The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1909-04-15
ENFORCEMENT OF LAW.
Good Citizenship Means Enforcement Of the Law-The
Influence of Public Sentiment

At the recent term of court in Sa-
luda county, Judge Chas. G. Dantz-
ler, of Orangeburg, used the follow
ing language in his charge to the
grand jury. 1t is such sound, SEN
sible utterance, that we commend it
to the careful perusal of our people:
When l first held court here, years
ago, nearly seven years now, the
first thing l heard the morning court
convened was that there had been
three fights just before the conven-
ing of court. One of them occurred
on that porch right out there, and l
came upon the scene just after it
was over. Things have been chang
ed since that time, the appearance
of things has been changed, things
look differently. Whether it is due
to prohibition, the prohibiting of the
sale of whiskey in your town, l do
not know, but some change has come
about for the better since that time;
l have seen that since my short stay
here from last Saturday until to-day.
l have not heard of any fights, ex-
cept that I did hear of shooting
scrape that occurred last Saturday,
in which two men were shot. That Is
not as near upon the convening OF
court as in the instance have just
mentioned. There has been decid-
ed change for the better in your
community. I do not propose to
deliver a prohibition lecture to you
this morning, but I suggest this for
your consideration: What has
brought about the changer" There
is probably a combination of circum-
stances contributing to this desir-
able condition of things; probably
so.
am not pessimist; I do not be-
lieve the world is getting any worse;
on the contrary, I think it is getting
better. I think the people generally
are beginning to have more respect
and higher regard for the law, and
for the enforcement of it, the neces-
sity for the enforcement Of it, than
formerly. I think the people gen.
orally are beginning to appreciate
the responsibilities of good citizen
ship. And good citizenship does not
consist merely in the observance OF
the law from a fear of the conse-
quences of it's violation. That is not
the best citizenship. Good citizen
ship is a proper appreciation of the
responsibilities involved in it, and
coupled with determination that so
far as lies in the individual the law
will be enforced. You have heard it
and l have heard it uttered from the
pulpit and from the bench in this
State time and again, the necessity
for the enforcement of the law to pre-
vent revolution and anarchy, to pre-
vent disregard for the law, and some
contend that the proper enforcement
of the law is the only way by which
better times can be had, and a better
and higher regard for the observ-
ance of the law obtain.
The cause of it goes farther back
than the verdicts of juries. 1t
reaches to the individual, and be-
hind all of that it goes to the home
life of the people. A child who is
not brought up to obey and observe
parental authority, when he becomes
citizen will not, in all likelihood,
respect governmental authority. l
do not know what my clerical
friends will think of my construction
of the commandment where it says:
"Honor thy father and thy mother,
that thy days may be long upon the
land which the Lord thy God giveth
thee" but / have never been able to
reconcile the Interpretation of it to
the individual, in relation to indi-
vidual application. Why, it does not
mean that a boy who obeys his par
ents is going to live long time,
no; but it has a national signifi-
canoe, meaning that those who obey
their parents will live long as ma
ton, for the reason that obedience
to parental authority will result in
the obedience to governmental law
and authority. So, after all that
may be said in relation to the en-
forcement of the law, it reaches back
at last to the home life of the peo-
ple-there is where it is.
You tell me that boy who is not
required to obey and respect and re-
gard parental authority in the home
is going to respect and obey author
ity in the school room, and is going
to become good citizen-never;
impossible, impossible. The only
way to deter such people from crime,
from the commission of crime, Of
course, is by the enforcement Of the
law; but you will never have good
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