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Show CHANGING CUSTOMS. Fifty years ago and less it was the-forceful the-forceful custom of the mountains and plains to hang the horse thief. Frequently Fre-quently 'a trial by jury was considered superfluous. A horse thief taught red-handed red-handed was often hanged without legal ceremony and public, opinion approved the act. Self-defense was society's sanction sanc-tion in those days. The far-flung, but sparse, settlements found it necessary to make up in swiftness and tcrribleness of punishment what was lacking in efficient ef-ficient police supervision. The horse thief's chance of escape from the sheriff was so good that the people of the west believed it absolutely necessary to make an example of every horse thief who was caught. A little later society did not consider it necessary to hang the horse thief by summary justice, because the usefulness of the horse had relatively decreased and the effectiveness of legal protection had increased. Nevertheless, the horse thief still was considered a menace to society and was given ten or fifteen years in prison for his crime. If the benighted horse thief had only had the genius to invent the "joy ride" all might have gone well with him. TCfent a brilliant stroke it would have beeq for some pioneer thief, when caught by an infuriated band of ranchers carrying carry-ing a rope, to plead laughingly that he had merely been on a "joy ride." Mayhap the plea would not have been effectual at first. Perhaps this genius would have swung from the branch of the nearest tree, but he would have set the pace for other "joy riders" and the high state of civilization we now have, reached might have been attained at-tained many years ago. How much more refined and gentle the manners of today. Our fathers roughly hanged a man for stealing a $50 horse, while we today merely fine or release re-lease without punishment the "joy rider" who steals and wrecks a $1500 or $2000 automobile. We offer little protection pro-tection to property, to morals or to so-cietv so-cietv iu general by our indulgence, but we have the satisfaction of knowing that we are as gentle as the veriest mol-lvcoddle, mol-lvcoddle, if that be indeed a satisfaction. |