The Washington herald., 1922-07-27
The Lie Detector.
the Editor, The Washing ton Herald:

To the Editor, The Washington Herald:
With a few more wise inventions
and the world will believe that man
has no need of God-given intelligence
at his command. The ''sphygomo-
manometer" sounds not unlike the
joke the Irish played on the Scotch
when they let them take their in
vention OF the bag-pipe seriously.
An old Southern darky story also
indicates a popular trend Of thought.
The Lord made lot Of people and
put them up against the fence to dry.
intending to come back and supply
them with brains. but when he came
back they had all walked of without
any. That is the way the world got
all Of its Walk Of's" on the earth
today.
In a semi-savage past age In one
Of our foreign countries, supposed
criminals were given a mouthfull of
dry rice; IL the rice remained dry
they were sentenced as guilty. In
that same country one of their modes
of punishment was to feed criminal
on salt until he became a living walk
ing mummy Our modern civilization
has just surpassed them a little in
trying to find a sure way of not bury
ing one alive is to embalm the body
before death. We hope for the sake
of an innocent few IL will not become
universally popular.
Blackstone gives an instance OF the
danger of convicting anyone on cir
cumstantial evidence. A man passing
along a secluded road came upon a
man drawing knife out of the breast
of one who had been recently stabbed.
He died before he could give any facts
Of the crime. The man assumed the
authority of making him a prisoner
and reporting him as the criminal.
Many years after he had been
sentenced to death the real GRIM
inal confessed at hfs death. the
crime. 1t did not atone for the
injustice that had been done the
innocent one. but 1t should have
been a warning to illegal con-
viction in courts of injustice ANY
just Judge would have been justified
in believing in the guilt of the one
advocating death on circumstantial
evidence. for he was a greater enemy
to world civilization. A really in
nicent person is more apt to be SEN
sitively perturbed over a false accusa-
ton than a hardened criminal
I have long kept a cherished copy
of The House BY the Side of the
Road" 1t does not contain the last
two verses as published by you. which
adds a much more peaceful illumina-
ton to the first part, for there Is
nothing so truly glad as natures true
gladness when 1t is truly glad.
My copy seems to read: There ars
pioneer souls that blaze their paths
where highways never ram" An un-
just world too often seems to prefer
to make II prisoner souls" As
have studied the history of truths
world martyred ones. I have grown
quite incredulous as to their worldly
wisdom. The bitter cup OF assa ssina-
ton was the only reward Honest
Abe" received as his reward for abol-
ishing slavery. Even the love that
gave His only begotten SON. has not
been Justly rewarded. 1t has been
merely used as an excuse to COM
NIT all sorts of crimes "in His Name"
Public agitation of injustice excites
so much hatred in the minds of every
one that Gods love is only in greater
measure destroyed on earth. II all
civil laws of government were en-
forced without variance to truth war
would be an impossibilty.
ryEDNrrr