Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1908-12-02


prosecutor after ha,ng been dramatically unmaskcd aud
denounced Iormer ,con The convict had married
and had lived Tor Years exemplary lie. lie had
raise an interesting lii e ams aud the disgrace Of his
tndong worked him up to a frenzy thaI resulted IA the
terrible tragedy which only multiplied the disgrace visited
upon the innocent persons vtaly affected.
Many interesting and some paramount moral questions
involved in the situation, Despite his Invaluable SCI
vices, Mr. eney has been criticized for refusing
the eS-convic Juror arguing that his years OF
expiaon made him the peer oil honest and entitled
him to sit upon Jury Others who would 80 50 far
as to admit cx-convc to the jury box contend that his
rejection could have been accomplished quietly and wgh-
out the terrible stripping away OF the buwarks oil respect
ability wach projected the who had once worn
stripes
The problcmis one which would have delighted the
cient Sophsts but who have Aadne thread and
not The patience guide through the labyrinth OF phil
osophica and metaphysical spec Iaon, must tall back
our human nature and knowledge Of it learn it
from ourselves and our fellow The verdict ot such
scrunty OF the San Francisco tragedy is likely to be
much less than Mosaic. A jary box, where questions oil
right between and man and as between one man
and all men, moi the place tor any INDIVIDUAL who has
been the victim Of another jury. There remains only the
question Of publicity, and here the public good demanded
in conspicuous instance that all jurors should be like
Ceassts vile above suspcicn. Ihree months was
spent in securing jury r. Abraham Ruel, and the
community had right to the most drastic warning that
only men as nearly free from suspicion possible
eligible to nudge the tremendous involved. We
do not know how pure how corrupt the ex-convcts
motives were. We do not ksow all the evidence in Mr.
Heneys possession why how this man got upon
the Jury. But we do know that only must pay
for guilt themselves but that the innocent also suffer
NOT Of right but OF necessity There limits beyond
which the broadcast mercy will let the sinner
The sanity Of the moral law spendidy insists that the
sinner must pay the price OF surrenderng something OF
his former condition though he is rehabitaed by
the forgiveness OF his fellow This does not mean
that he must face forever the bar hope and repentance
But laws higher than human have decreed that
man is quite the after having arrayed himself
against his kind and wifully broken the laws which are
the best devices human intelligence has yet perfected
for guarding ourselves against human weakness. Nothing
that has to be mended is quite good it be-.
fore was broken.
That is why prison stripes must stretch between
those who them and the fullest repossession Of
their forfeited In forgvins society truth
fully that longer hates the sinner, but there is
forevabe resduum OF hatred for the sin which the only
premium we can pay to virtue Esewise, there is no
great nducement goodness, any than to bearing
the heat and burden of the day the eleventh hour toe
gets the wages
The San Francisco tragedy teaches the moral right OF
eminent domain. The innocent and guilty had TO suffer
for the common good Ii was like blowing up block of
untouched buildings keep the conHagaton from spread
ing or cutting off whole member to the body from
Infection Only the other day the President OF the United
States publicly thanked football player who subordinated
his own good for that Of the and the great VIC
tory That taught the lesson the San francisco
tragedy only the brighter way But progress is not
question Of coors.