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Show LIVING Warren . VOL. SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, FRIDAY, JANUARY 4. WE ARE ASKING NOT ANSWERING. One of the greatest questions to our mind and the one to which we have never been able to give a satisfactory answer, not even to ourself, is that of responsibility. Just how far a mau should bo calk'd into strict account for his actions, and just how far he should be excused because of circumstances, environment or heredity we have never bien able to say. Nor do we believe that any one else has. Nothing seems more certain to our mind that it is impossible to make any universal law regarding punishment for crime, and apply the letter of it to all alike without doing great injustice to some, if not all Two men are caught in the act of stealing coal. The law, is very plain what should be done with them. The law treats them both alike. Rut when we come to look into the facts of the two cases we find that one of the men did not need the coal at all; that he had at the time a great plenty of coal in his bin; that he had money to buy more when needed; tliat the only motive that prompted his action was to steal, to get something for nothing. The surroundings of the other man were quite different, lie was a poor man; he was out of coal; he had no money to buy it; his family was sick, and his children freezing. He took the coal because he needed it; he took it because he could not do without it; he took it because it was the only way he had of getting it. Now' really do you my kind reader think that the two men should be held equally guilty and receive the same punishment? Our laws do not, however, make any distinction. It may be claimed that the courts do. So they do sometimes; but occasionally they make it even worse than the letter of the law contemplates. There are cases where very rich persons liave been caught steal ing, and they were excusd on the grounds that they were kleptomaniacs. Strange as it may seem we liave never heard of a poor man being in the least effected with kleptomania, llow can this matter be evened up? We believe that the circumstances under which an act is committed should be considered in all such cases, but just how the line can be drawn is a question that we do not find competent to auswer. Again! llow about heredity? Refore us is a picture containing four faces. An Indian, an insane man, an idiot, and a criminal. We look at the Indians dark skin and excuse that because it is natural with him. His coarse hair, beardless face, and high cheek bones, are all passed by, on the same grounds. The feathers that adorn his head, the paint on his face and his peculiar dress are all charged up to his environments. Ilis habits, his morals and religious tendencies are all accounted for hy his associations from childhood. We all agree that the poor Indian is not to blame for any of these, and to punish him for it wrould le wholly unjust. We pass him. Let us now take a look at the insane man. The wild expression of the eyes, the dislieavcled hair, the peculiar demeanor, his unsteady gait, and general deportment all argue that the man is crazy hence, not responsible for his acts. We will excuse any act that lie commits. Now let us look at the idiot. We know he is an idiot as soon as we see him. His forehead recedes. There is no place for brains in his head. His eyes are dull. Ilia teeth are large. Ilia mouth is open. Ilis chin recedes, in fact has none, lie is a hopeless idiot. He is not responsible. You could not endure the idea of punishcoming him for any net that he might mit. Rut here is another picture we want you to look at, the criminal, lou know he is a criminal because he is dressed in slriios. Certainly; and look at that mouth and chin, lie looks like a bull can dog. See that snubbed up nose. You tell at once by the look of that nose that he ought to be in prison. And those eyes! Successor to THE 28. 1898 1 ADVOCATE. N NO. 3. thu number U on the label cotiUlninc PROTECT THE MOTORMKN. Oh, Horrors, what eyes, why he would as your name, you had better irnew mighty quick, aa that ia the number of the next soon kill a man as to look at him. Now iaeue. No paper will b emit for a longer lime than paid look at his head. It is as round as a ball If there In any humanitarians in the for, nor on credit, except by apeclal arrangement. and his hair stands on end, while his city they should take cognisance of the 1)ERS AND SOCIAL DEMOCRACY. ears are small and lie close up against j manner in which the electric car coim the sides of his head. Ilis neck too, like j panics are treating their motormen. While you do not sre it in tin; all the rest liears unmistakable evidence These men are eomtelled to stand all day E. V. Debs is spiking to thouthat he is a crook of the worst tyjie. Ho 'and half the night on the front end of sands nearly every day, and even the local plute iuMrs admit tliat he makes a away with him! lut him in the jieniten-tiary- ! their cars, without any protection from impression on his audiences and Hang