The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1913-08-09

those OF nanktnd) not Tor their own
sake but for the sake OF the rest Of
the world. Whilst mankind tends TO
evil. they incline to good; whilst
mankind Is advancing. toward dark.
ness. they are aspiring to enlight.
nlent: whilst mankind ID drawn
virtue. And. this granted, they de-
mand the assistance OF force, by
means OF which they are to substi-
tute their own tendencies tor those
Of the human race. -. = .+s z,.o.gtGi 4
But never under any circum-
stances, do they prohibit the acts
they themselves wish to commit. It
Is just as Huckleberry Finn said Of
tho Widow Douglas when she would
not let him smoke: 'And she took
snuff. too; OF course that was all
right, because she done it herself
And yet, there Is after all no hu-
man force greater than this same
public will, this mass intelligence, and
1t prevails, where it knows what 1t
wants. even in monarchies and IN
arlstocracies. II was upon 4, receE-
milton Of this fact, and the principles
to be reduced from it, and by the
| insistence Of this most tremendous
| OF all forces, that den1ocracies were
| founded, and in America the law is,
IN theory, the will Of the people. -
AS we investigate this subject we
inevitably come to & point where we
J see a distinction between law and
statute. and while no doubt our
good Mayor Jones would have been
amused to find himself included
among the profound jurists OF the
world, I think that not one Of them
all could have given d better defini-
ton Of what law is in this country
| than he did when he said, as he
| used to say frequently: THE law in
America Is what the people will back
up -.
There are, I say. differences be-
! tween laws and statutes. The stat
ute may say anything; by political
tricks, by manoeuvre. by chicanery,
by controlling party machines, by
hiring political bosses, or by bribery
it can be induced to say this or that
thing, to say that one man or one
set Of men shall have privileges that
no one else enjoys. Sometimes the
statutes represent the public will.
other umes they do not. When they
do not represent the public will.
while most men would say that they
should be respected and observed
as laws, as no doubt, they should,
they are not, nevertheless, in them
selves, laws.
Just as there are in nature certain
eternal ana imnutable laws, govern
ing in the field Of physics ana biol
ogy, SO are there laws which govern
in the field Of sociology. we have ad-
vanced in the discovery OF these
laws in the realm OF physics and
biology, but we have not made q.
similar advance in discovering the
laws Of sociology, that is, those laws
which Sovern men in their human
relations. And, failing to discover
these laws we have attempted to,
enact statutes, and some of these
statutes, no doubt in contravention
! of law, have wrought much woe and
| mischief and have made poverty and
! vice and crime in the world.
We have in the history of our
! country numerous examples of the
! difference between a statute and a
| law. For instance, before the Civil
War a statute was enacted known
! as THE Fugitive Slave Law" with
! it's several amendments, intended to
operate in the northern states. But
| these were not laws because they did
| not represent the will of the people
| and could not be enforced. People
not only violated them, but violated
| them with impunity, ana even in
! pride, and in the states, legislatures
| passed acts in contravention and
notification of them, called per
sonal liberty laws" And it was no
doubt a consideration OF their action
that led Emerson, our great philoso-
| pher who is so much admired and so
little read, to say that good men
must not obey the laws too strictly"
At this distance of time, and con-
sidering the progress of the species,
men view that condition with equan-
unity and complacency, and few
could be found who would condemn
those men who placed their faith in
a higher law than human statutes.
their resistance. ~ .ts,.,.. r -
| And yet there are other examples,
not so lofty in sentiment, which
| BLOW lnlS 1OEC0 similarly az "OEAs
A current example is found in tho
enactment which requires people to
return for. taxation at it's full valua-
ton. This is q statute that is uni
versally violated--openly, flagrantly
and admittedly. presume that
shall run little danger Of being dis.
puted even If should risk that form
Of assertion most easily disproved,
namely, the general statement, and
say that there is not man in all
Ohio who returns his personally to
the assessor at it's full value. This
! Is q common. universal practice, 80
| generally followed that It does not
content itself with the violation OF
one law. but involves in each instance
/ the infraction Of another law. namely
that against false +. swearing. For
j not only does each man falsely re-
turn his personal property. but he
makes oat that this false statement
is true. This Is the universal prac-
tice, SO long followed and % univer-
! aal11,e arny}Aarad ~ fhAf n IL ARA n1InfR