Manawatu Evening Standard. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1933. LYNCH LAW.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 313, 1 December 1933, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1933. LYNCH LAW.

The crime of kidnapping-, one of the most heartless and brutal in the category of American criminal records, has been so long practised with impunity as to arouse contempt for the law in the minds of evildoers, and the determination of the better elements in the community for amendment to the criminal code to facilitate the course of justice. The horror of the Lindbergh affair shocked . the nation. The parents’ prominence, apart from the stark brutality of the crime itself, gave to it an importance that called forth vengeance upon kidnappers and slayers of people whom they abduct. One State at least resolved that the death penalty should be inflicted upon convicted kidnappers. There was for a time a wholesome atmosphere in the correction of the impediments to justice in the United States that was eagerly sought. But the Lindbergh crime became a memory and kidnapping was continued, only a very small percentage of- such criminals havingbeen either arrested or convicted. The difficult times in the United States are a sufficient explanation of the greater adoption of this ileg-al way in which to secure “easy” money. In almost every case the relatives of an abducted person are only too . glad to pay ransom and secure his safety, and the criminals escape punishment. A few days ago the State of California was aroused to resentment at the brutal slaying of a college youth, the son of wealthy parents, by two confessed kidnappers. The recovery of the youth’s body from the sea was the signal for a frenzied mob in San ’ Jose to demand the lives of the prisoners, and in spite of police protection they were lynched.

The case has excited interest and debate throughout the nation . California is regarded as one State in the Union which looks with disfavour upon mob violence, and that such happenings could be enacted, with the full approval of the State Governor to judge by his comment that he would hand ov.er to the citizens all the kidnappers in two of the State gaols, inspires the view that the people are determined to stamp out kidnapping because the law has failed to do so. But mob violence is ever to be deprecated, and Governor Rolph would have been a wiser man to have stayed his comment. Undoubtedly American Courts of Law can be used to favour the criminal element, not because the Judges are as a rule corrupt, but because of the tardy manner in which criminals are brought to justice. Moreover, there is so much graft in politics that the law is brought into contempt lvith its defiance by criminals. It can, and very often does, happen that a lengthy interval will elapse between the imposition of a sentence and its execution, as well paid counsel exhaust every trick at their command to beat the Courts of Law. The argument for expeditious justice through the proper avenue in a well governed State is undeniable. In Britain and British colonies criminals who are arrested are brought to trial within reasonable time, and where capital punishment is the consequence the sentence is executed in the normal.course. The British legal profession taken by and large stands on a higher plane than the American profession, where there are advocates ready to resort to devious tricks to delay the course of justice. That probably was in the minds of the San Jose. mob which executed the two kidnappers. But sane American comment rightly condemns their action and those who support them, for as it has been said, there is “vast unrest in the United States and otherwise law-abiding citizens are taking- the law into their own hands. Those -who raise up the mob must be prepared for the destruction of the nation.” That is

a timely warning. The San Jose affair has caused the mob in otherplaces to take summary justice against negroes who have assaulted white women, and the “country is on edge.” The Governor of Maryland, to his credit, ordered troops to arrest lynchers in his State. That is a salutary reminder that some Americans at least are determined to uphold organised law against mob law, and therefore the country’s wellbeing against the disorder that must inevitably follow its disregard.