The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1911-04-08

and newspaper critics who are al
the time criticising with disfavo
the acts of public officers, ant
insolently and arrogantly consti
tuting themselves both judge ant
jury in passing sentence of con
demnation, are respectfully re
ferred to the opinion of a Missis
sippi judge who lately very aptl.
gave voice to public sentiment il
regard to such individuals. Tn,
public officials of our land ant
country are always selected foI
honor and preferment by the vote'
of their fellow-citizens because
they are recognized as honorable
and worthy gentlemen, and i
does not look we'll for third-ratt
ignoramuses to be always i'm
pugning their motives and ma
ligning their characters without
cause or reason, when nine times
out of ten they do not even un.
fderstand the merits or dement's
of the acts they condemn. But
hear what a level-headed judge
has to say on this subject:
The occasion was the March
sitting of the Newton county cir
cult court, which assembled last
month, it being the regular meet
ing of the Board of Supervisors,
and the Democratic executive
committee also being in session.
In the absence of a courthouse,
which was recently burned, a
large store building was used to
hold court in. The impanelling
of the juries, delivering of the
judges charge and setting of the
time for hearing the cases con-
stituted the work of the day.
S. B. Gilbert, of Chunkey, was
appointed as foreman of the
grand jury The several officers
were at their posts of duty and
Judge c. L. Dobbs was presiding.
His charge to the grand jury
elected much favorable comment
and was impressive, though with
out any sensation.
las l said six months ago"
remarked the Judge, ANY man,
however prominent or obscure,
who undertakes to make the peo-
pie believe that the courts and
officials generally are corrupt and
rotten just because they are not
run to suit his convenience or
fancy, is a demagogue and a
fraud, and not entitled to the
confidence of any one, and the
man who is constantly preaching
distrust and suspicion is worse
than an anarchist. You are in
sitting into the hearts and minds
of your boys lessons of distrust
Of law and order and of respect
to good society and morals.
SO much for the habit we
have gotten into, which it seems
to me is one of the many that is
fast sapping the vitality of our
government and striking at the
very bedrock of our institutions
that of failure to respect the law;
failure to respect the constituted
authorities; failure to observe it's
ordinances and to speak a good |
word and lend a helping hand to |
hose to whom we have intrusted
he management of our public
affairs.
The Judge said that lack of |
respect for the laws, courts and |
officials breeds perjury, which he
designated as the crime of the
lge." God deliver us from the
lay that the people, forget the
ancity of their OATH" Hell
lwelt at some length on the crime
# perjury and urged the grand
ury to be diligent in their efforts
o indict this class of criminals.
'Gentlenon of tho i1rv vo,, non
ell when the people are lying to
,ou, and if they do it, just indict
hem on the spot, and don't wait
ntil you are sure of a conviction
ither. If they lie to you and
GU know it, indict them and
cave the conviction part of it to
he court. l would rather see a
God batch of indictments for
erjury than for anything else."