The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1913-01-24
From the same Office is issued
THE LAKELAND NEWS
TEACHING CIVIC DUTY
FROM TIE BENCH.

Our circuit judges in Florida have
opportunities of exceptional excel
lenec while in the discharge OF their
Official duties To combine with those
duties the high and most useful
function OF teacher and mentor 10
J class of people, many of whom are
O., side of any other educa ,iU,..I III
buence, and none of whom is too well
advanced in sense of civic duty
to find such teaching from the bench
superiiuOns. We refer particularly
to the opportunity presented to the
judge when he is charging the grand
jury and generally has a lar&c audi
ence representing all pa.is OF The
county and all classes Of the people,
to do some impressive preaching in
the cause of law and or Ter outside
his formal charge.
He. above all others, is or should
be, familiar with the subject his
audience is attentive, receptive and
impressed with the learning, author
ity and wise purpose OF the tcachc~.
and many of those who listen never
read Il newspaper. know nothing Of
the history and tendency of The
times, and what lhpy hear from the
bench is about the only instruction
they set from one years end to an
other along the line of their duty
as citizens and members of orderly
society. Our judges are capable Of
much good in this way, particularly
when they 80 into facts concerning
the tide of crime surging over the
land, and quite Il number of them
Use these frequently recurring OPP
portunilies to the best effect
Here, for instance, is an illustra-
tion in Kentucky, and the general
statements of the judge fit condi-
tons here in Florida quite as we'll as
In that State. In Danville, Ky,
Judge e. A. Hardin. in charging the
grand jury few days ago. went out
eide the beaten track of such charges
and dealt largely in statistics which
he had gathered by wide research.
He declared that official statistics
show that the United States stands
first in the civilized world in the
number of homie.dcs committed ac-
cordins TO population. and that there
has been an increase in the last de-
cade.
According to JUDGE Hardin this
startling state OF affairs in the Unit
ed States is due to sort of school
ing whereby criminals are educated
as the result of the lack of punish
ment for small olfcnsas. The grand
jury was forcihly reminded that ev-
cry offender. however small the Of
Tense, should he brought TO justice.
and that the yiolator who tcmpts the
young should he more harshly dealt
With than those leading astray the
older. He laid stress upon the yio-
lations of the cigarette law and the
local option law. THE statistics
show" declared Judge IIardin.s that
IS per cent of all crimes committed
In the United States are by young
men under 81 years of age.
According to Judge Hardin one OF
the greatest schools of vice and
crime is the blind tiger" which
fourishes in many parts of Ken
lucky. and the jurors were instruct.
ed to devote especial attention 70
bringing blind tiger" operators n
justice. He commented upon a re-
cent charge given to the Favette
County grand jury by judge Charles
Kerr, wherein the latter referred 70
the action of BOYLE county jury in
fining woman $500 for killing hor
husband. The judge said that STA
tistics indicate that the jurors of
Fayettc county have, in the past
been extremely lenient in the han
ding of murder cases. thereby estab-
fishing Lexington upon tn map az
a city with an astounding homicidal
record.
The courthouse was crowded with
spcctators, and the sensational
charge was the talk of the town.