If on the
other hand they misconceived the purpose for which they were
there the performance was a shocking example of what is
possible under present conditions.
Just as there are three general classes of wrongs, so there
are three general and varyingly effective forms of restraint
against their perpetration. First there is the moral control
exerted by what is ordinarily called conscience, secondly
there is the restraint which arises out of the apprehension
that the commission of a tort will be followed by a judgment
for damages in a civil court, and lastly there is the
restraint imposed by the criminal law. All these play their
part, separately or in conjunction. For some men conscience
is a sufficient barrier to crime or to those acts which,
while equally reprehensible, are not technically criminal;
for others the possibility of pecuniary loss is enough to
keep them in the straight and narrow way; but for a large
proportion of the community the fear of criminal prosecution,
with implied disgrace and ignominy, forfeiture of citizenship,
and confinement in a common jail is about the only conclusive
reason for doing unto others as they would the others should
do unto them.
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