him! Rum him! Do any- the storm whatever. This is cruelty, and profound sends Ihem home thinking tliat thing with him you chose for he is a bad it is much the more so from the fact that must be done to remedy Hu evils man. You need no witnesses to prove it :a!very little outlay would remedy it. The that all admit exist. No pubiic speaker for he carries all those wit masses with cars could be vestihuled. The only rea- not. a candidate for some great office lias son why it is not done is the inhuman ever lieen accorded so large.niulieuccs or him. received such wrapt attention as Mr. Rut before you start off to the gallows greed of the eorKrations. Owing to the has Delis. He creates local branches of the with the man let us ask you a few ques- fact that laborers are plenty, and jobs Social Democracy wherever he sjiedka tions. We notice that you readily excuse are scarce, the men submit to it. Under and imbues the members witli an enthuthe idiot on the grounds that his head normal conditions it would le impossible siasm of which few men are capable. was abnormally Bhncd. Did the idiot to find mop who would face the storm for A p wal to Reason. the wages they do, if at all. If you think We are truly glad to learn that Mr. shape his own head? No. Then he is not it a to face a storm step onto the Delis is Kiiecet'ding so well. We have no picnic responsible for the shaH of it? No. Nor front the side of a motorman, jealousies in this matter. We welcome is he responsible for his acts? No. Well, and platform by it try for about two miles and your Social Democrats, Socialists, Nationalwho made the criminals head? Who mind will undergo quite a revolution 011 and else Qll news-papor- s, soim-thin- g ists, Single Taxers, everybody sliaed it for him? Who is responsible the Rut the fact that wages are who are doing what subject. they can 0 enlighten for the shape of it? Why not excuse the low and laborers plentiful should not de- the masses upon the gmit questions at criminal on the same grounds that you ter those humanly inclined from doing something for these suffering men. The men themselves are not in a position to do anything for themselves. If they kick about it they are told to qnit, and olhers will be put in their places. The only way to make the corporations do any thing is to either force them by law or else make it apear that their own interest would be best served by proThere is no tecting their employees. question but that the legislature can pass o law' that will bring them to time, and it certainly out to, and we believe will at its next session if the friends of humanity will do what they ought to in the way agitating the question. But we feel sure that it is to the real interest of the companies themselves, viewed purely from a financial stand-pointo protect these men against the cold. There is no question but the men could be hired for less wages, than now, although their wages are low' enough now. Rut there is another reason: Some of these cold days, a benumbed motor-ma- n will let a car got away from him, and a carload of passengers will lu hurt, probably killed, and by the time the comjainy gets through paying damages they may wish tliat they had taken better care of their men. Candidly, it is the wonder of the age that some such accident has not already occurred; for just how a frozen man, his hands benumbed, and his eyes almost blindtHl with the w'ind can manage a car successfully, is more than we can understand. It is dangerous to the life and limb of those who ride in the car. These things ought to be brought to the notice of the managements of the roads. If they will not, either from humanity or personal interest do their duty they ought to be brought to time with a statute at the very earliest moment possible. It is an outrage to say the least, to allow matters to continue as they are. Why is a mau more to be blamed for being bora a criminal than for being born an idiot? Why care for the one, while you punish the other? Take your own case; can you change the color of your eyes; the size of your mouth, the length of your nose, the shape of your face or the proportions of your head? Remember that wTe are not answering those questions. We are only asking them. The object we have in asking them is to put some people, that we know, to thinking; especially those who advocate capital punishment. do the idiot? Comparisons are sometimes said to be odious and so they ait. Wearegoing to make one of that sort. Which are doing the most for homeless, suffering human--ity- , the saloons or the churches? Now dont faint for we are going to even worse than compare the two; we are going to say that the saloon is the most humane of the two. If.