अपराधी कौन ?
न्यूयार्कके प्रसिद्ध मेयर ला गार्डियाको, जो अपनी सहृदयता और सुप्रबन्धके लिये बहुत प्रसिद्ध थे, पुलिस मुकदमोंसे बड़ी दिलचस्पी थी; क्योंकि उनसे उन्हें नगरकी वास्तविक स्थितिकी जानकारी प्राप्त हो जाती थी। इसीलिये वे प्रायः पुलिसके मुकदमोंकी अध्यक्षता किया करते थे। एक दिन उनके न्यायालयमें एक चौरको उपस्थित किया गया। उसका अपराध था कि उसने एक टी चुरायी थी। अभियुक्तने अपने बचावमें सिर्फ एक वाक्य कहा-‘मेरा परिवार भूखा था, अतः मैं चोरी करनेके लिये मजबूर था।’
मेयरने फैसला दिया—’चूँकि अभियुक्तने चोरी की है, अतः मैं उसपर दस डालरका जुर्माना करता हूँ।’ और दूसरे ही क्षण उन्होंने अपनी जेबसे दस डालर निकालकर अभियुक्तको दे दिये और कहा-‘यह रहा तुम्हारा जुर्माना।’ फिर वे गम्भीर स्वरमें उपस्थित लोगोंसे बोले- ‘साथ ही अदालतमें उपस्थित हर व्यक्तिपर मैं 50 सेंट (आधा डालर) जुर्माना करता हूँ; क्योंकि वह ऐसे समाजमें रहनेका महान् अपराध करता है, जिसमें एक बेबस इंसानको रोटीकी चोरी करनेके लिये मजबूर होना पड़ता है।’
Who is the culprit?
La Guardiaco, the famous mayor of New York, who was very famous for his kindness and good management, was very interested in police trials; Because from them they used to get information about the real condition of the city. That’s why he often presided over police cases. One day a quadrangle was presented in his court. His crime was that he had stolen a tea. The accused said only one sentence in his defence-‘My family was hungry, so I was forced to commit theft.’
The mayor gave a verdict – ‘Since the accused has committed theft, I impose a fine of ten dollars on him.’ And the next moment he took out ten dollars from his pocket and gave it to the accused and said – ‘Here is your fine.’ Then he said to the people present in a serious voice – ‘Also, I impose a fine of 50 cents (half a dollar) on every person present in the court; Because he commits a great crime of living in such a society, in which a helpless person is forced to steal bread.’
