Reason for Swift Justice
One reason for expedition
in the trial of Czolgosz is to be seen in the instruction that it
will offer to half civilized people in our new dominions. The American
yoke still rests upon them somewhat heavily and there are not a
few among them who would try to lift it off, if they dared. They
must have a lesson in the futility of hoping to escape punishment
if they fail to respect the sanctity of life. It is not alone the
life of a ruler, but the life of the humblest of themselves that
we wish to guarantee. We must show them that it is unwise and unsafe
to attempt murder, and we must make the positions of our governors,
our commissioners and our generals in the islands as secure from
secret or open attempts at overthrow as it is possible to make them.
The yoke will grow lighter and lighter as time goes by, and the
strength is developed to wear it. One day it will be reduced to
the mere form of a yoke and eventually the people of the colonies
will come into full citizenship and brotherhood. The first measures
to secure loyalty are those which guarantee justice, and justice
waits to execute a stern reward on the criminal in Buffalo, who,
lacking brains to achieve distinction, gained notoriety by an act
that brings him into the contempt of the whole world.
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