The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-09-14
OBJECT OF LEAGUE
 TO MAINTAIN LAWS,
 MASS MEETING TOLD
(Continued from Page Onc)

(Cotsfinued from Page One) ciety. We have no desire to bemoan any one or any class or any order; we merely represent the best interests of the people and intend to go the limit in upholding the laws that we sincerely believe to be righteous.
 Ages ago when primitive man in- habited this earth. there was no law and no order It was then every man for himself and he never knew what fate awaited his possessions when he left his abode on his daily trips. The situation is practically the same today
 "Which one of you know what
 will be the fate of yours when
 you leave your homes Do you
 have feeling of perfect safety
 when you walk the streets of
 this city going home at nightsf
 Are you positive that you will
 find your possessions intact when
 you reach that homes What is
 the cause of this feeling of in-
 securityf Lack of the proper fa-
 cilities to uphold the letter of
 the law.
 "As the world grew older, these primitive men organized clans with a semblance of law that was pro- tective to all. That sentiment has steadily been growing. More than a hundred years ago the United States framed the best government on the face of the earth. with the drawing up of the Declaration of Indepen- dence. Today America is the won- der of the world. Other countries over the world are modelling their form of government after ours.
 Government Threatened
 Recently there has been a sprs sad of mob violence and various forms of law violations that threaten to trample our laws and government nnderfoot. and unless there Is an I'm! mediate stop to 1t, this country will be in the same condition that Rus sin and Turkey gre in today with their radicalism and bolshevism.
 We want to li1e under a govern ment of law and not under mob law.
 "The people of shis country are in the majority respectors of laws, burt our business and other obligations have taken up so much of our time that we have not paid very much at- tention to the seriousness of this mob law that Is spreading over the coun- try. This mob law must cease. We want to live under the laws we voted for and not under the laws that are dictated by band or bands of people that violate the very laws that they voted for. A band of men who take the law into their own hands and mete out punishment to whom they believe to have committed crime. are worse criminals than tho perpetrators of the crime" Statistics Cite In presenting statistics cor,p;Ia a d by G. s. Buck an authority on Crime Wave and Law Enforce ment," MT. Beddow stated: Tn 1918, Cleveland, O., had 2s times as many murders as London per 100000. population. In Chicago there were IA times a many murders committed as there were in Berlin This condition is attributed to the laxity in law enforcement in America. In England and other countries of Europe, criminals are invariably punished. Among the S- clian population of this country there are 20 times more crimes com mitted than In the entire country of Sicily The reason for this is, as I said before, lack of law enforce ment
 In 1913 there were eight times more crimes perpetrated south of the Canadian border than north of 1t. Burglary insurance has increased 543 per cent within the past five years. This deplorable crime con dition must be stopped"
 All Crimes Increased Quoting further statistics. Mir. Beddow, said:
 "Pending criminal indictments in the federal courts during the year 1921 were 70.oO0, compared with 5000 during the year 1912. The to- tai insurance theft compensations amounted to sss6,ooo in 1914. In 1920 this compensation amounted to over ten millions of dollars. Elm bezz1ements, holdups and all forms of crime has increased. Five thou sand automobiles were stolen in Chi cago in one year alone.
 "The days of the famous outlaws and criminals of the past have re- turned. the only difference being tho methods employed nowadays. The automobile is a helpful agent to the criminal and has taken the place of the horse. Statistics show that only about one-fourth of the crimi- nals in this country are duly pun ished.
 "The report of the coroner of Jeff ferson county on unlawful homicides from the first of the year to the present day shows 110. This report includes statistics up until Septem- Der (.
 Do you want to stop this whole sale slaughter? Do you want to live in a secure sense of freedom? Do you believe that mob rule should be abolished? Do you believe that 1t is unlawful to take a man or wo- man from his or her home and flog them? Do you, instead, believe that the guilty person should have fair trial by the proper jury? If you do then joif, hands with Us in this effort at the suppression of mob law.
 "The first report of flogging we received was about man and woman who was taken out and whipped for alleged misconduct. They may have deserved the punishment, but Inobs have no right whatever to punish these people. In doing that they de- feat the very purpose of the consti- tution and laws set down by them under which to live"
 Law Abiding Citizens Unsafe
 Tn a reference to the Jasper Hog ring incident in which three people