The Richfield recorder. (Richfield, Idaho) 1909-1931, 1913-01-23

VIZ ~ u CecRf 1HANA RNtc
fear into his heart, that calls the atten-
ticn of the world to his deeds and sets
host upon his trail When the
law has aught against any man, it
alleges, not the goodness of his heart,
not his kindness and charity. not his
domestic felicity, but the heart of evil
that it believes has led him to commit
some overt act. 1t starts with what
little direct evidence it may have at
hand, or what justifable suspicion it
may have. and then makes the direct
charge of his criminality; expecting TO
augment and to prove every suspicion.
every evil fact. There is no honey in
the action of the law on the trail of
any one accused-no chance for eva
sion, no dodging of responsibility. The
law proceeds on the theory, which is
the only theory that can possibly work
for reformation, that the person or
thing NEEDS REFORMATION; that it is
inherently bad, and that something has
to be changed. That is the theory on
which all progress must be based; the
only working theory of making the
world better and bigger than it was
before. 1t is that theory under which
we criticise the things all around US:
the ladder on which we climb over the
mistakes of the past With the work
ing theory of the law of prosecutions
before us, how shall any one doubt the
inherent right to criticise? And to crit
icise harshly, without honeyed words.
with raw, naked charges thut may
burn, but with the seed of something
better, something more ideal. some
thing finer and higher in their implica-
tion that the thing criticised falls short
of the higher mark.
Here in Idaho, 1t was not so very
long ago that the state and the county
and the municipal governments had no
depository law; the public funds were
left in the hands of the elected treas
urer-a and these were sweet morsels for
many needy politician! Criticism
that said this was plain thevery, and
not adulatory, complimentary CUFF that
praised the plan and planners as public
benefactions, brought about the change.
Why, it does not take much of = stu
dent to see that the general public is
emitted to the interest On its own
The people of all the various
units of government in Idaho-state,
county, municipal and school-now re-
ceive probably half a million dollars in
earned annual revenues on their depos-
tied finds.
Since there has been no case on rec
ord, so far as the writer can learn, of
a successful prosecution of any news
paper for criticism of any of the county
or state officers for their official acts
and very few if any unsuccessful prose-
cutions that failed for any reason what
is probably safe to say that
it is about stand-off between the
newspapers right to criticise and the
culpability. There are
few publishers who ever desire to
wrong any one in office. To take the
,ourt records, it would be a safe guess
hat most of the criticism is justified
1t least in SO large a part that it
tands, unchallenged. Most of the crit
cism is in the heat of political cam
'aigns, when every one is wrought up
o abnormal pitch; and considerable
altitude of expression is allowed The
Expression that Trampas started to use
a the story of "Ths Virginian, is
llowable, provided that when yu say
hat, you smIle!' A campaign criti-
ism is like a legal indictmsnt-it
harges directly all the suspicious and
Il the shreds of evidence it hopes to
isce out into one complete, conclusive
ase. If the case is proven, the ac-
used goes back to private life, and the
leory of criticism is doubly justified.
it fails why, it fails. and that is all.
But when we come to the courts, we
re face to face with something that
} one can measure. AS when we face
lie supernatural, or when we are in
lie midst of some dread contagion that
aff1es treatment and the reason be-
luse of its mysterious power, we may
1T know what to do, where to 20,
hat even to think. For myself,
I'D that courts are human establish
ents. as human as you and me, as
one to err, as prone to passions or
'ejudices as any man who lives. That
ey are learned along certain lines, il
but that this carries infalli-
lity along even these particular lines.
not the theory of the American
'vernment rs | understand it. nor is it
mpatible with common sense. We
we just instanced two cases of judi
al recreancy. In Missouri, some years