The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-06-09
Yes, There |. q Remedy.


 Elsewhere will be found an excerpt from The Montgomery Advertiser on the apparent decadence of respect for law. Our contemporary asks, "Is there a rernedyT' Most assurediy there is. Enforce the law--good or bad, enforca 1t. If fl is "a good law it's enforcement will but strengthen 1t In the esteem of the public and increase confidence Tn the law-enforcing branch of the government. If 1t is bad law, and ought not to be on the statute book, the very quickest conceivable way to get rid of It is to enforce it. But. let 1t be. remembered. that so long as 1t remains upon the books and has not been set at nausht through interpreta- tion by proper judicial tribunal. if Is the law of the land, and we cannot anront 1t without doing violence to the 6igsn,fy ans , and d,,In mIsjesty of all law. It Is ecutiyes to pass upon the soundness or wisdom of law so long as 1t is law. we have properly constituted branch men In their capacity of private citi- zens, and officers charged with execu- ton of the processes of law, may exer- entire mass of law as given to fhefn holding to that which they say is good and discarding that which they say fs bad who shall say where this process of individual construction will stopT Who shall draw the line for them. and what assurance. have We that the line Sraw5 % Ss TWsGSosHIIind WSos Mi oomes wheH it been the limitations thus defned at individ- ual pleasure? This Is not an auto cratic government We. do not take uals, We are told that law is the specialization Of public sentiment. To be. sure; but the. process of crys. individual rights for mutual good, and imposed an obligation upon the indi. vidual to observe the product of that force and effect would be the result of any mutual agreement?
 "Is there remedy?' Yes, Let the HFsSss stat the pulpit Fhsr and . the ctiEenry 9f eating spirit of popular respect for law. Let us hold up the hands of those whose duty 1t is to execute the law. have done in this particular? In the larger cities of the State there Is conl- plaint that the prohibition laws are though attempted to be. what is the answer of the city press In some in- stances, at least. 1t Is substantially an admission of the truthfulness of the charge accompanied with half-heart- ed confession of weakness or the state- ment outright that the law cannot be enforced. What would be the result if we pursued the same course with re- gard to the law against murder arson, larceny, and similar crimes? How long would it be before we should have to confess that they, too, could not be enforced. The prohibition law Is just as much the law of the land as the law against murder and the other est court of the State has passed upon 1t and said in effect that 1t has all the life and authority of every other law. The question Is not whether we are prohibitionists or anti-prohibitionists It Is whether we are lava biding citi- gems. The Post Is not attempting to point the finger of reproach at the larger cities. No one of us Is wh holly3 blameless If they are remiss uponA this particular point we may be upon some other. Let us take stock of our-l selves, community by community. There must be change if local self government Is to be anything more wind By every token we shall as- suredly reap the whirlwind.