The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-12-06
M.E.TracySays:

HAVE found newspaper comments on the
/ California mob which lynched two kidnaperS
the other day very interesting. AS general
proposition, they condemn the proceeding, aS
we'll as Governor Rolphs attitude, but with
sufficient sprinkling of 'ifs ands, perhapses and
Thoughts" to satisfy every conceivable OPINION.
That very attitude of mind strikes me as re-
sponsible for the anomalous situation in which
we find ourselves with regard to law ana law
enforcement.
During twenty years of newspaper work
have found it necessary to comment on dozens
of mobs In each and every case have taken
the position that lynching was wrong per Sc
and ought to be suppressed. With few excep-
tons have found Governors, judges and prose-
cutorS on my side.
Time after time have seen chief executives
solemnly promise to uphold the law, and urge
iuries to call special grand juries and district
attorneys to take the most drastic measures. But
and this is the important point never have
seen very much done about it.
Catching and Furnishing mob leaders has
been largely matter Of conversation in these
United States while condoning their offenses
has been the general practice. Theoretically, we
are all against the mob.
XXTHEN it comes to doing anything effective,
w our record is a perfect blank. A similar
inconsistency characterizes our attitude toward
the administration of justice all along the line.
We are a legalistic people until it comes to en-
forcement.
There never was a nation on earth that pro-
duced a greater volume of perfectly good
statutes, regulations and inhibitions, or made a
worse mess of carrying them out.
There never was nation that paid higher
lip tribute to ideals, aims and detectives, or did
less to uphold them.
The very mountain of law under which we
labor has created an equally mountainous accu-
inefhciency of our judicial system has developed
lack Of faith in it.
We have mobs for the same reason that we
have notification of less important laws
DISCOVERING that the cumbersome system
- which We have created doesn't work we
turn more and more to the idea of taking it
into our own hands; Of cutting away the red
tape Of disobeying the very rules we have made
in order to free ourselves of the abuses their
multiplicity involves. The prohibition farce not
only typifles our frame of mind toward law and
law enforcement but furnishes the explanation
Of such outbreaks as occurred at San Jose
Eight months ago, we were all for super
regulation of industry. not because we had
thought the thing through, but because it tickled
our fancy. Now, we are not so sure we want to
bear the burdens and endure the hardships of
carrying it out.
The use Of that free speech and freedom Of
the press in which We take such pride has been
confined largely to lookir~ backward rather than
looking forward to exp ssing dissatisfaction
with what we have done on impulse, rather than
encouraging sound, constructive criticism be-
forehand.
Mobs are not only disgraceful, but should
be accepted as a warning OF worse things to
come. They will continue, however, until meas
ures are taken to bring law enforcement effec-
lively in line with the law.