Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1915-08-27

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brushes aside with mighty force tn
laws technicalities and delays. Their
is no hypocritical, sanctimonious VIC
lation Of fundamental rights under tn
cloak Of law by those sworn to upholt
the law; the deed Is open, and civili
zation and justice are indicated. Ant
when mobs are no longer possible, lib
erty will be dead. AS was eloquent.
said by southern orator not lonl
ago: "a nation Of molly-coddles Nigh
meekly lie at the feet of popes ant
kings, while schools were being abol
ished, libraries burnt, scientific re
search penalized, and the great mas
Of the people plunged into ignorance
superstition and slavery; but such {
nation never reared a Washington
monument or drank patriotic inspira
tion on battlefields where brave sol
] died died, or broke out into enthusi
asm when the flags were flying and the
bands struck Dixie Grape-juice
dreamers may cry. Peace, peace but
there Is no peace, anywhere, nor was
there ever any. The elements have
no peace; the stars have no rest; the
clouds toss and tumble, float or fly
forever; the ocean always murmurs
and always moves; the rivers do not
stop, and the dews are ever going uI
or coming down; the storm Is gather
ing its forces, or spending them, all
the time; there Is no peace. 1t seems
to me, 1 remember something about
'mobs'; and, strange to say, these mobs
are described as being pioneers Of our
independence and institutions. There
was that Boston mob, whose picture
used to be in all our histories al
school. You can close your eyes and
see it now; the British soldiers, stand
ing in well-dressed line, muskets al
their shoulders, and the smoke and
flame bursting out at the muzzles-and
the members Of "mob" falling to the
ground. The firing on the Boston mob
fired the American colonies, and the
cry went all the way down to Savan-
nah-'The cause Of Boston is the cause
of US ALL"
The chief executive Of a state has
not a more serious duty nor a graver
responsibility than the obligation i'm
posed upon him in dealing with pris-
oners-and by prisoners mean to in
clude those in Jail awaiting trial, with
the presumption Of innocence thrown
around them by the law, as well as
those serving sentences after convic-
ton. The aim of the law-not some
Of the iniquitious laws written by man,
but the great Moral Law Of God, which
was in the beginning, and shall ever be
exists for the benefit Of society, and
mot for the punishment and degreda-
tion Of offenders against the law. II
is necessary to deprive men Of their
liberties, and sometimes Of their lives,
for two primary reasons; to remove
them from society until they may be
reformed, and to deter others from
committing like offenses. To go be-
yond this is barbaric, inhuman and In
violation of the highest law. A state
or nation that allows its prisoners to
suffer cruelties is guilty Of a greater
crime than the prisoners themselves
have committed.
We have prisons and prison meth
ods in the United States today, which
are disgrace to any civilization, and
there are thousands Of prisoners who
might we'll describe their condition in
the words of Lord Byron's Prisoner
Of Chillon":
my hair Is gray, but not with years,
Nor grew 1t white
In a single night,
AS mems have grown from sudden
fears.
My limbs are how'd, though not with
toll,
But rusted with a vile repose.
For they have been a dungeons
spoil
And mine has been the fate Of those
To whom the gocdly earth and air
Are bann'd and barr'd-forbidden
fare"
Or we might describe some Of these
prisons in the words of Cellini, written
in a Jail in the sixteenth century, four
hundreds years before our boasted civ
iliZation:
Mark we'll how Glory sleeps her sons
in gloom.
You have no seat to sit on, save the
stool;
Yet you were active from your moth
er's womb.
1.-The knave who serves hath orders
strict and cool
To list no word you utter, give you
naught,
Scarcely to ope the door; such Is their
rule.
These toys hath Glory for her nus
ling wrought.
No paper, pens, ink, fire, or tools
Of steel,
To exercise the quick brains teemine
thought"
When I assumed the office Of gov
ernor Of South Carolina, inaugurated
in my state the parole system, and
granted hundreds of paroles. AS
stated in an article which I wrote for
a leading law magazine recently, was
as vigorously condemned on the one
hand, and as heartily praised on the
other, for nearly every decision l
reached upon each individual case, as
any man who has ever been in public
life in the history of this country.
cared not for the condemnation Of the
praise. I was seeking to do my duty
under the constitution, to execute the
laws faithfully in mercy, and striving
to do the right and to give human be-
ings who made a mistake a chance
to correct it and to do their part for
the benefit of society. The parole sys-
TEN which I inaugurated was entirely
successful. Out Of the hundreds OF
paroles granted. very few Of those re-
ceiving this clemency failed to lead
good lives. They were given another
'hance in life, and they took advan-
tage Of their opportunity.
stated to the general assembly OF
NV state in repord IN this matter. that