The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1913-01-24

|
| law has aught against any man, it al
leges, 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 COM
nit some overt act. 1t starts with
what little direct evidence it may
have at hand, or what justifiable
suspicion it may have, and then
makes the direct charge of his Grim
| 'nality; expecting to augent and to
grove every suspicion, every evil fact
There is no honey in the action of
the law on the trial OF anyone ac-
| rused-no chance for evasion, no
dcdging of responsibility The law
proceeds on the theory, which is the
ony theory that can possibly work
cor reformation that the person or
hing needs reformation; that it is
Inherently bad, and that something
has to be changed. That is the the
cry on which all progress must be
Nasod; the only working theory of
making the world better and bigger
than it was before. 1t is the theory
under which we critcise the things all
around u.s. the ladder on which we
climb over the mistakes of the past
With the working theory of the law
of prosecutions before us, how shall
anyone doubt the inherent right to
criticise? And to criticise harshly,
without honeyed words, with raw,
naked charges that nay burn, but
with the seed of something better,
something more ideal, something
finer and higher in their implication
that the thing criticised falls short of
the higher marks?
Some Reforms Effected.
Here in Idaho, it was not so very
long ago that the state and the coun-
ty, and the municipal governments
had no depository law; the public
funds were left in charge of the
elected treasurer-and these were
sweet morsels for many needy pol
itician! Criticism that said this was
plain thievery, and not adulatory,
complimentary CUFF that praised the
plan and the planners as public bene-
factors, brought about the change.
Why, it does not take much of a stu
dent to see that the general public is
entitled to the interest on it's own
moneys! The people of all the var
ious units of government in Idaho
state, county, municipal and school
now receive probably half million
dollars each year in earned annual
revenues on their deposited funds.
Since there has been no case on
record, so far as the writer can
learn of a successful prosecution Of
any newspaper for criticism of any of
the county or state officers for their
official acts-and very few, if any,
unsuccessful prosecutions that failed
for any reason whatsoever-it is
probably safe to say that it is about
standoff between the newspapers
right to criticise and the officehold-
ers' culpability. There are few pub
fishers who ever desire to wrong
anyone in office. To take the court
records, or, rather, the lack of court
records, it would be safe guess
that most of the criticism is justified,
at least in so large. a part that it
stands unchallenged. Most of the cri-
ticism is in the heat of political cam
paigns, when everyone is wrought up
to abnormal pitch, and considerable
latitude of expression is allowed.
The ,expressiaon that Trampas start
ed to- use in the story Of 1.-THE vir-
Iginian", is allowable, provided that
when you say that you smiled, "A
campaign. criticism is like a legal in
dictment--it charges directly all the
suspicions and all the shreds of evil
denee 1t hopes to piece out into one
complete, conclusive case. If the case
is proven, the accused goes back to
private life, and the theory of criti-
cism is doubly justified. IF it falls
why, it fails; and that is all. =
Where We Dare Not Tread.
But when we come to the
courts, we are face to face with
something that no one can mea-
sure AS when we face the sup
ernatural, or when we are in
the midst of some dread contag-
ion that battles treatment and
reason because of it's mysterious
power, we may not know what
to do, where to go, what even
to think. For myself, ! hold
that the courts are human estab-
lishments, as human as you and
me- az nrone Tn err as nrone To