- you have not already swooned away we will now proceed to prove it. On last Tuesday morning there appeared at our office a fairly well dressed young man almost famished with hunger. We asked him where he spent the night liefore, which as all remember, was the coldest cf the season? His reply was that he sat around the saloons all night, the only place open. Now which did the most for him the saloons or the churches? Dont squirm, now answer it. How many churches of the city were open to warm the homeless that night? How many will be open tonight? Or tomorrow night? Or any other night? t, - Every effort possible to kill the Republican party is now being put forth by the Administration and its goldbug supporters.. A goldbug Democrat must lie elected in 1!K)0 and the only way to do that is to drive the dumb cattle from the Republican pasture into the Democratic cam). That great reduction of wages in the cotEvery time you see a man who has no ton mills is a part of the play. To reduce means of siipjant you may set it down as the wages of 80,000 employees, under a a fact that that man has been robled. Republican administration means 80,000 He or you may not be able to name the votes for the Cleveland gang. exact thief that robbed him, but he has What is the real difference between the been robbed all Ihc same, lie was born cannibal who kills and eats his brothers with an inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If he does outright and he who kills his brother by not possess that right now it has been devouring his substance? We have no cannibals in this country. Oh no; we an taken from him by force. civilized. We dont eat one another we If it is work that yon really want get only steal from one another till one or the a maul and jamiid a log. That is a other starves to death. Those poor be- you job that will last you all winter. Now, nighted cannibals have not lieanl of since you come to think about it just a Jesus. Too bad! Too bad! Isnt it? little it is not work that you want at all, but rather what work will produce or A man who fears to advocate what he If you are real bright you will aim believes to be right or to do what he be- buy. to work just as little as 3'ou can, and get lieves to be for the best, lest he should for it as much as possible. injure the power of his party is a political demogogue. This is as true of PopuIf every man in this country should be lists and Socialists ns it is of Democrats arrested for vagrancy, whose real condiand Republicans. Whenever the party as tion is that of a vagrant, about one-thir- d such becomes an end instead of a means, of the bnildings in the country would then it is time for it to die. have to be converted into jails. ( f INTER-MOUNTAI- I issue. They are all doing good. The first work to 1h done is to educate the jieople. To act before they are educated would be futile and foolish. As soon as they are educated tin? different branches of reform will unite on some basis and put their ideas into law. Never fear. It may be longer coming than some jieople are willing to believe, lint it will come all the same. Hurrah for Debs! Hurrah for Waylaml! Hurrah for the memory of Henry George! The treatment given Durrants dead body emphasizes the doctrine that the real sin of a crime lies not in the net. itself lint in being caught in the act. Had it been proren to the satisfaction of every man in the whole country, except the jury, that lie was guilty he might liave lMen turned loose on the country, to have lived out his natural days, and then found without any trouble whatever a nice place for burial. Even the goody-goodmembers of his church would have thought it 110 violence to their finer findings to liave lain in the same church yard with him. Rut it was different. The jury said lie was guilty without knowing it. Durrant then snfferd confinement for nearly three years, constantly alternating between hope and despair, and finally did all that he or any other man could do, lie gave up his life to expiate the crime and to 1 my whatever debt he owed the public, rot in the ground made holy by these sanctimonious followers of the meek, lowly, and forgiving Jesus. No, the crime is in being caught. We venture that should John D. Rockliaptist come to San Francisco these same meinliers of Emanuel Raptist Church would run over one another to do honor to the eollosal old thief and murderer; a murderer who has kil It'd more women through robbing and starving them, than Theodore Durrant ever saw in all his life. We like consistency in nil tilings, and sjM'aking of Durrants dead body, will suy that we would far rather risk our bodies and our fortunes with Durrant dead, than with John I). Roekybaptist living, or dead. Granting that he was guilty of all that he was charged with, and lie is a white winged angel, love and purity when compared with Roekybaptist. y over-sensitiv- e We are not such a lover of the Populist iwrly as to say that unless the Populist saves the country it will never be saved, bnt we will say that nothing short of the principles advocated hy that party will save it. Under what it may finally go we know not, under what name it may finally go we care not. Populism will save the country whether the Populist party docs or does not. Emerson once said: If you would be a man speak what you think today in words as hard as cannon balls, and tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradicts every thing you said today. |