The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1929-05-24

to the robbers of the Fairview
bank, has been the subject to con
siderable editorial comment over
the state and Judge Leiper has
been warmly commended for the
straightforward unequivocal man
ner in which he dealt with the
case. 1t is believed that bank
robbing would be a much less at
tractiye occupation if pr p%ective
bank bandits had reason to fear
justice so swift and severe.
Judge Leiper's words in pro
ouncing sentence are reprinted
here, taken from the Sidney Her.
aid:
Judge Leiper's Talk
This isn't an ordinary %offense.
There is something human that
any of us can understand, where
two men in the heat of anger
quarrel, and one Injuries the
other, or even takes human life.
| say, there is something human
about that which is understand
able. But this isn't that sort of
crime. Deliberately planned-de-
l~iberately executed. In utter dis
regard of every right of every
other person. Its plan involved
the theft of an automobile in an
other state and the bringing of it
into this state. 1t doesn't require
a keen understanding to, know
that the execution of your plan
could easily have involved the
taking of human life. You put
yourselves in such a position that,
il some of these persons whom
you first compelled to lie on their
faces and then herded into the
vault had become %hysterical, and
y their flight haye attempted to
Il from the bank, there was only
II thing you could have done
shot them. 1t was a carefully laid
plan, OF course it couldn't sue
coed. None of these things ever
succeed. because they run counter
to every law of God, and counter
to every law of man. 1t couldn't
succeed, because you couldn't
keep this thing to yourselves.
You didn't keep it to yourselves.
1t would eventually come out, be-
cause your own co%nsciences would
continually accuse you. You were
in trouble, and it is a human thing
that, when We are in trouble, we
want to tell somebody about it.
But you couldn't tell it, so that
you were in hot water continually
with yourselves. Only one escape
from it, and that is suicide, and of
course suicide amounts to a con
fession.
AS a business proposition you
may say that this bank didn't
lose anything. But the company
insuring must charge rates com
mensurate with it's loss. And it
is a notorious fact that these pre-
miums have increased greatly
during the past few years. But
the bank must pay the increased
rate, and it must. in turn, charge
that to it's customers.
AS a part of your plan you car
ried with you a sawed-of shotgun.
There is just one reason in the
world for having a sawed-off shot
gun. That is to kill. So that l
say, that isn't the ordinary of
Tense at all. A lot of business
people are afraid to do business.
This in what we call "the land of
the free" l had, within the past
week, a man engaged in business,
whose safe was blown, come to
ME for permission to carry a gun,
because he takes in his money
after banking hours. His safe
was destroyed, and no place to
keep the money. l gave him per-
mission to carry a revolver. He
was entitled to it as a matter of
self protection. Yet we call this
civilized country.
Up to 1921 the law Of this state
that robbery was punishable
by Imprisonment from one to
twenty years. Our Legislature in
1921 enacted a statute amending
that law, and fixing the punish
ment at Imprisonment for not less
than one year, there being no
maximum fixed. California has a
similar statute. The California
Supreme court has held that IN
der this law a person committing
robbery may be sentenced to the
~penitentiary for the remainder of
his natural life. That is the law
in Montana, and it is as it ought
to be. Not alone to punish you,
but in sentencing you men, it is
my purpose to say to the world
through you that, so far as the
four counties in this Judicial dis
trict are concerned, these folks
are going to live and do business
without being molested. One Of
the troubles with us in dealing
with this criminal business is that
we think of the dependent alone.
and we forget about all the rest
of us folks who are entitled to
live and work without being
threatened with six-shooters and