Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-08-31
BECK PAINTS PERIL
OF LAWLESs ACE TO
BAR ASSOCIATION
Continued from page /
Aversion TO ,vcrh fsreet..t Eyt.

W. ssV0 w sVSta uHE0xESl r W.
THE morale OF our Industrial civili-
nation has been shattered. Work for
works sake as the most glorious priv
llege Of human faculties. has gone
The aversion To work In the great evil
OF the world today. Tho less n man
does, the less he wants To do. The
whole history of the mechanical era
is persistent struggle for more pnv
and shorter hours and today II has
eliminated in world-wide ruin. In M
Judgment, the economic catastrophe
OF 1921 Is far greater than the politI.
co-military catastrophe OF 1ef4.s
Accompanying the indlspostion to
work. the Solicitor General continued.
has been "a mad desire for pleasure
such as has not been seen within the
memory of living man."
Man has danced upon the verge of
a social abyss. and even the dancing
has. both in form and accompanying
music. lost ita former grace and re-
verted TO the primitive forms of un-
civilized conditions. Mr.. Beck de-
cfared.
Speaking of newspapers. he dcplored
the increase in the ephemerai and
triviai'' saying that pages were devo,-
cd TO sport. while literary, art and
musical reviews and scientific discus.
sions ares omitted or given little
space"
Laws Reluctantly Obeyed.
eundoubtedly there are many con-
tributing causes of this world wide
revolution against authority" Mr..
Beck continued. Thus, the muItipii-
city of laws does not tend to develop
a law abiding spirit. A race of in
dividuals obey reluctantly. when they
obey at all, any laws they regard a.
unreasonable or vexatious. Nearly all
women. for instance. are involuntsry
smugglers. They deny the authority
Of the State to impose tax on
Pauuin gown. The laws DELAYS and
laxity in administration breed n spirit
of contempt and too often invite n,en
to take the law in their own ha nds
Mr.. Beck declared that mechanical
Inventions we're in a large measure
responsible for the maiady. with
Watts utilization OF steam, man was
enabled TO multiply his powers a thou
sand fold. be said. Man had suddenly
become a superman and the deveiop-
ment of other powers niinirnlzed the
necessity Of his own physical ex-
ertion. The age Of mechanical power
has brought this question, Mfr. Beck
said Has the increase in the poten-
tial Of human power. through ther-
modynamics. been accompanied by a
corresponding increase In the poten-
tlal OF human character7s
Mo one would be mad enough to
prge such retroaression as tho aban.
donment of labor saving machinery
would involve. But take from the
man the opportunity to work and the
sense of pride in achievement and
you have taken from him the very
l!fe of his existence" he said In ans
werins the question.
No Remedy for Abuses.
Il NAV seem unduiy pessimistic."
Mr.. Beck said in conclusion. and /
can suggest no remedy. but there are
many palliatives for the evils / have
discussed. To rekindle In men the
love of work for works sake and the
spirit OF discipline would do much TO
solve the problem. II we only realize
that the evil exists. then the situation
u not past rentas. Ihe i3N and our
profession can defend the spirit of
indfvifualism. The tendency of
group morality Is one that we should
cornhat. OF this spirit OF individual
ism. the noblest expression is the con-
stitution of the United States. About
the individual. the constitution draws
the solemn circle of its protection. 1t
defends the integrity OF the human
soul.
vision. That vision stili remains with
the American people and they have
not vet lost faith in it. Let us as In
terpreters and guardians. do all that
in US lies. TO preserve tais inspired
vision of the fathers"