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Show RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE. 1 That Ismay and the White Star line are not the sole offenders against tho public-safety is brought out in a letter addressed to the Standard, as follows: ,J '; I Editor Standard: Senator Raynor of Maryland appears to have been worked up to a high pitch of indignation over tho Titanic disaster in his excoriation of J. B. Ismay, managing director of the White Star lino ' Steamship company, in tho senato chamber on tho 16th inst. Among other oth-er things, ho says: "If this had happoncd on nn American vessel, thoro j would be no question that an Indictment would bo found, and if facts wero sustained, the officers of tho company could bo convicted of manslaughter J If not of murder." Again ho says, "All civilized nations will applaud 1 the criminal prosecution of tho management of this lino. If they can bo ' niado to suffer, no sympathy will go out for them." I "In this hour of our calamity wo appeal to tho majesty of tho law to deal out rotrlbutivo Justlco to this guilty company to tho last de- -grcc." T-tt aU-1 .11- .... II n Tl I i .. n I I uucsii i unit swr juur umuuuu; rine, isni ill Is It genuine or is it a lot of hot air? I wonder if tho senator remembers tho "General Slocum" disaster in New York harbor a few years ago? Retributive Justlco was dealt out to that guilty company with a vengeance, was it not? That was an American Amer-ican vessel and an American company. And how It stirs our pride to know the zeal that was displayed by those whoso duty It Is to administer adminis-ter "rotrlbutivo justice" to that guilty company! And how swift and sure was tho "retributive" Justlco that followed the Iioquois theator file In Chicago a few years ago' Do you remember how the children were piled high by the 'doors, unable to get out because be-cause of the poor construction of tho means of exit? But the owners suffered suf-fered American retributive Justice swift and sure, which was the uso of oceans of printers ink and, after a nine days' wonder, dropped Into for-gctfulness. for-gctfulness. And how long Is it since several hundred women in a shirt waist factory fac-tory In New York City were fed to the flames because of poorly constructed construct-ed exits and, worst of all, locked do ors? But tho rotrlbutivo Justice" followed tho owners of the building and tho employers, but nover sue ceeded in overtaking them! The great trouble with those whoso duty it Is to inspect factories, theaters, steamships, etc., and to enforco tho laws rolativo to theso places and to bring to Justlco tho guilty ones, they are too busy with politics to have time for such trifling matters a3 tho preservation of human lives Too much spread-eagleism; too llttlo true patriotism. (Signed) EDWARD WALKER. Our correspondent's criticisms are well directed. There is too much disregard of public safety, not alone at sea but in our own country, to cause us as a people to become so excited and indignant over the loss of the Titanic as Senator Raynor would have us, had he the power. ' The White Star line is culpable, but so are all the companies engaged in the trans-Atlantic service. This is the time to proceed with determination to correct the abuses which' have led to this awful disaster, but there is no urgent demand for retribution. |
