THE JURISPRUDENCE OF LAWLESSNESS LAW III. Any man who seduces an innocent girl may, without a hearing, be shot, or stabbed, . to death by her, or any near relative of hers; and if deemed necessary by the slayer, such shooting, or stabbing, may be done in the back, or while lying in wait. LAW IV. Any man who traduces a virtuous woman's character for chastity may be shot with impunity by her, or by her husband, or any near relative; but the offender must first be given an opportunity to deny and disprove the charge, or to retract and apologize. LAW V. The survivor of a fatal duel must be ac quitted, if the duel was fairly conducted according to the time-honored provisions of the Code of Honor. LAW VI. Any man who kills another in a fair fight shall not be found guilty, either of murder or manslaughter, but must be acquitted, even though he be the sole aggressor. LAW VII. The lie direct and certain other well known opprobrious epithets, which consti tute mortal insult, are each equal to a blow, and any of them justifies an assault.. LAW VIII. In prosecutions for stealing horses, cattle or hogs, the presumption of innocence is shifted in favor of the live stock, and the accused is presumed to be guilty. LAW IX. In all civil suits by natural persons against corporations, the defendant corporation is presumed to be liable, and can establish want of liability only by a clear and decided preponderence of evidence.
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LAW X. In every action by employee against em ployer for personal injury, the plaintiff shall recover damages, unless the defendant em ployer proves want of liability beyond a reasonable doubt; and, in all such cases, the measure of damages shall be the pitiful condition of the plaintiff, the sympathy of the jury and the ability of the employer to pay. All of the foregoing lawless laws are in full force and effect in some parts of this great and growing republic; and some of them in all parts of it. Wherever they are effective, they are enforced with much greater certainty and celerity, than any written statutes or sacred constitutions. Their existence poses a problem for Ameri can lawyers, the solution of which is des tined to test severely their ability, courage and patriotism. It will be observed that most of these lawless laws are operative within the do minion of criminal law; but we shall see later that those operative within the do minion of civil rights are none the less important. All of them, in their last analy sis, have their origin and source in some real or supposed failure, defect or injustice of the law itself; most of the lawless rights they establish are granted by them as the counterparts of the real or supposed lawful wrongs which they are meant to compen sate. The slow and painful processes of the courts and the utter inadequacy of all legal remedy for certain crimes have given rise to all the rest. They seem to be abnormal and malignant growths upon the body of the law, and they must be either excised or removed by con stitutional treatment of the legal system itself. The indicated remedy is necessarily legal, and it is the first great duty of Ameri can lawyers to discover and apply the remedy. That some radical remedy is the crying need of the hour none can deny. When the punishment of crime itself be
