Bisbee daily review., 1913-04-03
* VA
POWER OF THE LAW.

The sovereign State of Virginia as
serted It's sovereignty vel on Friday
when Pioyd and Claude Allen, father
and son, were executed al Richmond
The opponents of capital punishment
can not insist that while capital pun
ment is virginia's stS.G-ory penal
~ for capital crime, the most caF''tai
crime ever. perpetrated !. Virginia
should be punished with less of sever
sty than capital crimes less heinous
have often been pushed there. A lit
tie more than a year ago the Allen clan
OF roountaineers, which had LONG
maintained law-defying feuds in Car
rcil and the adjoining mountain coun'
ties. shot and killed Judge Massie
while he was on the bench and IN
tie act Of sentencing Floyd Allen to
snort term IN INC StoeS
the same time and place, the sherin
OF the county and one Of his deputies
inc. clerk of the court AMI one Of the
illnesses for the prosecution were
kiIled. At the end of this slaughter
the clansmen mounted their horses
and rode, whooping. out Of the little
mountain town of Hillsviile.
often before had they ridden OUT
Of that little capital, with shots and
shouts. after a pitched battle vita
reudal foes. So often before had such
things happened. without arrest OF
r,,r;sbn,snt for murder fine partic'
inants in what mountaineers call a
fair stand up and shoot down night
that the mountaineers, by TO means
lacking in intelligence, lost the power
es discrimination and ability to ORA"
the line oeSohc "hiOH
ness could not safely be pushed. IN
that deficiency they differed IN Nc
psrticular from other sorts OF poopi4
finding themselves permitted to open
" and repeatedly violate law. The
same loss OF mensal balance newt
.I,lv comes TO long tolerated lawbreak
o-s high or low. rich or poor. An'
:. had come 70 the Allen clansmen
,erbaps a lorg time before they wen
.rmed into the Carroll County Court
bopsa resolved upon killing the judge
,.bo vas 10 sentence Floyd Allen toi
minor ofense. and all CT the cour'
,mcars who should undertake to pro
,,,+ him They had lost the faculty
., discrimination. They had cease'
% no able to distinguish the Diner
o,,ce between Iawlessness directe'
.ysinst other clans or lawlcssness al
vectsd AGAINST the law as represente'
:, as constabulary and lawlessnes'
directed against the authority OF th'
H. sc REPRESENTED by its judicial o.
ecsr Much lav-Iessness bad mao
chem mad. SAYS the Globe Democrat
IN the prison in which the two a
,onss were executed are now hall
ia, members Of the Alien clan Sun
.r.,t;nr trial or under prison sci
,encss sidna Allen. one tine ca
,1.ae-s is serving thirty-year tern
.orsra Of the virginia State gov
,.ument has been used - the ute
-, IN hunting down and prosecu'in
- who vert too far in lawlessnes'
80 va. never a finer demonstr'
49,. g the power OF the law than TIL
80. clansmsu aided and soe'te
=. clan. at home and abroa'
G.. complete vindicat'on OF IA
..,..,,v raises a question Of whetne
,o.,a not always be IS sisran
.,.a,c.,ed with an equal amount
y,g,,ance and coqrage Put into rs :
-, There herr can be but one a I
sxer. Lapbrsskers can n'' u =,
,,hsn law deiies iaSbreskers- II
moral is mat laws should O :,
sa-..a and that. when they are Il
men dcfying them viii be 0Vef00'H