The Caucasian., 1912-08-15
fME CITY C0l m.
Law Defiance sss dthe COsteNsst aes
Law Is Encouraged BY the Ira
iencS q Law EnfOrtesssesaa

by the terrors of the law We per
suade them.
II there were no defiers OF law. or
| if some men We're not criminally in
clined to defy the laws, there would
be no need Of police or City Court,
nor judge for this court, nor a
Commissioner of Public Safety, or
in briefer words, if We We're all
good, court and officers of the law
would be useless, but this is impOs-
sible with the Adam that is in US.
We may repeat the line quoted, it
is only "by the terrors Of the law
We persuade them.'
The purpose of the City Court is
to deal with cases that are not fell
Onles. It is expected from this court
the eVen-handed justice which will
operate towards persuading all Of
tenders, regardless of station in life,
''thrOugh the terrOrs of the law"
After all, the courts are the strong
arms of the law.
If the court be weak Or vaccillat-
ing, or be inclined to the exercise
OF too much clemency,, or too much
leniency in cases that should de
mand the fullest penalty, the law
then becomes a nullity if not ira
vesty and burlesque and the of
ticers who have developed the case
and have led to the arrest and with
the evidence should result in the
reasonable conviction of the indi-
sidual amenable to The law, are de
rided with more or less ridicuIe
when the offender is released or
held Oh . nominal fine.
In time the officers ~ the law,
while disposed to arrest Offenders,
Especially gamblers and bootleggers,
will become inactive and perhaps
demoralized and therefore inetfi-
cient 10 the discharge of ttN'ir du-
ties.
The condition in Shreveport today
is depiorable, in The sense that there
are several hundied bootleggers and
blind tigers, and with gambling in
all is forms and devices are fiour-
ishing regardless Of the law.
N the City Court was The strong
'arm of the law, as it should be. and
in the spirit OF equal justice ii
would persuade the offenders ''by
the terrors of the law" would there
not be manifested a remarkable de
crease in the number of offenders
who snap their fingers in defiance
of the law.
We hold that all the laws should
be enforced.
IT is the duty of the Commission
er Of Public Safety, as the head of
the police department, 20 insist that
all the laws of the municipality
shall be enforced fairly but fearless
ly, but it would seem that the only
law which is at all given cOnsidera
tion or better say no considera
ton is the prohibition law. Of this
law it is said that it is a farce and
can not be enforced because of the
escape from conviction in the City
Court.
From the police record it is dis
closed that in 1911 there were 256
arrests of bootleggers by the police
of which only 70 were convicted.
From January 1, 1912 to July L.,
1912, there have been i04 arrests Of
bootleggers with only 80 convic-
tions. Of the total arrests, 104 since
January | to July /, 1912, SO were
convicted, 65 escaped conviction, II
were fined nominally, t8 were fined
with the penalty of Imprisonment.
There We're 'discharged' 35. There
were sentence suspended' 8. There
were could not reach 3. There
were mol pressed" 10. Most of the
mol pros were entered because of
the ruling of the judge that negro
testimony would not be permitted.
In addition TO the foregoing, q
cases have been flied in the District
Court, of which II were convicted,
the penalty being fines and work on
| the good roads, except in two or
three cases where the convicted
| were physically ineapacitated to
work. The cases tried in the District
| Court is All evidence in the demon
stration of the possible enforcement
of the law by fair and an impair
tial trial in the District Court, is
significant, at least it is subject for
reasonable comment and of serious
lefIection.
No reasonable excuse can be of
tsered for the disregard Of the law
and its failure of enforcement.
/ This review of the law and its