The Case At Home
Probably the re has never been in the iiistory of the world a time wheu so Jeep a spirit of humanity existed as roday. Sufïering anywhere and from any cause arouses the warniest sympathy and sets on foot measures for relief. Our people have.recently been deeply aroused by the terrible persecution and assassination of Jews in Kussia. Our government bas been urged to act in the matter. But there seems to be nothing that this nation can do. But tliere is within our own borders a lot of murderers and assassins which public opinión is deeply obligated to turn its attention to and bring to justice. It is quite impossible for the sympathy of our people to accomplish inuch for the relief of the Jews in Russit, but they can do much for the intimidated and assassin ridden comniunity of Breathitt county, Kentucky. ïhe half a hundred citizens who have been assassinated there were not niurdered because of their religious belief, it is true, but they were hunted té their death and murdered in cold blood just the sanie. Their property was likewise destroyed in many instances. Nelther was this done witli the connivance of the government, but tlie state authorities have permitted this work of de struction to go on without using theii power to bring this reign of assassina tion to an end. It is no wonder, there fore, that Russian newspapers teil us to look to our owu as.sassius, murderers and arsonists. The couditions which exist in Breathitt county, Kentucky, today are not such as to permit the national government to interfere, but they are such as should arouse public opinión and torce the state authorities to hunt down the assassins and arsonists and apply such drastic measures es will drive this blood-stained gang of assassins and flre-brands to the scaffold and the penitentiaries, leaving not a root or branch, if that be necessary, in order to protect decent citizens and lif and property. Here is a matter tha our hunianity and sympathy can rea cl and they should be directed to tha end. Since the decisión of the suprem court in the Detroit board of edueation case, the railroads of the state hav made cominon cause of the matter o: ad valorem tax assessmeuts and pro pose to fight the same on the groum tliat they are assessed too high relativ to other property. They propose to g through the United States courts i their efforts to break down the a valorem assesment of their property The progress of the case will b [watched with interest. It is to be hoped the readers of Michigan newspapers will have an unusual ainount of patience this week, no matter what may appear in print. If there be any unusual "breaks, or anything uncominonly brilliant in this week's issues, all is to be charged up to the '-devil" as the newsp&fcer men are off on their animal out int;. Ttaey will be gone for ten days. During that time the papers will be run by the office devil. The flghting editora have gone on the trip with the other editors and so, geuerally speaking, it will not be worth while to cali to get sattefaetlon, for there will be no one iu who can give it. It is sald that President Roosevelt bas instructed the United States district attorney handling the postal cases o push them and delay not. If this be true he is to be couiinended. Such cases too often drag along until the people beconie utterly disgusted with them or forget all about the facts involved and then as there is no forcé pushing the prosecutions the culprits who have robbed the government, betrayed their trusts and brought scandal upon the public service, are allowed to go without punishment, or slip back iuto the public service whieh they have disgraced. If the president succeeds in injecting a bit of strenuousness into the prosecuting ofïicers he will render the public a valuable serloe as well as those who are charged witli crimes. The new king of Servia has a ruost undesirable job before Mm, He comes o the throne through tlae most brutal assassination of his predecessor and he assassins of his predecessor are the men who have made him king aud who ïold all the strings of actual power in he country. What there eau be deslrable iu the positlon of the new king is not on the surface. There will, of course, be 110 more heaitancy on the ,jart of the assassius who will surround 11e new king to do by him as they dld by King Alexander, lf he doos not do their will, than as though he were a a.d dog. This is me kind of civilizaion that he will have to deal witli. He is welcome, therefore, to all Üie satisfaction to be got out of his kiugly office. It would seeni that there will be few to envy him. President Morley of the Michigan Blinkers' association in bis address to that organization made a statement wbich bankers irrespective of party affiliations will uudoubtedly accept, but t would never do for President Morley to make tbe statement he did as to wbo pays tbe tax before a gathering of men of tbe dominant political party. Tbe statement made by Mr. Morley and referred to above is this: "It is one of tbe truisms of political economy tbat upon whomsoever or wbatever a tax may be imposed, the tax is ulümately paid by tbe consumer." Probably no banker as sucb would for a moment question this statement, yet for years it has been preached, and accepted too by the mass of people in matters political relating to the tariff that the foreigner pays the tax. But business men outside of politics admit the truth and lay it down as a truism wbich it is that ultimately tbe consumer pays the tax. If all the voters who know this statement is a truism would vote according to their knowledge there would be some decldec changes in our tariff policy in the neai future. Goveruor Bliss has signed tlie bill to increase the number of supreme court justices from iive to einlit. He says in way of explanation of au act whieli his owu judgment did not approve that he did it at the almost unanimous desire of the bar of the st.fte and at ilie desire of the meinbers of the court itself. He seems to be doubtful about his action, but if the inerease in the ruembership of the court wil) expedite business before the court and enable it to keep up with its business, there will be little cause of coinplaint by the people. Justice long delayed is no justice at all and any measure that will certainly speed the adininistration of the work of the supreine court will be welcomec by the people generally and the addi tional eost will not be a matter of com plaint. But it is to be hoped this measure will really accomplish what it is designed to accomplish. But if it results as did the increase of salaries law and its other provisión requiring the judges to live at Lansing- if !n other words it accompllshes nothing in the way of what is claimed for it, then there will be just cause for criticism. Perhaps it cannot be said that the law requiring the justices to live at Lansing and increasing their salaries accornplished nothing, but it has ' not accomplished anything like what i was said it would accomplish. But the law increasiug the membership of the court sliould go a long way toward enabling the court lo keep u with lts business or else there is little reason for its being on the statuta books.
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Old News
Ann Arbor Argus-Democrat