The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1912-01-13
EULOGY AND SERMON
Continued from second pace.


eyes, ears and nostrlls they quickly
apprehend the approach of danger and
avoid it by making hasty retreat
What an excellent way that is, but
how few of US adopt it. The most
OF Us are like the Irishman who, see
ing a crowd gathering a couple OF
blocks away, sent his son up there to
inquire if there was going to be a
fight, saying if there was he wanted
to be in it,
But you answer me that "sel1-pres
ervation is the first law Of nature
and your idea Of "self-preservaiion
is that you must do unto others as
they do unto you, retaliation. If yOr
nit me I'll hit you. If you do some
thing to me, I'll do something to you
This spirit is the spirit of the mob
it leads to murder, to lynching, burn
ins at the stake. When you attempt
TO correct grievances by force you
traMDlc your law and government IN
der your feet and institute a state o.
anarchy! You and | rise in solemn
protest il such a thing comes upon us
North or south, east Or west, but why
don't we protest when one of oul
men loads himself up like an arsena
with razor or revolver, with sandbae
and brass knuCkles and re-enforces
himself with bad whiskey These
things are no additions to strength
they are Weaknesses, and when, hay
ing found the trouble he's looking for
somebody cries, Lynch him." it takes
all the police force to prevent the
disgrace.
| want my people either to stop pro
testing against laWlessness or stop be-
ing l"Wless, Let's get consistent once
before we die. II we defy the law we
must be prepared to take the cOnse-
quo ncs Of that defiance And | can
not sec that broken heads and Jail
cells and penitentiary stripes are any
desirable form OF gain from such a
kind OF 'self-preservation." | can't
see that my people, branded already
as laWless criminals, undesirable cit
liens, can have their case helped by
any man or class of men, any woman
or class OF women, who break the
law and add TO our burden of odium,
already so great as to be intoerable
Brother flks, Protective Elks, your
safety and my safety, the safety of
our people, lies along the line, unmis-
tHkably, indisputably along the line,
Of the majesty of the law, the author
ity OF government, the obedience
to judicial decree and the rightful en-
Actment and Interpretation of statute
and plead with you as race men
holding the destiny Of my people in
your hand, stand with me against ev-
cry form OF laWlessness and wrong
doing among us!
And are we getting an erroneous
idea that "prOtecton" by a lodge is to
be- INTERPRETED as ID shielding of
crime and criminals" as an effort to
Keep guilty men from the clutches OF
the law" Are we to let men enter
tain the destructive opinion that my
lodge Will be q cloak for my mischiev-
GUS misdOing,' that Il can do as
please, and nobody will dare to say
anything about it, that my lodge
will be with me, right or wrong.
What a nOnsensical, what a criminal
idea.
Protection never means an indul
gence of the wrong, it means a de-
Tense OF the right. You and l can't
safeguard our orders and do it! I'm
ion labor could defend Mcnamara
brothers when they were presumed in
nccGnt. They poured in a half-millior
OF money to see that they were &C
quilted, to get the facts, but Wher
Mcnamara brothers confessed tt
crime Union labor denounced it! ANY
other course would be suicidal to I'm
ion labor, for aw-abiding men canno
aid and abet and protect criminals
We want the presumption Of limo
cence until guilt is proven, we want :
defense because we believe in tina
innocence, but we are "outlaWed,
"cOnspirators" when we prevent tn
operation of law. We become enc
mics to ourselves when we poison tn
springs by which we live We xii
our organizations when we pursue in
defensble and Illegal courses and w
become that mans worst enemy whe1
we fail to disabuse his mind of hi
ill-conceived and selfshly criminal nc
ton that all the machinery of tn
order or any part of it will be sc
in motion to prevent his punishment
when his guilt is established.
No, no, gentlemen, you've got rel
utatiOn to sustain, you've got guidin
principles to be followed, you've &C
moral responsibility to be felt an
social obligation to be discharged
| want you to feel them keenly, mea
ure up to them manfully, treat you
order as the apple of your eye an
stand against everything that wOul
injure it. refrain from doing anythin
that would impair its usefulness or e1
Danger it's permanence and peace!
Certainly one of our strOnge:
claims for protection must be base
upon our utility.
Are we doing anything that's wort
he while? Are we rendering on
selves Indispensable? Are we so vital
connected with legitimate enterpris
as that it cannot succeed so we
without us? Are we a factor of ar
considerable value in the social eco
Omy? What are we doing that ca
not be so well done, or better doI
by somebody else? Whatever is cor
mon, but done by us in an uncommc
way, is an argument in our behalf.
The world is sure to find us if W
can preach better sermon, write
better book, make a better mousetra
han anybody else, though we live
the desert. it will make to our hut
beaten path. Our continued tenure
cottage or continent is conditional u
Oh our industry. The soil increase
in value so rapidly that an idler,
l1afer cant remain upon it.
By the new principles of conserv
ton, we are making everything MOI
useful. turning wastes into Wealt
arid lands into arabic, marsh in
meadow, storing surplus water again
the hours of drought