The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-04-03
The Mighty Arm Of Law

The pride of the Allen family, of the Nir-
Ginia mountains, not that they were good
citizens, law-oving and law-respectng: it was
That they had physical courage, intolerant
of restraint and that no member thereof had
suffered degrading punishment.
In their attitude there nothing elevat-
ing, nothing approaching the higher form of
bravery; they simply without of
moral responsibility determined to have their
selfish way and willing to shoot it OUT with
those attempting TO thwart them, regardless of
consequences If the law intetfered with them
they were ready to kin the agents of the law
rIskfng the chance of getting killed.
Such the attitude of tho elder Aliens
ana 1t was inevitable that the younger genera
ton should come to manhood with the same
contempt for the law and for the mandates
or civilized society. And il was that two
nephews Of IJIovd Alien Sdna and Wesley
Edwards, went to mountain church, and
dlsi1king the manner of the Baptist preacher,
proceeded to pull him out OF The pulpit. They
Those young men had been bred in that
mosphere where law and the forms of society
were held in contempt. They had regard
for God, for preacher, or for the religious SEN
tlments of their neighbors, and there hun
dreds, thousands having that Identical attitude
toward decency all about
ne beginning 81 the end of the proud Allen
family was at that little church in the noun
tatns. deputy sheriff took the young men
IN charge and was on his way TO the county
seat, when met by the uncle. Floyd Allen He
dragged the deputy from the wagon, beat him
into iusensibility and struck the handouts from
the prisoners Stupid, ignorant brute passion
ruled, otherwise the elder man would have
lrepwn and profited by the knowledge that he
greater than the law of Virginia and
the law openly detied would gather strength
and return to the attack until it prevailed
The Edwards boys were sentenced for their
unlawful acts and Judge Masse insisted
the prosecution of Floyd Allen for attacking
convicted and as the sentence to imprison-
ment for year fell from the lips of the judge.
the Allen clan. gathered from the mountains
ana sun placing their faith in force and hold
ing the law in contempt, began a fusillade, the
prisoner in the dock being one of those to empty.
pistol
The bullets of the desperate men made a
clean sweep Of the court" Judge, State prosecu-
tor; SherIH fell dead. with four other victims,
and the Aliens and Edwardses rode TO liberty.
They knew they We're committing murder,
were cleaning out" a court room. and pittiug
their unbridled passions against the law but
they had no conception Of the stupendous force
of the law, the force of civilized society when
once its spirit is summoned into action. Back
IN their mountain homes they feared
by puny cowardly county officials: their ain
huence'' played big part in politics Just as
fear of their violence gave them right of way
Their early aggressions had been unchecked
by faithless offcials-an old story in every
community whore the law is held in contempt
until they had come to believe they could
actually successfully defy the law.
But when the spirit of the law was aroused,
the lawess We're as leaves in a tempest The
VINO sWofe theY would never go to prison, fed
like wild animals and were hunted as such.
In dread Of the awakened law their friends
dared not aid them. They We're hunted
sassns, tracked down and taken. one by one
Even those that fed thousand miles were
trapped and brought back to prison. they
would have been reached by. the laws arm
had they gone to the ends of the earth.
Again that clan gathered into court
Of Justice, not to rescue one Of their number
from just punishment but to face trial for
murder and the law is in mastery. Rifiemen
surrounded the courthouse and had there been
danger Of every mountaineer Of every noun
could cd 10