The Dickson County herald. (Dickson, Tenn.) 1907-1979, 1915-01-15
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
AGAINST coos LAW.
tBy NJ. W. Connolly

~Thou shali not kill. II was sue,
cintt, positive and direct. Il len
no room for debate az honbt.
There. was no space for quiehlirg
or assembling. II came direrl
from the Father, and. unlike much
n the Old Testament. II aid mol
come 10 us second hsnd. or through
the agency OF the hips oil another
No matter what the provocation,
no msiies what the excuse, NO mat
ter how ingenious may be the at
tampts at justification. the com.
msnd il still there. nmmutable im-
perishable. meluctible: a b o Il
shalt not kill > In spite Of this. a,
the present time eleven nations,
msddened and enraged, snd luslins
Tor blood. are attempting to destroy
each other. and the misery Of il is,
that nine of these nations profess 10
he Christian and followers Of the
Master. The units and individuals
composing these nations would he
coil in horror from the taking OF
iiie. but collectively they seem- L,
have adopted the philosophy satir-
ICED by the poet. Beilby Porteus;
One murder made villain.
Millions u hero, Princes were pri.
yileged
To kill, and numbers sanc,itied the
crime"
What seems strange 10 that not
only the trained and seasoned
soldier, but the statesman. the
scientist, the publielst. the poet,
and even the preiete and sacredo.
talist condone and consecrate this
human slaughter on the part Of
their own people, and bail with glad
acclaim the genius that can invent
and put into operation the most
horrible and effective engines Of
death. They have much to sa!
about civilized warfare, and in their
pronnhncements and preachmeh,s
put forth u logic that would be-
amusing were they not dealing with
a subject go terribly tragic aud
brutally bloody. They approve OF
and applaud the taking Of lie, il il
be done according TO certain plans
and specifications Of their own--ss
il il mattered 10 the one deprived OF
life what means were used in tax
ing it from him.
Long lines OF trenches are due
IN which soldiers conceal thrmstl-
yes for protection while firing uppn
the enemy, and these trenches.
many miles in length. are often
utilized as the almost endless graves
II thousands, Deadly missl,s are
sent hurting to explode very oi.1n
over helpless people and, as the
latest triumph of science, bombs
are dropped from the skies, to fall
upon and destroy human life Be-.
sides Il is, those who 60 down ~
&he sea in ships bave learned IN,
art OF submarine navigation, and
by demoniacal skill dive under
great ships and SEMI them, tosethet
with hundreds OF lives, to the bet
tom. by the explosion OF single
torpedo. War is stalking over
Europe. and we have no sure means
Of telling how long il will keep it's
IRON boot from our own land. We
are appalled, a, the wholesome shed
ding OF blood and taking Of life
For this reason we believ. that
wars should be avoided and we all
look forward to that happy day, |
pictured by the poet, when the war
drum will beat no longer and when |
here will be a parliament Of man
md Il federation OF the world. This |
10 our larger vision will be the con |
Of spiritual growth and /
he rescue Of mankind from the last |
races OF atavIstic savagry. We
sho are enjoying peace and plenty
imagine that We are right minded
md humane because we decry war
md pray for peace and the conser-
,ation of human life; but. il we
'hould make proper and candid
assessment Of our own delinQuen-
lies and the sins Of commission. we
sill lind that we are not doing our
part toward the preservation Of that
,umsn Life which We profess 20
,rize so highly. On our oxn mos
ION, and in obedience to cruel law.
made by ourselves, and in direcr
conflict with the command of ont
Heavenly Father, We are daily tax
ne lite az punishment for crime
The question OF liow unwise. On.
hristianlike and unnecessary ls
,an,fal nunishyneDt will he dealt