The Weber Literary Journal O little Puritan Mother, with your neat little, prim little cap! O little Puritan Mother, with your lily-like babe in your lap! I am singing my Thanksgiving praises, and counting my blessings o'er, And lo! the deep-sunk gift of courage leadeth the golden store! Do you hear my low prayer as it thanks you, piercing immortal bars Do you hear my heart beating to bless you, even beyond the stars? The Sinner By Pauline Matthews Ethereal flowers along my path, Birds joyous in the trees, Anon, hued butterflies flit past, But I care for none of these. The brook plays murmuringly along As it falls down gorge and hill, But within my heart there is no song, No, all is dark and still. At night the moon glows radiant And illumes each peak and knoll; But tho it be from Heaven sent It does not illume my soul. Oh, why does God my suffering mock With things of the beautiful? Does he read my thoughts that lie so black In the abyss of my soul? 40 The Weber Literary Journal Responsibility of the Authorities in the Law Enforcement By Elizabeth Seppich IN its widest sense, law is the bulwark of the common welfare, jealous alike for the rights of the individual and the well-being of the nation, without favoritism of persons or parties. But too often, even in America, law is so corrupted as to sanction crime and make of liberty a purely nominal ideal. Indeed, in the United States today, the great volume of crime made public is far surpassed by that which is kept secret. Our American democracy can not thrive, nor even live, unless law burns with a steady flame. Just now it is flickering in a perilous way, due undoubtedly to the inferior handling of criminal cases by the authorities. The majority of the American people respect the law and uphold it. The officers of the law must be made to realize the great responsibility which rests upon them in compelling obedience to the law on the part of the refractory minority. Twelve years have passed since President Taft said: "It is not too much to say that the administration of criminal law in this country is a disgrace to our civilization, and that the prevalence of crime and fraud, which here is greatly in excess of that in European countries, is due largely to the failure of the law and its administration to bring criminals to justice." Since President Taft wrote that, crime has increased by leaps and bounds. Truly the most disquieting thing about crime today is its increase. At present there are approximately 50,000 men behind prison bars in the United States, besides the hundreds of criminals who either await trial or are still at large. Evidence that crime is increasing in a most alarming-way in our country is so abundant and conclusive that it cannot be doubted. As a fairly good estimate from the somewhat fragmentary information available, it is found that the total amount of money and property stolen in the United States in 41