Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1919-10-12
THE LAW AND THE JUNGLE.


is not proud Of the lynchin
tU) OF Brown, the negro, nor the al
tempted lynching of the mayor of ths
city. In fact. the outrage has bee
very generally condemned all over tn
country. The business men, throus
the Chamber Of Commerce, adopte
resolutions in which they not onl
Guaranteed protection to citizens bl
aeld that those persons who took pal
the mob violence are in the eyes {
he law guilty Of murder.
Even In Omaha then. mob violenc
not popular. Omaha's best either
eel the disgrace of the demonstrate
,gainst law and order SO keenly ths
$ he business men unanimously indorse
he fearless editorial appearing in III
World Herald of that city wherein
vas said:
mere Is tlle 1utc VI tiie JuDSiS
in this world, and there is the rule
Of law.
Under jungle rule no mans life
IL safe, no mans wife, no mans
mother, sister, children, home, lib
erty. rights, property. Under the
rule of law protection is provided
for all these, and provided in pro-
portion as law is efficiently and
honestly administered and its power
and authority respected and
obeyed.
Omaha Sunday was disgraced
and Inundated by monstrous OBJ
5ect lesson of what Jungle rule
means. The lack of efficient gov
eminent In Omaha, the lack of
governmental foresight and saga
city and energy, made the exhibit
ton possible. 1t was provided by
them mere boys, organized as the
wolf-pack is organized, inflamed by
the spirit of anarchy and license.
of plumber and destruction. Ten
thousand or more good citizens,
without leadership, without organi-
cation, without public authority
that had made an effort to organ
ixe them for the anticipated
emergency, were obliged to stand
as onlookers, shamed In their
hearts, and witness the hideous
orgy of lawlessness. Some of them.
to their blighting shame be it said,
respectable men with women and
children in their homes, let them
selves be swept away by the mob
spirit. They encouraged If they
did not aid the wolf-pack that was
conspiring to put down the rule of
law in Omaha-that rule which is
the sole protection for every mans
home and family.
1T would be impossible to speak
too strongly in condemnation of
the rioters or in the uncompromis-
ing demand for their stern and
ywift punishment, whoever they be,
wherever they can be found. They
not only foully murdered a negro
they believed to be guilty. They
brutally maltreated and attempted
to murder other negroes whom they
knew to be innocent They tried
to lynch the mayor. They wanton-
ly pillaged stores and destroyed
property. They burned the court
house. In the sheer spirit of an
archy they pulled valuable records
from their steel filing cases, satu-
rated them in gasoline, and burned
them. They burned police convey
ances and cut the fire hose, in
viting the Instruction by fire of the
entire city. Their actions were
wholly vile. wholly evil, and ma
lignantly dangerous.
For the first time in many years
and for the last time, let US hope,
for many years to come-Omaha
has had an experience with law
lessness. We have seen what 1t
is. We have seen how 1t works.
we have felt, however briefly, the
fetid breath of anarchy on our
cheeks. We have experienced the
cold chill of fear 1t arouses.
We have seen, as In a nightmare,
its awful possibilities. We have
learned how frail is the barrier
which divides civilization from the
primal jungle--and we have been
given to see clearly what the bar
rier il.
1T Is the Law! 1t Is the might
Of the Law, wisely and fearlessly
administered! 1t 10 respect for and
obedience to the Law on the part
Of the members Of society!
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