicalities were only for the man
who could buy them.
DESTROY TECHNICALITIEs
In the course Of his talk on the
theme, Justice" Dr. Baker said:
FOR more than a generation now the
ministers OF the land have been preach
ing from every pulpit Gods love and
mercy. We must now preach Gods
Justice, then practice it in our courts
II We ever are to end the present sys-
TEN OF legal technicalities so well sym
bolized by statutes of Justice blind
folded What We need is : rampant
Justice.
We need Christ triumphant, not
Christ prosecuted, in our courts today.
We can 10 longer preach that God may
be merciful and just We are called
upon TO preach that God must be just
and by that I mean the law must be
just.
The law cannot be just as long il
is ultra technical. We must DO away
with technioalities and punish the
wrong doer whether he be rich or poor.
prince or peon. CRATER or forger, swift
y and surely.
FINDS HOPEFUL SIGN
The one hopeful sign in this year of
grace is that the rich man, as well as
The rich corporation, is being subjected
TO 9 scrutiny more piercing than ever
the case OF Judge Lands Standard oil
hne OF s2s.24O. .OO0-sre imposing some
kind Of punishment on this class which
las so long ignored righteous living
and business integrity because OF its
Eeeming immunity from the law.
And it is right here that the crux of
the whole deplorabie legal system may
. that szs.24O,oe0 fine would have to be
paid, would have been paid ere this.
Were # not for the laws technicalities
me men higher up ere this would have
found lodgment in the penitentiary. We
want justice and punishment for the
little fellow who does wrohg. but we
need it still more for the big fellow
who leads the little fellow on"
HELP FOR AGED PASTORS
This morning. in support Of his an
nual plea for superannuated ministers,
DR.. Baker took for HIS subject Should
AGED Ministers Be shot?" Hardly had
he propounded the question than he an
swered. Mo-" The text was from I
Corinthians, ix:I4-eThe Lord hath or
dsined that they who preach the gospel
shall live by the gospel" AS a result
Of MS novel method of presenting this
subject TO his parishioners DR.. Baker
was able TO say after the annual offer
Ing that the pledges and money sub
Ecribed for the year were far greater
than at any time in the past
The average salary paid aged minis
ters in the Presbyterian church after
30 years of faithful service is less than
es0O & year." said Baker.