The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1910-04-02
HOW REMEDY THE EVIL?


When citizen cannot safely walk the streets
of city after dark or is liable to be shot in his
store before the close of business hours. sad and
deporable state of affairs exists 1t is sad because
of the consequences not only to society, but the
grief and sorrow it brings to the victims friends
and relatives 1t is deplorable, because it is
incipient anarchy, even worse than anarchy,
since the murderous hold-up practices what
the anarchist secretly swears to do Our
city now, and for some time, holds an unenviable
record for hold-ups murderous assaults, and the
murder of two good citizens one an officer of the
law in the performance of his duty, and the other
storekeeper in his store For such cowardly and
dastardy acts there is no palliation Sef-preserva
ton is the first law of nature but the murderous
thug who goes out under the shadow of darkness
prepared to take his victims life if he should show
the least resistance has moral natural in
stinct beyond that of the most ferocious beast.
The ceremonies used by the Israelites, when an
innocent person was murdered, give an idea of how
they regarded that heinous crime and their horror
for the criminal. In Deut xxi, 1-9, we read:
''When there shall be found in the land, which the
Lord thy God will give to thee, the corpse of man
slain, and it is not known who is guilty of murder,
thy ancients and judges shall go out, and shall
measure from the place where the body lieth the
distance of every city round about: And the an
clients of that city, which they shall perceive to be
nearer than the rest, shall take heifer of the herd
that hath not drawn in the yoke, nor plowed the
ground, and they shall bring her into a rough and
stony valley, that never was plowed nor sown: and
there they shall strike off the head of the heifer
And the priests and sons of Levi shall come. whom
the Lord thy God hath chosen to minister to him,
and to bless in his name, and that by their word
every matter should be decided, and whatsoever is
clean or unclean should be judged And the an
clients of that city shall come to the person slain
and shall wash their hands over the heifer that
was killed in the valley, and shall say: Our Lord
did not shed this blood nor did our eyes see it. Be
merciful to thy people Israel, whom thou has re-
1eemed' y Lord, and lay not innocent blood to
their charge in the midst of Thy people Israel
And the guilt of blood shall be taken from them;
And thou shalt be free from the innocent's blood
hat was shed, when thou shalt have done what the
Lord hath commanded thee" With them death
vas always the punishment inflicted for voluntary
murder. "And be struck by him that is the avenper
If blood: he shall not be guilty that killed. For
he fugitive ought to have stayed in the city until
he death of the high priest. And after he is dead
hen shall the man-slayer return to his own conn
ny. These things shall be perpetual and for an
ordinance in all your dwellings,"
Cold-blooded murder always shocks the senti
nents of civilized man, yet despite all the inee-
lu1ty and vigilance of our age and country thew
re IN the increase. Less than twenty wears apo |
here was an epidemic of crime in London The |
aW was powerless to stop it. All the activity and
1gllance of the police was frustrated A band of
hleves Joined hands and formed a society whose
peclal mission was to garrote For LONG time
hey were SO successful that all citizens trembled
Ill ordinary means devised could not lessen tbo
rlme' Judge Day, famous jurist, put the law
the statutes in force namely, that any garroter
ound guilty should be subject to the penalty of 50
1any strokes of the "cat-o-nine-tails" The MN
shment was inflicted and in less than one month
arroting ceased. The professional criminal g
oward and breads physical punishment. This
lade Judge Day famous